By Ken White From The Daily Journal Peninsular

Remember those quarter-sized turtles in plastic bowls, adorned with a 2-inch green plastic palm tree, available for a pittance from neighborhood five-and-dimes? Millions were sold for decades. For many kids, these were the first “pet” and the first experience with death (the bowls could not meet the animals’ needs, the feed a recipe for starvation). These animals were baby Red-Eared Sliders (for the bright red stripe running alongside their faces). A full grown Red-Ear is dinner-plate size.

Federal regulations passed in 1975 prohibit selling turtles less than 4 inches long, except for “scientific purposes.” As such, we must have thousands of scientists in elementary schools since so many thousands are still sold! Today’s generation of turtle-loving kids also purchase tanks, filters, heaters and full-spectrum artificial-sunlight bulbs to help these babies mature into very hardy adults. Good for the turtles, yes, but … .

Today, adult Red-Ears are found lounging on fallen logs throughout Bay Area lakes. They should not be here. Native to the Southeastern United States, Red-Ears are dumped when they outgrow the tanks (or interests) of pet owners and “liberated” by well-meaning but misinformed rescuers (from food markets and pet shops). Red-Ears have now almost completely replaced our native Western Pond Turtle.

Exported en masse, the most commonly kept pet turtle in the United States is also now the most popular reptile pet worldwide: escaped and abandoned Red-Ears have invaded waterways in Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guyana, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, both Koreas, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Martinique, Micronesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Northern Mariana Islands, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom and Vietnam.

PHS/SPCA always has Red-Ears for adoption. Contact us if you want to consider properly caring for a needy turtle.

Ken White is the president of the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA

For more on this story go to: https://www.smdailyjournal.com/lifestyle/pet_tip/a-downside-to-good-care/article_c71aee6a-7570-11e7-9ac9-bf1ad4d3b95a.html