So, there are a variety of ways to enrich your turtle’s life. The simplest form of enrichment is environmental enrichment. This can come in many forms.
The easiest is probably just rearranging the decor in the tank periodically, rotating certain items to give a change in setting. Different shapes, textures, colors, etc. can be utilized to enhance the experience: one week give your turtle a natural piece of driftwood, rotate it out with a large rock, rotate that out with a piece of aquarium decor, etc. Rotate silk, plastic, and live plants. Place objects in the substrate to encourage investigation – a marble or varying sized stones will give your turtle something new to check out. Put things in the tank the turtle can climb on or hide under. My turtles love those floating artificial logs, which serve both functions. And don’t forget about the world outside of the tank; place a decal on the glass, place a colorful object adjacent, get something shiny! Varying visual and tactile stimuli is easy to do.
Varying food sources is another form of enrichment. Let your turtle hunt. Give your turtle something larger that it has to bite chunks off of. Try sinking foods and floating foods. Make your own custom gel foods. Tuck the corner of the food item under the substrate to encourage foraging. My turtles love turtle chasers.
Turtles will often engage in object manipulation play. Giving the turtle something it can roll, push, bite, etc. can encourage play behavior. Try different colors, shapes, and textures. You might find some good ideas for turtle play things in this book.
Set up a (safe, secure) outdoor enrichment area. Kiddie pools are great for this. Let your turtle walk around on the grass (with supervision, if there are no pesticides). Always limit time out of the enclosure to reduce stress; there’s a fine line between stimulating and overstimulating.
These are just a few ideas. There are numerous scientific studies on play behavior in turtles, that would be a good place to get ideas. Get creative!
Excerpts from a much longer New York Times article. Please read it in full at the link.
Gorgeous illustrations by R. Kikuo Johnson
Plucking animals from the wild is cheaper and easier than setting up a breeding operation. This is especially true for low-profit animals like Tokay geckos, which are traded at such high volumes that it would not make economic sense to invest in breeding them.
Generally, villagers capture animals in forests and fields, and sell them to middlemen who hand them off to legal reptile farms. The owners of the farms acquire government paperwork certifying that the animals were captive-bred.
In [the country of Indonesia] and many others, the most skilled traffickers in illegal wildlife, then, never need to smuggle anything. They simply apply for a permit and then ship the animals abroad legally.
Once a wild-caught animal is exported with paperwork certifying it as captive-bred, officials in countries like the United States have little choice but to allow it in.
“The infiltration of traffickers into the legal trade has been happening for many years,” said a senior specialist at the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation from supervisors. “These animals show up here in declared shipments, and we can’t do anything about it.”
While customs agents can challenge a permit’s legitimacy, they have little chance of success, the official said. The cases are time-consuming and difficult, and prosecutors do not want them.
“Wildlife inspectors will open up a box and find a bunch of beat up, scarred tortoises that are 20 or 30 years old, with permits saying they were bred in captivity in 2016,” the official said. “But they’re forced by their supervisors to stamp ‘clear’ on the permit.”
“I know sometimes the traders bribe my staff,” said Wiranto, director general of conservation of natural resources and ecosystems. (Like many Indonesians, he uses only a first name.)
Mr. Wiranto, who was recently promoted, said he hopes to implement reforms, among them a more robust monitoring system that includes unannounced farm inspections, corruption prevention measures and collaborative investigations with importers like the United States.
“We’re in the process of learning from past mistakes, so in the future we won’t do the same,” he said. “The most important thing is to keep wildlife in its habitat.”
Not everyone agrees that uncontrolled harvest of wild reptiles is a problem. In certain instances, some traders say, collection of wild animals can be a boon for the species.
Bearded dragons, for example, are one of the most commonly sold lizards in the United States, where they are now captive-bred. All are likely descendants of specimens smuggled out of Australia. The offspring arguably have prevented the removal of animals in the wild.
Some scientists also argue that the pet trade’s impact on many species is negligible.
“In the Indonesian context, there’s a hell of a lot of snakes and reptiles out there, and for most species the issue of laundering through breeding farms is not resulting in negative impacts on populations,” said Daniel Natusch, a herpetologist at the University of Sydney.
But slowing the traffic in animals stolen from the wild cannot be the sole responsibility of developing countries. “We can’t only point fingers at Asia and Africa,” Dr. Altherr said, “if we’re one of the main destinations.”
“We can’t only point fingers at Asia and Africa if we’re one of the main destinations.”
The pet industry in the US needs a hell of a lot more official regulation and a lot more critiquing from people who take part in it while condemning other countries for not protecting their wildlife and ignore the US’s part in the problem.
Please don’t take your pets for granted. Even if you’re frustrated that your dog has been barking all day or your bird has been screaming for attention, remember you are all they have in this world. Give your fish that extra water change. Give your dog or cat that tummy rub they’ve been begging for. Chop up some fresh fruit as a treat for your rodents or reptiles. Just spend some time with them. Be compassionate to your animals. They are living creatures that are alive simply because you wish them to be. They may only be a small part in your life, but to them, you are their everything.
When pet owners talk about their pets it’s guaranteed to fall under one of two categories:
Rover is the sweetest kindest force in my life, my closest ally, my best friend, the family member who molded me as a person who I would absolutely lay down my life for. Please let me show you photos of this perfection incarnate.
Socks is on double secret baby probation now and she’s gated in the living room because she wont stop sneaking out and trying to eat all the towels in the house, like the bastard idiot child she is.
I would like to clarify this is not a “which type of pet owner are you” post. There is no choosing. Pet owners are both of these, all the time, forever. It’s a matter of which one is the conversation topic of the day, and the outcome depends entirely upon how recently their pet tried to eat plastic
The “I WANT ONE” impulse is also a huge issue at reptile+exotics shows. While a seller is technically legally required to send out a care sheet with every animal sold, I’ve never had that actually happen to me. There’s no waiting period or requirement. A buyer isn’t required to show proof that they have an enclosure ready and waiting for their new pet—- in fact, it’s often a selling point at expos that you can buy everything you need for your new pet RIGHT THERE. It’s so easy to be caught up in the excitement and enthusiasm of an expo. It’s practically tailor made for impulse buys.
When I bought one of my leopard geckos, I was actually offered a second one for free. I declined because ‘I don’t have another enclosure right now’ and the seller gleefully pointed out that everything I needed was being sold right at the expo anyway. That’s what I mean by tailor-made for impulses. I was actively telling a seller that I wasn’t set up for another gecko, but they were giving me excuses to acquire another one. FOR FREE, even!
I have been at expos with MUCH more exotic selections who do require specialized care and knowledge, including prairie dogs, short-tailed Brazilian opossums, frilled dragons, ackie monitors, reticulated pythons, large torts… that’s just the start of a list. I could list hundreds of species. Every time there’s an expo, craigslist and similar rehoming sites are inundated with people trying to sell off their animals.
obviously, I’m not saying expos are inherently bad. But I am saying that there really ought to be some systems in place to prevent Bad Idea Impulse Buys. I know that, ultimately, it really IS up to the buyer to Not Be Such a Fucking Idiot And Actually Do Research, but Not Being An Idiot isn’t a strong point for our species.
It isn’t much better at pet stores. It really is all there! Look this cage comes with all the things you need to start! And this store is always here! You can always come back and get all the support you need! Food and new accessories! And another pet! And we’re a chain store so you can find us anywhere!
Except all the workers are… I can’t even say untrained because that is an understatement. And the animals are very likely under/malnourished.
The difference between a pet store and an expo, though, is that everything at an expo is STUPID cheap, and you go in knowing that you have ONE DAY to get those deals. I spent $30 on what would’ve been about $80 worth of stuff at my local pet store.
If you’re about to get a plant and you have pets, do your research!!!! Some plants are toxic to cats and dogs and can make them very sick and kill them!! I want you guys to keep your pets safe!!
These gloves work wonders for my long-haired German Shepherd puppy. My puppy is 11 months old and sheds like crazy. The gloves are perfect because my puppy does not like being brushed by those rough brushes and tries to bite them. With the gloves she doesn’t care as much.
ifesbob 