With just weeks to go until Christmas, Birmingham’s National Sea Life Centre is reminding people about the importance of responsible exotic pet ownership.
Often readily available in high street pet shops and considered the perfect festive gift by unassuming owners, terrapin turtles can be too challenging to take care of without sufficiently detailed research going into the challenges owning one requires.
James McElroy, Lead Reptile Keeper at the aquarium, said: “In the new year we are often inundated with calls about re-homing unwanted terrapins and turtles.
“Unfortunately it is becoming a more frequent occurrence at this time of year as animals are becoming more readily bought as Christmas gifts. Often people might not fully understand the challenges of looking after an exotic pet, and they buy young animals thinking they are cute and small, without considering the fact that these animals will often live for over 30 years, and require specialist tanks and equipment.”
In the early 1990s turtles became popular pets for fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cartoon television series, which led to hundreds of boating lakes, canals and waterways in towns and cities becoming populated with terrapins and small turtles. As a result of the pet-trade, red-eared-slider turtles in particular are now considered to be one of the world's 100 most invasive species.
The specialist care for turtles can be underestimated prior to purchase, including the sheer size of the creatures. As baby turtles, the size of just a 50p coin, grow to mature adults the size of dinner plates, they develop more sophisticated dietary and accommodation needs, and it is at this point that they are more likely to become abandoned by owners unable to cope.
The National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham homes four species of terrapin, more than 50% of which were donated by the public as unwanted pets. Now full to capacity, the animal care team is urging people to give careful consideration before purchasing an exotic pet.
