Turtles are amazing creatures. They can make excellent pets and turtles offer many educational benefits for youngsters. I adopted my first turtle in 2001, an American box turtle that was living in a yard of a neighbor and being harassed by their dog.
Adopting a turtle is quite easy thanks to the world wide web. Interested parties can simply perform a search thru their preferred search engine using phrases such as “turtle adoption” or “adopt a turtle”. Some websites help people who can no longer keep a pet turtle pair up with a person who is willing and able to give the turtle a good home, while other websites are in the business of adopting a turtle as you would a highway.
The first thing to consider is what type of turtle are you looking to adopt? A sea turtle, a box turtle or a water turtle such as a red eared slider? Do you have the time, patience and supplies that adopting a turtle will require?
Another very important factor to consider is the commitment turtle adoption will require. As an example, some turtles can live extremely long lives, it has been said that box turtles can live for up to 150 years. That is very serious commitment. Before welcoming a new turtle into your home please make sure you are willing to dedicate that amount of time to the care and well being of the turtle.
Turtles have big personalities, while it is easy to assume a box turtle might be an ideal pet for a small child, you will want to be realistic about it. Turtles require daily care, they can bite, and in all honesty a box turtle might be too boring to keep your kids interested in his daily care.
Adopting a turtle is a rewarding experience, whether you are personally caring for the animal, or if you are offering monetary support for the care of turtles. Naturally if you are hoping to adopt a sea turtle, this adoption will be in the form of monetary donations and photos of the creature. In my experience, knowing you are making a difference in the life of a turtle is just as rewarding as actually administering its care.
There are many great organizations out there that will be glad to talk to you about your specific desires and how they can work with you to make a difference in the life of such a magnificent creature.