I hate it when people dont know what they have!

[mattgrizzlybear]

I had a griend at school which while we were writing journals at school she said she had five turtles. I asked what kind of turtles and she said snapping turtles. I asked her where they keep them and she said in their bathroom(!). I also asked if they were land turtles or water and she said land. I told her there is no such thing as a land snapping turtle and she said there was because here's bit her dog. She probable had ni idea what they were. Just a note to all newbies, BEFORE you get your tort, do your reasearch BEFORE!

 

[shellysmom]

LOL, oh boy... I saw a guy on the sidewalk trying to keep a Florida softshell turtle from going into the street. It bit his hand and he let go and said, "Watch out! It's a snapper." I picked up said vicious turtle with no problem and carried it to the nearest pond. In the guy's defense, I think he was drunk. But, still.

 

[Jacqui]

You know when my first tortoises came home, all I knew was they were suppose to be tortoises. After those, I brought home more tortoises never knowing what they were (and lots of turtles too). The stores selling them to me, had no idea their correct names. Many ended up being incorrectly ID by the stores or given what I think were just on the spot made up names. My children and I would come home from shopping, to run grab the turtle and tortoise encyclopedia to look up what we had saw or brought home with us. It was almost like a game for us. Sure wished we had a computer to use back then, but even with that online information was rare to find, too. So with my own past, I can understand a bit about not knowing what a tortoise is when you first get it. What I really don't understand is the lack of desire once you have this animal, to not find out what it is and how to care for it. I am so happy to see the folks who come on here and bravely ask us to help ID their turtles and tortoises so they can improve their quality of life. I hope seeing a thread like this, does not cause them to not ask.

On a side note, I really think folks should have some basic knowledge of the wildlife found around them, be it bird, snake, turte, or hippo.

 

[harris]

Honestly, I think she's fibbing to you. Might be trying to impress you.

 

[mctlong]

I know of at least on Russian tortoise that would bite a dog if it got too close....

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

Honestly, I think she's fibbing to you. Might be trying to impress you.

Nah, I believe him. There ARE really people that ignorant about turtles & tortoises.

To them:
turtles = tortoises = exactly the same thing
if it bites, its a snapping turtle.
if it was anywhere near water, it was a water turtle.
if it was found in the woods, it eats veggies and sliced bananas.

...that's really about all they care to know, and half the time, you can't argue with them to correct them.