VENT "He's just a turtle"

Gillian M

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I personally think you don't need to cuddle and play with an animal to consider it a pet!
So long as I am caring for the animal properly and showing him affection (in my torts case, feeding him!) I consider that a pet..

This guy wasn't worth that little explanation though.
When My friends found out I have tortoise as pat, they all fascinated by the beauty and the cuteness of them. Cell phone none stop taking photo and ask question. By God's grace, my friends mostly are cool with tortoises.
That's nice to hear.
 

Gillian M

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The people here are like this for all animals.
"It's not important, it's only an animal."
Once, i was looking at a beautiful toad in the river, a huge, gorgeous beast and my friend Hameed came over and asked what i was looking at.
I pointed and he looked for a moment.
"Can you eat it ?".he asked.
"No!", i replied.
He shrugged and walked away.
Tortoises here are toys for children, nothing more.
Even here in Jordan, torts are only considered toys for children. When I take OLI out for a walk, children crowd around the poor thing, driving him and ME nuts. Some would want to pick him up and play around with him as if he were a toy, (like you said, Adam). I do NOT allow them to, in a very polite and diplomatic manner.
 

AnimalLady

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I'm with you Kirsty, 100%. Buuuutt, I'm over 51 so lots of the folks I know are of my age group. My younger friends in the 20-30 year range, as they get out of their trucks ask first, "Before anything Ken, how much tortoise porn do you have on your iPhone?" And yes, they are serious. The other group of friends in the 40-50+ year range call and say, "The grandkids are up Ken, can we bring them up for a field trip?" In both cases, I say yes. The field trip group typically bring weeds they've allowed to grow big a strong just for tortoise feeding field trips.

The difference is amazing. The only people I know in that age range call me "kiddo" or "kid" or even "young buck". It can be a bit annoying, yes I am 30, but I have an old soul and probably relate to that age group more, though I'm not accepted really.

I tend to keep to myself, the wonderful Internet has helped me come out of my shell..
I'm socially awkward, so I 100% prefer animal friends that never judge.
Heh, I'm weird..I know. ..
 

AnimalLady

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Even here in Jordan, torts are only considered toys for children. When I take OLI out for a walk, children crowd around the poor thing, driving him and ME nuts. Some would want to pick him up and play around with him as if he were a toy, (like you said, Adam). I do NOT allow them to, in a very polite and diplomatic manner.

If I took MacGyver out for a walk I could only imagine the stares I would get from my neighbors lol
 

AnimalLady

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The people here are like this for all animals.
"It's not important, it's only an animal."
Once, i was looking at a beautiful toad in the river, a huge, gorgeous beast and my friend Hameed came over and asked what i was looking at.
I pointed and he looked for a moment.
"Can you eat it ?".he asked.
"No!", i replied.
He shrugged and walked away.
Tortoises here are toys for children, nothing more.

This is how my father views animals. He's Cuban, born and raised and always needs to remind me that "turtles are food in Cuba" same thing he would say about my rabbits!
 

Gillian M

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If I took MacGyver out for a walk I could only imagine the stares I would get from my neighbors lol
I wouldn't mind the children staring, but wanting to pick OLI up and run around with him as if he were a toy......GOD!
 

Nephelle

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This has been a recent topic of conversation in our house due to our new addition, so I laughed when I read this! I completely understand! Every single one of my friends has given me the "are you crazy" look when I announced Millie's arrival. For me, it comes down to these two points...

1) I am 37 years old. If I want to get myself a tortoise, I'm going to get myself a tortoise!

2) I've learned that people just like to have an opinion, and many, for whatever reason, enjoy "playing devil's advocate" on topics they have no business debating. To counter this, I have made it my mission to learn everything I can about tortoises. The moment they start to say anything, I just start talking. And talking. And I don't shut up until they concede that tortoises are not only amazing creatures, but probably the coolest pet in the world and possibly the universe.

Countering negativity with hyper-active obsessive excitement works every time :D

"Enthusiasts are appealing but a fanatic is irresistible..." - James Herriot
 

dmmj

The member formerly known as captain awesome
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The difference is amazing. The only people I know in that age range call me "kiddo" or "kid" or even "young buck". It can be a bit annoying, yes I am 30, but I have an old soul and probably relate to that age group more, though I'm not accepted really.

I tend to keep to myself, the wonderful Internet has helped me come out of my shell..
I'm socially awkward, so I 100% prefer animal friends that never judge.
Heh, I'm weird..I know. ..
ok kiddo. Whatever you say you young buck. :)
 

dmmj

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my grandma still think I'm going to outgrow this stage as she puts it.
 

AnimalLady

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This has been a recent topic of conversation in our house due to our new addition, so I laughed when I read this! I completely understand! Every single one of my friends has given me the "are you crazy" look when I announced Millie's arrival. For me, it comes down to these two points...

1) I am 37 years old. If I want to get myself a tortoise, I'm going to get myself a tortoise!

2) I've learned that people just like to have an opinion, and many, for whatever reason, enjoy "playing devil's advocate" on topics they have no business debating. To counter this, I have made it my mission to learn everything I can about tortoises. The moment they start to say anything, I just start talking. And talking. And I don't shut up until they concede that tortoises are not only amazing creatures, but probably the coolest pet in the world and possibly the universe.

Countering negativity with hyper-active obsessive excitement works every time :D

"Enthusiasts are appealing but a fanatic is irresistible..." - James Herriot

Omg! I love this idea! Hahaaaa!
This is what I'll start doing!
 

dmmj

The member formerly known as captain awesome
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Question for you~ why are you formerly known as captain awesome? Are you no longer awesome, no longer captain...or both?o_O
I was recently demoted to corporal. no I've just been sick and I have not felt awesome recently.
 

Tom

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How many times has someone said this to you and you want to smack them upside their heads?

No, NO he's not just a "turtle", he's a fking TORTOISE to start with and he kicks ***. This is my normal response and then I get on with my day. Today I had to deal with a guy I work with who's normally obnoxious but especially so today. He claims that you cant do anything with a "turtle" and they should not be considered pets. I'm not great with conflict so I smile and nod, pretty much ignoring him, finally when he wouldn't stop, I calmly told him to shut the fk up. That did it... but man, its annoying how many people say this!

What do you tell them when they say crap like this?


C'mon… We are talking about the human race here. There is no shortage of obnoxious, loud mouthed, ignorant, opinionated idiots to make insensitive, stupid, absurd or ridiculous comments about anything and everything that they have no experience with.

Not worth wasting your time or energy considering their ignorant remarks.

A quick smart Alec retort or two from me demonstrating their ignorance is usually enough to quiet these people down.

The world is full of braying jackasses. Trying to communicate with them in a meaningful way is about as effective as teaching your pig to sing.
 

Alaskamike

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@Tom.
"The world is full of braying jackasses. Trying to communicate with them in a meaningful way is about as effective as teaching your pig to sing."

This.
 
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