Speaking as someone with the same problem as Joanne -- a turtle that may outlive me in my old age and which the kids lost interest in years ago -- my own concern with the turtle is less with his quality of life (I have no idea if it's a he, I haven't lifted its skirts to see) than mine. He's probably used to it, and life is safe if dull, though who knows what counts as dull for a turtle. Maybe he's working on the Grand Unified Theory. As pets they are messy, smelly, time-intensive -- and not that interesting. Unless of course they actually come up with GUTS -- first turtle to win the Nobel Prize in Physics!
--- Keith Nybakke <knybakke at mac.com> wrote:
> Please don't set it free unless you are absolutely,
> positively sure
> it is indigenous to your neighborhood.
>
> Pythons in Florida, Eurasian milfoil and purple
> loosestrife all over
> the midwest, zebra mussels fouling the Great Lakes
> and don't get me
> started on starlings and English sparrows. These are
> all the result
> of someone introducing non-native species into an
> area.
>
> Try the local chapter of the Humane Society and ask
> about their
> rescue program. If they have one, they'll be able
> match your turtle
> up with someone who wants it.
>
> For cage pets, life is just a cage. The quality is
> variable, but the
> condition persists.
>
> Sorry.
>
> Keith
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