MUSCATINE JOURNAL (Iowa) 31 July 07 Critters in captivity: DNR: Red-eared turtles survive better as pets than being released (Jennifer Meyer)
Muscatine, Iowa: Red-eared turtles are native to the Muscatine area, but once catpured, the critters are better off in your home than in their natural environment, a local wildlife biologist says.
Families bought up about 70 of the turtles last week to compete Saturday in the Great River Days Reunion turtle races on the Muscatine’s riverfront. Some will become pets, but some parents said they planned to release the turtles into ponds or rivers.
Bill Ohde, with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in Wapello, however, cautioned against setting the animals free.
“You might think you’re doing a good thing and find out it’s not such a good thing,” he said.
Ohde said the pet turtles “might not have what it takes to survive in the wild,” and releasing animals raised elsewhere could introduce disease and parasites that could threaten local turtle populations.
“The biggest concern we would have would be releasing non-native species,” Ohde said.
He said he didn’t know of any diseases that would affect local turtles, but “you kind of hate to see something released that was raised somewhere else.”
Ohde said Louisa and Muscatine are among a handful of counties in southeast Iowa home to 11 of Iowa’s 12 turtle species.
“We kind of have the distinction in Iowa as having the most species of turtles and amphibians of any part of the state,” he said.
For example, Ohde said Muscatine’s Southend is home to the endangered yellow mud turtle.
Red-eared turtles aren’t on any of the DNR’s protected species lists, but “they’re probably one that we keep our eye on,” he said, because they live only in a small area of the state. The turtles are abundant from upstream of the Quad Cities downstream to the southeast corner of the state, in the Mississippi River, and lower Cedar, Iowa, Skunk and Des Moines rivers, he said.
“If you get away from these lower 4-5 counties, they’re basically unheard of in Iowa,” he said.
Ohde said the turtles are distinguished by the red bar behind their eyes. They do not have external ears, he said.
Ohde said he didn’t know of any diseases the other pet turtles might carry that could imperil wild red-eared turtles, but said it was best for captive turtles to remain pets.
“They might not have what it takes to survive in the wild,” he said. In particular, Ohde said, it’s unclear whether the reptiles would have the instincts to survive an Iowa winter.
Red-eared turtles “do quite well in captivity,” he said.
Numerous online sources report the red-eared is the most common pet turtle.
Nathan Morse, store manager at Tony’s Tropical Pets in Muscatine, said red-eared turtles make inexpensive and low-maintenance pets. The store sold the animals for the turtle races, and carry the species in the store year-round.
“There’s not a whole lot to them,” he said.
Pet turtles average 5-8 inches in length, but Ohde said he’s seen some as long as 9 inches in the wild.
Morse said pet red-eared turtles require a standard 30-inch by 20-inch, 20-gallon aquarium with water filters that should be replaced about once a month. He said the turtles spend about 90 percent of their time in water, but also like to walk around and like a dry place to sunbathe. He said the turtles don’t require daily exercise, and can remain out of the water for 2-3 days at a time.
They eat turtle pellets. Morse said pet owners could buy a larger can for about $4 that would “pretty much last forever.”
Red-eared turtles are mild-mannered, Morse said. He’s never seen one bite, even when it was poked in the face.
“The only thing you really have to worry about is,” salmonella Morse said. He said the disease, which sickens people, is the result of turtles living in fecal waste. “If they’re clean and housed appropriately, there’s very little chance.”
If you’re thinking about adopting a red-eared turtle as a pet though, be prepared to be in it for the long haul. Morse said the turtles can easily live 15 to 20 years, with some living as many as 25 years.
Ohde said families who aren’t prepared to keep the animals as pets, “shouldn’t be buying them in the first place.”
Red-eared turtles survive better as pets than being released

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