Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have two RES turtles, about 4-5 inches each. I live on a college campus and housing changed their regulations to where I can not have them, and I need to get rid of them by tomorrow. The only pet shop around that i'd trust to take them doesn't have any space for them, so I am wondering what to do. My college campus is on a nature preserve, there is a creek out in the woods with flourishing wildlife, including multiple turtles, however there are a couple gators out there also. Is it a) too cold/early in the spring and/or b) too dangerous to let them released in the wild? I realize that tons of turtles are born every year at quarter size out there and its all natural selection, its just my girlfriend doesnt want them to become "Totino's Turtle Puff's" for the gators, lol. I've tried all my friends to hold htem until I can get out, and housing can kiss my white very reflective @ss.

Thanks in advance.
-Chris

i would not let them go. your g/f is right, they have been kept in captivity thier whole life and do not possess to survival skills they need. your best bet is to find a reptile rescue agency in your area. you can search online for one, you might even want to start on this site, i am pretty sure that they ahve rescue agencies listed. another one you can try is melissa kaplans website. she has excellent info for all reptiles. also, do a search in google for rescues. please exhaust some more options before you turn them loose. they will die. also, if all else fails consider turning them over to the animal shelter. if a home cannot be found, at least they will be humanely eutahnized. you say you do not trust any other pet store to take them, and yet, sending them off to certain death is an option. its like asking you to take a final in a class you never even attended. they simply will not survive.

meagan

DO NOT RELEASE THEM! They could survive, and they would be a danger to the wildlife population. I think in the big picture, that is more of a concern than whether or not your captive turtles can survive in the wild. If all the captive turtles that were released met a certain death, there wouldn't be laws against it. But they don't all die. They populate areas they are not native to, introduce diseases, and threaten other species. Those are some of the reasons it is illegal to release captives.