Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My wife and I live in Dallas, TX with two RES' and a 6 month old baby. We have had the turtles for 3 years now and love them very much, but our baby is nearing the crawling stage and we feel the wires and plugs from the filter, heat lamp, UV lamp, heater , etc. would be dangerous. We live in an apartment, so building them something outside isn't an option. It seems the best thing to do is to find another home for our little guys.

There is a mall here in Dallas that cares for several RES. The mall (North Park) has an indoor pond/pool with a fountain and an island in the middle for the turtles to bask under a heat lamp. The RES there all seem very happy and healthy. Anyway, I called the mall management and they are willing to take our turtles.

Do you think I can trust that the mall staff will take good care of them? Our turtles will certainly have more room at this place. The pool looks to be about 400 sq. feet and a foot deep throughout. I doubt they will eat as well though, which may be a good thing since I tend to spoil them. But I am still not sure. Would it be better to find an individual willing to care for them and give them more personal attention?

Thanks for any advice.

At a hardware store you can buy plug covers...a long plastic tube that encases all cords from their source to the outlet itself...it attaches to the wall so there is no fear of pulling on them. If you do this then you would have the best of both worlds...your turts and a safe baby...i'm a big advocate for the fact that when you take on a pet, you take it on for life and work through different circumstancest that might come your way. Just a thought
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~walnut~
Turtle Pics
1 Dog- Mollianna Mae
1 Cat- Macey Montana
2 Red Eared Sliders- Gator and No-No
2 Beta- Swamp and Swims
4 Fish- One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

I agree on finding a way to keep the turtles. Your child will grow up to love and respect the turtles. Maybe you could put up a baby gate around the area where the plugs are. I don't know how your set up is but mine has a space between the stand and the wall where the wires hang and a baby gate would fit perfectly there. If the first option doesn't work an dmy option won't work, I am sure there are other things you can do.