be responsible

Many people buy pets on impulse - because the animals look cute, their children beg them or worse, they want to chase after a girl! Although terrapins are not represented in the pictures above, we are very vulnerable to being abandoned too. In fact, I would consider terrapins a high-risk group, especially because of children.

There are many reasons for this. Firstly, we are small. We fit nicely into a child's palm, so we are attractive to children as they can cuddle us. We also retracted into our shells when touched. This gives the child a sense of power and authority. In addition, we are often a child's first pet (just as any adult if he ever had terrapins when he was young and the answer is usually in the affirmative). This could be because we are low cost (how can you beat $3 per terrapin) and look easy to maintain. Alas, we grow up fast, possibly outgrowing our first tank in a matter of months. We produce unpleasant smells if our water is left unchanged and we end up looking like we breed bacteria. Hence, terrapin-owners usually grow tired of their pets after a few months and would abandon them in ponds and reservoirs. Other owners will try to give away their pets to terrapin-lovers. For instance, my female owner was asked recently to adopt two terrapins but she refused. To add to that, the Chinese believe that letting go of animals into the wild during certain festivals is a humanitarian act and terrapins are usually the ones being released!

We can't really survive in the wild because we are domesticated animals. So please, think carefully before getting a pet, even if its a low-cost baby terrapin. We have lives too.