I have a co-worker/new friend who im turtle sitting for. Her turtles are in an unhealthy enviroment (10 gal tank for a 6" and 8" RES)and she doesnt seem to take proper care of them. I dont think she completely understands how to care for them. How do I go about informing her in the proper way to care for her turtles with out coming off as rude or saying she's a bad owner (she's not she really loves them). I myself have a turlte and she seemed shock at the extent we go to give him the best habitat. Hers arent fed vegitation only pellets and have no way of basking. She only has an aquarium lamp no heat lamp. And their is no adequete land for them to even dry on. Some advice on how to give her advice would be great :)
Answers:
Best way would be to print off some care instruction for turtles and tell her that you ran across some great information on turtles and thought she'd be interested. that way you're not coming across as pushy or bossy. :)
Just tell her that because she was gone you felt insecure about taking proper care of her little friends. Which led you to an pet store..where you learned yada yada yada. That way it doesn't imply her poor habits but actually informs her of what you learned and hopefully she will adopt these habits when the turtles are returned to her care!!
do you have the materials around (old items you don't use for your turtle) to help her out.if so then why don't you put together something for the 2 of them as a friendly jesture
A friend of mine ahs hermit crabs in a horrible small plastic tank with no way of keeping the humidity up and the heat in, I found her a 29 gallon fish tank of freecycle for her and now her crabs are happy! Maybe try to find her a bigger tank and some supplies for cheep(freecycle or craigslist) that when you bring them to her you cna tell her that her turtles will LOVE their new home!
i know it will sound underhanded, but pretend one got sick while she was away.
tell her that it quit eating and got a runny nose. Tell her that you phoned a vet to find out what was wrong with it, and he figured it had gotten a cold because of lack of basking area.
I know it may sound awful, but, no matter how much some people love their animals, they just don't get these things until something goes wrong. Like people who won't believe dogs can't be out in the cold with no doghouse, until their dog loses the tips of its ears to frostbite.
Best of luck whatever you decide to do.
IF YOU ARE THAT CONCERNED, YOU COULD GO BUY A NEW HOME FOR THEM, ONE THATS EQUIPPED WITH ALL THE RIGHT STUFF, SAY A FRIEND WAS GETTING RID OF THE STUFF SO U PICKED IT UP..OR SOMETHING. THEN MAKE SURE THERE IS VEGETATION IN IT WHEN SHE GETS HOME, SHE'LL ASK ABOUT IT %26 THAT CAN BE A GOOD WAY TO START THE CONVERSATION, YOU CAN TELL HER WHAT THEY LIKE %26 NEED TO EAT.
GOOD LUCK!
I think Kareen has a good answer.. however.make sure you are up to date on all your facts.. I myself have raised different types of turtles and tortoises and certain turtles need vegitation for nutrition while others require pellet food and live fish/ worms for adequate growth. Tank size isn't really a huge factor in raising a healthy turtle. Just as long as the tank is cleaned routinely and the turtles are fed daily. The lamp is ABSOLUTELY essential or the turtle will get very sick in time.. Maybe go out and splurge and buy her a better wattage bulb.
It may be hard but you MUST tell her how to care for the turtles. I find it easiest to tell friends about their pets in a teaching way. maybe if you tell her about the behaviors of the turtles she will begin to make some decissions on her own. people take it easier when they decide on their own what to do. i hope it goes well
Wow, it sounds like she's not doing much for the turtles. By restricting the diet to veggies only, the turtles are missing out on some nutrition. Not to mention about no basking time. (But you already knew that!) I would just casually mention that you think it would be a good idea if the turtles would have a bigger tank and some basking time so they'll live longer, and she would be able to enjoy them for a longer period of time. Just try to be as friendly as possible!
Hunny, I don't understand, you are more concerned about what your friend might thing of you than the real well being of those poor critters. just tell her like it is. she doesn't know what she's doing.
