I'll never forgive my great-great-great-grandfather for getting my great-great-grandfather that greenland shark
Back in the middle of the 90ies, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were a big thing and my mother thought it would be a good idea to gift my sister and I, a pair of red-eared sliders. I kept mine for years and eventually my sister gave hers to me. So I kept two turtles for decades. I have been known as "the guy with turtles" since I'm a teenager now.
One of them just passed away this spring, after more than 27 years, and she was not that old for her species, in captivity. The other one is still alive behind me, basking under the UV light, and it could be alive for another decade. And I like Mittens (his name) but he's taking a lot of space in my apartment. It's obvious both of them would have had a better life outside, in nature, rather than in my sometimes depressive care.
Don't gift animals.
I agree with not gifting animals, but it sounds like your turtles had a good life. 27 years is a long time and way longer than the life expectancy of a wild one
How would their lives be better in nature, exactly? Most animals live longer in captivity, and if they were capable of answering questions, I bet they'd pick having a human butler waiting on them all the time instead of running from alligators and munching on rotten algae.
Sure, nature would be better for it, but not the animal.
The problem with buying pets on a whim is twofold.
- The animal gets abandoned. They never pick up the necessary skills to survive on their own in the wild, they die miserably by starvation or exposure.
- The breeders see the high demand (especially after something like ninja turtles or finding nemo) and breed animals excessively, when demand dies off thousands of excess pets that no longer sell are abandoned or euthanized.
You're right that their lives may not have been that bad compared to being in nature, but in the end, they probably should not have existed in the first place. They were not meant to be in nature from the start. They were meant as temporary living toys, for profit. At least they were not stuck in a key chain or something like that.
Seeing how one would probably not have survived in nature, it's probably best he ended up with me. But the one that died this spring was fierce, energetic and inquisitive. Frankly, she was a jerk and I could picture her being "happier" chasing fish in a lake rather than pellets in a small tank.
Maybe it's a very human and pretentious judgment to make for them, but I can't help but try to put myself in the place of another living thing. You can live safely in a small container with unlimited protein cakes but nothing else to do for all of your life, or you can go explore the world to your own risk and excitement. I know what I'd choose, for my physical and mental health. And I know some animals can get bored and depressed, but I'm not a turtle.
Also lobsters. Lobsters can live for 100 years, but way less if gifted at Christmas.
...slowly puts greenland shark back on the shelf
replaces immortal jellyfish
Never in my six decades on this earth, as an Australian, have I ever heard of a lung fish Christmas gift. It is about as likely as giving someone a giraffe.
That’s the joke
Ah, I'm an idiot!
Never been caught so far, but with internet trends nowadays, you never can tell.
Well played...
Can you regift a giraffe?
Whoosh
Same goes for a Greenland shark. We're talking about multi family generational commitment. You don't know if your grandkids, grandkids can handle that kinda responsibility
If you gift it to someone without an aquarium it's a 109 second commitment
Puppys too?
Especially.
Worst time of year for dog shelters. COVID puppies was such a bad time.
One of my favourite tragicomical video game achievements was in Firewatch:
Adopted a turtle as a pet. The average lifespan of a box turtle is fifty years. It will outlive you.
And this is why I will not get a pet. I'm by definition incapable of taking care of them because they might outlive me.
Unless you're Keith Richards, I don't advise this as a pet.
christmas, just 152 days away
id take it if the animal was meant for consumption and not as a pet
I mean you can always make bbq
That’s the beauty of fish as pets, not only they are fun but also very nutritious
Maybe for my cats lmao. I'd be lucky to get 100 calories outta my tank
I have a pond where the bigger ones swim I don’t even know their species but they look tasty
