my turtle died... =[

these animals make good pets because they are good around people, but they do like to be alone, also they are shy, but studies show if they are lost they always know how to get back home.

They look kind of neat, but I think I'd get tired of having a turtle pretty quickly.

its the smell dear !

cool but boring

what kid hasn't had a turtle for a pet?

BEST ANIMAL IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!

that would be cool

Turtles are nasty creatures to clean up after

Had several of the little green turtles as a kid..none survived...then living on the lake I tried to make pets out of some of the turtles around and it never worked.

Pretty neat at first when you bring them home but after a bit you start regretting it. They arent very mobile.

Turtles are not the best pets,  can think of,  for the same reason, I don't like fish for pets, they do very little.

I think a lot of people in this section are confusing turtles with tortoises. Turtles eat meat, if yours are surviving on lettuce alone, its a tortoise. Their is only one breed of land turtles and it is the Box Turtle (although there are many other sub-species of box turtles) all others are water turtles. ALL turtles require meat. Although I think water turtles like red eared sliders, soft shell turtles, and river cooters are cool, you really shouldn't own one unless you have a pond. These things do get big. If you thought it was cute to but a little baby in china town, be aware, it will be huge in a few years. If you don't have a pond, the set up for a water turtle is a couple hundred dollars (remember this is like a $15 animal) so that compared to the animal is really not worth it. Box turtles are cool, although I prefer tortoises since they only eat red leaf/romain lettuce which I can buy at the grocery store. Box Turtles need mealworms which can only be purchased at a pet store. Plus, box turtles are more prone to bite than a tortoise since they are omnivorses. I did rate this a three because I believe that turtles can make interesting pets if only understood, but the price for the upkeep is a little to much.

Turtles are slow, wobbly creatures. I pity them. They're not the all American dog or even a cat. A pet turtle is about the same thing as a pet rock, nuff said.

i had a turtle named leo. he was fun. we had races with him too. hehe.

Turtles are great to watch in the wild, and they are fun to keep if you give them the proper environment and space. Aquatic turtles are fun to watch swim and eat among fish.

Most turtles are adorable, especially the small ones that are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and crawl around on it. I once took care of two turtles of a friend of mine while she was on vacation, and they were lovely additions to my house: low maintenance, no stench (if you clean everything properly, then nothing should stink, unless it's a dead turtle), and the cuteness of how they interacted with each other (they always slept next to each other, played with each other (there was a turtle seesaw in their tank, which I had to maneuver, slowly, of course) and fought over the same piece of food even though there were ten more pieces surrounding them). And if you must be so cruel as to force your pets into doing tricks for your own sick amusement, then I pity the pet you choose to buy to fill in the empty void of boredom in your life.

About as entertaining as watching two glaciers race.

man i've seen some stupid comments on the reptile ratings, but that snapping turtle bath comment was retarded. who the hell would think of taking a bath with an ILLEGAL turtle that can bite through a broomhandle? if anyone did that i'd seriously laugh at them for being so stupid. and anyone who says turtles smell did NOT keep them properly. that one guy that said all that equipment and pricing is right. they require a ton of equipment, and alot of space. they don't smell at all, provided the tank is clean. and for that to happen, you NEED all that equipment. so before you buy a turtle and stick it in a plastic tub, think about the turtle. doing that is going to cause all sorts of bone disease, shellrot, and a ton of other problems. they NEED that equipment. keeping one without the equipment is considered animal cruelty and neglect and CAN get you fines or jail time. i think they're AWESOME animals, although whoever thought that they could take a turtle for a walk is probably missing a few screws in his head. the only reason i rated it three and not five is because they need all that equipment. if you can afford that stuff, GO FOR IT!!! i have a little red eared slider. (well, not so little anymore), and he doesn't stink at all. i did get him as part of a deal though, and he came with all the stuff needed, for a couple hundred dollars. if you really want a reptile, get a kingsnake or a bearded dragon. they're both awesome choices. anything in the colubrid snake family is great, although some are endangered. goodluck to anyone who tries their hand at keeping reptiles. get your friends involved, and help people understand them so that maybe someday they won't be so freaked out by something that really doesn't deserve all the negative attention.

i think turtles should be left alone in their natural habitat,you cant give a turtle al he needs,like a pond,but you can build one,and plus they live for a very long time and they dont need to be captured in some cage.THEY NEED FREADOM.

They are illegal to have in my state...never gotten to keep one. :(

To me, a pet is for companionship. This don't fill the bill.

If they are of the Teenage Mutant Ninja variety, I'm into it.

My sister had a turtle. I thought it was boring and smelled awful. I prefer a pet that I can cuddle with and talk to, like my dog.

Turtles make great pets- but not for everyone. The most commonly sold turtle is the Red Eared Slider. They are adorable and people buy them with little plastic tanks and a rock, and think all they need is a pellet a day, and voila. This is not so. An adult red eared slider can grow to be 9" long (females reaching 12"). They require at least a 55 gallon aquarium FOR MALE TURTLES. Such a large aquarium needs a high powered filter, which is around $80. Then you will need a water heater, which is another $20. Plus a long UVB light to help the turtle utilize calcium: about $60 for the bulb, which has to be replaced every 6 months, and the holder for the light... about $50. Plus a basking area... which can be anywhere from $0 to $50. Then a basking light, about $20. Not to menchon all of the decorations, gravel, etc. AND of course, the aquarium itself. A 55 gal. is about $90. If anyone is interested in owning a turtle, please research and consult with experienced owners first. A great website for turtle info is www.austinsturtlepage.com

Turtles are so cool, but I've heard from every person who's ever had one that they smell awful!!

Like the lizard, you can't train them or cuddle them for that matter, but they are fun to watch when they swim.

My sister and I had two or three little green dime store turtles when we were young children. I really liked these slow moving little guys with the colorful green and yellow skin and orange diamonds on their cheeks. We enjoyed letting them race across the kitchen floor making soft scratching noises with there tiny little toenails. Fairly harmless fun for children, but I'm afraid the poor turtles didn't have much of a future. They usually only lived a few months tops. They also had a tendency to "accidentally" slip away under a bed or dresser for days at a time only to show up all dusty and half starved days later that is IF they ever showed up again at all. Looking back, I think that unless you live on a nature preserve, these guys join all other wild animals in being better off left in their natural habitat.

Turtles RULE! :) I've had 3 box turtles for almost 18 years!!! :) They are so cute! :)

My god! Do you have any idea how long it takes to walk a turtle? If the grass is tall, it's next to impossible to tell whether or not they've even done anything. And do not, under any circumstances, take a bath with a snapping turtle...especially if you are a male!