Turtle.

[gottawonder]

One of my red-eared sliders died today (June 15).

It was not particularly tragic, as I think it reached a decent age for this species in captivity. I had it for at least 15 years, and it was already an adult (that I got because it was left behind in someone's rental home and it was passed on to me). It was also kind of plagued with not-wellness, and for quite some time I had been expecting it to be dead.

I feel the normal sadness of any life ending, especially of those in my care, but I have to say that with the turtles it is different from the mammals, because they don't have the same friendliness and warmth. It's harder to feel a personal connection to them.

That said, I am sad that it died (I did not name it, don't know why, but I haven't named the water turtles), and one thing I am always sad about with the turtles is that they were in captivity in the first place. I didn't buy any of my turtles/tortoises from a store (over the years I have had several, and most have now died). They were given to me by people who didn't want them any more. I have done what I could with them, and tried to give them decent lives, taking them outside in the summer, trying to provide them with the right kind of heat and light in our long, dark, Canadian winters (very difficult), and so on. I would have liked for them to have been allowed to live out their lives in environments that they were meant to live in, instead of the horse trough in our porch (bigger and sturdier than most aquariums).

The true reality is, that it is nearly impossible to give most of these animals the right environment in your home. Maybe a zoo with lots of space and resources could do a decent job, but the average person, even with the best intentions, can't provide turtles with much space, or the right lighting and heat, the perfect diet, and so on. Most of mine lived over ten years with me, several for over 15, two over 20, but that's nothing compared to their potential life spans.

I guess I gave them more than they would have had with most people (turtles statistically die about 2 years after purchase), and maybe even okay considering that many wild turtles would die long before old age from predators and environment. It's hard to feel like I've given them enough, given how long they could live if things were perfect.

I have one turtle left that I have had for about 25 years, and another that I've had for about 15 (and it was an unknown number of years old when I got it).

Anyhow, RIP little turtle.