turtles?

[MousyMouse]

have stupidly promised dc a pet.
I thought about a fishtank, used to have one as teenager.
been to a pet shop today and dc saw turtles.

reason for fishtank: pet allergies, easy for short holidays, am a bit scared of handling bity smelly animals.

should I stick to fish?

We have stick insects and fish :) lovely combo!

Mouse I was in a PetShop (not P@H) a while back and my DC saw some turtles or terrapins (I can't tell them apart, they were in a tank with a shallow water area but they weren't swimming about).

I'm not a fan of anything non guinea-piggy but one of the staff was so passionate about the terrapins. But they sound very interesting creatures to keep.

I'd want to know:
how to clean the tank and how often
what they eat
what kind of illnesses they can get
what kind of illnesses they can pass (I'm sure Salmonella used to be a problem)
how many should you keep together
do they need heat in their accomodation
are they ethically bred
are there any in rescue (lots of tortoise in rescue)
is there a Tropical Animal vet near
how big will they get

You can't tuck them in your cardigan and see "what's in the fridge" like you can with guineas

I just realised I got the terminology wrong I mean tortoises not turtles...
I think the ones living in swamps are called terrapins, but have a recollection from childhood that they can be snappy.

the ones this pet shop (specialised in reptiles) had were captive bred (mud?) land tortoises. didn't ask questions yet as want more information so that I don't fall for a sales pitch iyswim.

Looked after properly a tortoise lives a very long time. When the DC were small we had a holiday in Cornwall and visited a Tortoise rescue sanctuary. Some of the tortoises were blind because before being rescued their shells had been vanished. Such a shame, that fact always stuck in my mind, unintentional cruelty I don't think they should have their names painted on them either.

If they are a good and reputable specialist shop, they won't give you a sales pitch because they'll need for you to be 100% sure and not buy on impulse.

There are tortoise rescues that will advice you- they will have a range of ages .

The lovliest ones I saw were free ranging in a walled 'garden' in Turkey. Dozens of them, all sizes , wandering about in their safe garden.

Varnishing and painting is horrible. And some of them have a hole drilled in their shells to tether them

good idea about rescue places, will have a look.
don't want to promise the dc something we can't (shouldn't) get. but I like o be informed first.