Why Turtles Are the Perfect College Pet

By Alexis Sanchez on January 22, 2016

Okay, so I feel like every single one of my friends at some point during my time in college had pet fever (including myself) because it’s so hard not to. How can you not want a pet to cuddle you, entertain you, and love you constantly? Having a pet seems so perfect! That’s why I have been wanting a little puppy running around for the past couple years but there’s always something holding me back. Responsibility.

But, my roommate, Vivian Gonring, made the shocking decision to take in a red-eared slider baby turtle over a year ago. I was a bit skeptical of the little sucker because she was so small that I thought I might accidentally break her.

Fast forward to now and little Elbie is a little bigger and has proven to be the perfect college pet for multiple reasons.

1. She is super manageable

As long as you get a tank big enough to swim around in, a good water filter and little food pellets (turtles love the fish pellets or shrimp best), then you are basically set! That means they’re small and fairly cheap (great for your limited college resources). This makes a turtle a great first pet for all of the people that want to try out taking care of a pet on your own.

 

Elbie trying to climb over her filter

They do love to sun bathe so having a lamp and a ledge to stand on top of would be ideal for the little one to stick its legs out and bask in the rays.

2. She is so cute

I think that speaks for itself. She just can’t help it, and it doesn’t help that she loves the camera.

Elbie running away from Vivian

3. She is fun sized

She’s the perfect size to be able to carry around on road trips and let loose around the apartment. However, you have to make sure you don’t let your eyes off of them for two seconds because they run. That’s right, all those myths on turtles walking slow has been debunked (and is actually talking about tortoises).

 

Vivian holding Elbie

She’ll run really fast right when she suspects your eyes are off of her and take off to the nearest shadowed area (under the couch, under the refrigerator, under the tv stand, etc), which are some of the areas that she would be lost with no return. That’s why you have to be quick on your feet and be able to block their movements (we would block Elbie’s movements with our feet but now she’s so big that she’ll crawl over them!).

4. She is funny in general!

Yeah, this reason sounds kind of sad but it’s honestly so funny to talk to her and then see her react by swimming viciously towards you. I’m also convinced she’s sassier than any person I’ve ever met from the amount of side eye she gives and when she swims away from her momma when she’s trying to move things around in her tank (she knows she’s bad).

Elbie giving that side eye

College is the perfect time to really live out your independence and having a turtle as a pet is the best way to do it (or at least, a good way to start)!

 

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