What to do if you don’t have time to care for your turtles? Relying on family has too many pitfalls

In the world of turtle keeping, we "turtle enthusiasts" often face some frustrating moments. Business trips, working overtime, or other chores always prevent us from being by the side of our "beloved turtles" at all times. Summer requires water changes and feeding, and if heating is needed in winter, one needs to watch the heating equipment, water levels, etc.; especially with electrical appliances, safety requires even more attention.

At this time, a reliable helper appears particularly important. Many "turtle enthusiasts" first think of their spouses, hoping they can take care of these "little spirits in the water" on their behalf when they are busy.

The challenges of seeking a partner’s assistance

However, asking a loved one to help raise turtles is not always smooth sailing. In most cases, if a wife asks a husband to help raise turtles, it might just be a simple task, and the husband usually won’t make excuses. But conversely, if a husband wants his wife to help, he might encounter some minor episodes.

First, you need to persuade her to willingly take over this heavy responsibility. If she has no interest in this, then you can only find another way. Because many "turtle enthusiasts" took "quite a bit of effort" just to convince their family to let them keep turtles, let alone foster care; this is extremely "headache-inducing." One can only choose to keep fewer turtles; with a larger environment, the buffering capacity is naturally stronger, so it’s fine even if they aren’t cared for for a few days. In winter, it is better not to heat them at all.

The value of turtles and "white lies"

But fortunately, some "turtle enthusiasts’" wives are willing to share this responsibility for their loved ones. However, they are often curious about the value of these turtles. At this point, you face a choice: tell the truth or a white lie? If you tell the truth, for example, that this turtle is worth 1,000 yuan, then you will likely receive "an earful of complaints" and be restricted from buying turtles and other high consumption.

Therefore, most men will choose to "hide it if they can," telling their wives that this turtle is only worth 20 yuan; it was a prize from a lucky draw; picked up as a "bargain," etc.

Consequences of revealing the true value

However, even hiding the price is not a long-term solution. When the wife starts taking over raising the turtles, she will sooner or later discover the true value of the turtles. As she raises them, she will "care to some extent" and naturally learn about some industry trends. Unless she only raises them and doesn’t ask about anything else; this depends on your partner’s personality.

Once she finds out, she will have a mindset of profit and loss. If the turtle unfortunately passes away, she will think you wasted money, your "private stash" might face a crisis, and it will be hard to buy turtles again. And if the turtle market is good and you make money, she might think this is her credit, that her hard work saved the turtle’s life so it could be worth this price.

Even worse, if the turtle price drops, she will think you are a "spendthrift", asking why you bought at a high point, and that it would be better to just go to work for peace of mind.

Raising turtles: Personal responsibility and accountability

Therefore, as turtle keepers, we had better learn to shoulder this responsibility ourselves. "A man’s turtle, a man shoulders."

Although sometimes we feel helpless and exhausted, when we see our "beloved turtles" swimming freely in the water, all the hard work vanishes. After all, keeping turtles is not just a hobby, but also a responsibility and duty. Actually, turtles are already a species that doesn’t need much care. If we are really too busy, or there are occasional periods of absence, this is a problem of our energy and time.

Don’t buy too many turtles, don’t raise a number beyond your ability; everything will be fine, even if you are not with the turtles for a period of time, it doesn’t matter. They can still be fine, so why rely on others? The key is that you are still worried and often "fussing," which leads to more follow-up problems. What do you think?