He was a red-eared slider, ~10 years old. He lived with two other turtles in a comfortable concrete pond in the summer, and a decently sized indoor tank during the winter.
A few days ago, a friend brought her children to our house. The youngest, a 3 year old, took interest in the turtles and fish swimming around in the pond. For some reason or another, he decided to throw the the large rocks that line the walls of the pond’s enclosure into the water. The turtles was resting at the bottom when he was crushed by one of the rocks. Eventually, he drowned. We discovered him yesterday.
I hate it when stuff like this happens. It’s like a metaphor for life.
I’m so sorry, that’s awful. It’s hard when they go after you’ve had them for so long. The child was doing what kids do and was too young to know better, but the mother shouldn’t have allowed him to be doing that.
It would be common courtesy for her to get you a new turtle, or at least reimburse you for the cost.
I am really sorry this happened. We once had a red-eared slider for that long, his name was Clyde; he was sadly missed when he died.
It’s awful if the mom was actually watching when her child threw the rocks, and it’s a little scary if she just left him alone at the pond.
Regardless, I am sorry for your loss, ninetypercent.
I have a red-eared slider named Moby! No kids are going to be allowed near him, I can tell you that. I’m sorry about your loss - I do think it’s so cool that you had him in a real pool. He lived a good life - not as long as a turtle should obviously, but still quite long.
