S.F. considers banning sale of pets except fish

[cindy25]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/08/MN9L1EAT90.DTL

[Natalie]

People buy the high-strung, nocturnal rodents because they're under the temporary impression that hamsters are cute and cuddly. But the new owners quickly learn that hamsters are, in fact, prone to biting, gnawing through expensive wiring and maniacally racing on their exercise wheels at 2 a.m.


That made me lol. Sometimes I want a hamster, but I have to talk myself out of getting one. About a year ago, I got a couple of those tiny turtles from a pet store in Florida. They were so cute! But they were terrible pets. They were miserable in their tank thing, and spent all day swimming up against the plastic side trying to get out. After a couple months, I set them free in a heavily turtle populated swamp area. I like to think they are happy and free there and did not starve to death or get eaten by some predator the first day.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2697/144/99/1215883576/n1215883576_30470040_626277.jpg

[RCA]

That made me lol. Sometimes I want a hamster, but I have to talk myself out of getting one. About a year ago, I got a couple of those tiny turtles from a pet store in Florida. They were so cute! But they were terrible pets. They were miserable in their tank thing, and spent all day swimming up against the plastic side trying to get out. After a couple months, I set them free in a heavily turtle populated swamp area. I like to think they are happy and free there and did not starve to death or get eaten by some predator the first day.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2697/144/99/1215883576/n1215883576_30470040_626277.jpg

Not the first day, but the second.

:D

[GunnyFreedom]

That made me lol. Sometimes I want a hamster, but I have to talk myself out of getting one. About a year ago, I got a couple of those tiny turtles from a pet store in Florida. They were so cute! But they were terrible pets. They were miserable in their tank thing, and spent all day swimming up against the plastic side trying to get out. After a couple months, I set them free in a heavily turtle populated swamp area. I like to think they are happy and free there and did not starve to death or get eaten by some predator the first day.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2697/144/99/1215883576/n1215883576_30470040_626277.jpg

being relatively familiar with turtles, they were probably just trying to swim through the "weird blue solid water" at the ends of their environ. a 3' by 2' aquarium about 50% full of water and 50% "dry" land with a sunning rock (placed somewhere where the sun hit it at least 3hrs out of the day) would have probably kept them happy as a peach.

[Anti Federalist]

being relatively familiar with turtles, they were probably just trying to swim through the "weird blue solid water" at the ends of their environ. a 3' by 2' aquarium about 50% full of water and 50% "dry" land with a sunning rock (placed somewhere where the sun hit it at least 3hrs out of the day) would have probably kept them happy as a peach.

Peaches are "happy"? ;) :D

YouTube - peaches (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvcohzJvviQ)

[Dr.3D]

being relatively familiar with turtles, they were probably just trying to swim through the "weird blue solid water" at the ends of their environ. a 3' by 2' aquarium about 50% full of water and 50% "dry" land with a sunning rock (placed somewhere where the sun hit it at least 3hrs out of the day) would have probably kept them happy as a peach.

For sure.

I've seen ignorant people keep them in a tank full of water till their shells pealed off.
They really like a nice terrarium where they can enter the water when they want to and sit on dry land the rest of the time. And you are so correct in that they really like to have a place to sit in the sun.

Go to any pond that has turtles and you will notice in the afternoon, on the sunny side of the pond, the turtles will climb up out of the water and sit in the sun for a few hours. I think it has to do with warming them up as well as drying out their shells.

[angelatc]

Yes, turtles make pretty good pets if you set them up with some water deep enough to swim in, and a couple of places where they can bask in the sun.

I had one for several years, but he died when he got stuck underwater. :( I had stacked up rocks for him to climb on - they'd been in that position for a couple of years, but apparently he grew just a tad too big to get back out of one of the nooks. I suppose that could have happened even in the wild, but I still feel bad about it.

RIP, Marsh.

[Zippyjuan]

In Colorado where I grew up there is no such thing as a dog owner or cat owner. You are a "pet guardians"- their laws were rewritten to reflect this.

[MelissaWV]

Peaches are "happy"? ;) :D


All the ones I have encountered were smiling :)

* * *

Turtles are... special. You can go out and try to find a bunch of them "sunning" but what you're most likely to see is this:

http://thumb11.shutterstock.com.edgesuite.net/display_pic_with_logo/93008/93008,1248776511,20/stock-photo-turtle-pile-34379866.jpg

[jmdrake]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/08/MN9L1EAT90.DTL

This is ridiculous.

[Dr.3D]

All the ones I have encountered were smiling :)

* * *

Turtles are... special. You can go out and try to find a bunch of them "sunning" but what you're most likely to see is this:

http://thumb11.shutterstock.com.edgesuite.net/display_pic_with_logo/93008/93008,1248776511,20/stock-photo-turtle-pile-34379866.jpg

Here ya go....


http://www.denniskingphoto.com/wildlife/turtles_sunbathing.jpg

[libertybrewcity]

turtles are awesome. san francisco is trying to stop the puppy mills and animal mills, but what they are really doing is getting people to go across the bay to get there pets. why are they so stupid?

[Dr.3D]

It's not like a fish is going to be much of a companion.

My dogs go just about everywhere I go and when I'm sitting here at the computer, at least one of them is right next to me on the floor.

Sometimes I think San Francisco is the pits. I was temporarily stationed on Treasure Island and crossed the bridge into San Francisco for a short time and I was told that I was in the land of fruits and nuts.

[Expatriate]

I like turtles.

[Anti Federalist]

Turtles are... special. You can go out and try to find a bunch of them "sunning" but what you're most likely to see is this:

http://thumb11.shutterstock.com.edgesuite.net/display_pic_with_logo/93008/93008,1248776511,20/stock-photo-turtle-pile-34379866.jpg

Turtle Secks?

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z105/pamalama1903/humpingturtle.jpg

[MelissaWV]

Some of them are sunning. Some of them are being violated.

[Anti Federalist]

Some of them are sunning. Some of them are being violated.

Violated?

How do you know it wasn't consensual?

;)

[Danke]

YouTube - Fish Licence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmyHup4TpkU)

[Anti Federalist]

Oh crap, now you've done it. ^^^

YouTube - The Parrot Sketch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npjOSLCR2hE)

[Anti Federalist]

YouTube - Monty Python, The Fish Slapping Dance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhJQp-q1Y1s)

[Andrew-Austin]

PETA nazis must be behind this.

Total animal liberation! Make the sale of pets illegal so a black market that pops up which treats animals much worse appears!

[cindy25]

this was the issue on The Cafferty File/Situation Room; and most of the sheeple agreed with this nonsense

[james1906]

YouTube - Zombie Kid Likes Turtles (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMNry4PE93Y)

First off, not one posting of this?

Second, I volunteer for a dog rescue and can understand this law, until I read that only 1 or 2 places in SF sell dogs and cats. I have never heard of an unwanted hamster epidemic. Hamsters are too easy to take care of that you forget you have one sometimes. I don't know what this says about the integrity of the people of SF when a hamster is too much to manage.

Third, does Gavin Newsom own an aquarium supply store?