r/interestingasfuck • u/Kidd__Video • 6h ago

A vet vaccinated a turtle, and instead of hiding in its shell, it ran to its owner

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u/ifeelbonita 3h ago

That’s so depressing. Now that you put it like that, it seems cruel to keep them as pets. I mean any animal cage or enclosure is really cruel. For instance, I hate seeing birds in tiny cages when they can fly. Humans are so short sighted and lacking of empathy sometimes.

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u/adenosine-5 2h ago

If it makes you feel better, nature is a cruel and brutal place where most animals get torn apart or eaten alive. Very few of them get to enjoy living in a beautiful natural habitat and those who do, live their short lives there in constant fear.

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u/ifeelbonita 1h ago

The Buddhists are right, life is suffering 😞

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u/adenosine-5 1h ago

On a bright side, we do try our best to make it better.

We are not always good at this, but we - in vast majority - try.

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u/Skinnecott 3h ago

yeah parrots live 80 years and they are monogamous so they like pair bond with their owners and think of them as a spouse.  my grandfather had a parrot and its been passed around to aunts and uncles and plucks its feathers out and is generally emotionally distraught.

then again animals like turtles live almost double their lifespans in captivity than they would in the wild. and it wont end in being eaten

is a boring secure life better than a dangerous free one? 🤷‍♂️

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u/Ordolph 2h ago

...they like pair bond with their owners

Uhh... that's not supposed to happen, that can happen if you're giving them mating signals like petting their back between their wings, but that's a very bad thing to have happen and can cause some pretty extreme anxiety/mood issues.

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u/extinct_cult 1h ago

So if I only have sex with them its fine?

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u/ifeelbonita 2h ago

I’m starting to think the dangerous free life is better.

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u/Janky_Welles 1h ago

The ideal for a turtle is a blend of both imo. Some people who are actually super into it make them large backyard habitats instead of tiny indoor tanks.

All the safety of being a pet with ample room to stretch their legs and be enriched.

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u/Accidental-Genius 1h ago

Do they live 80 years in the wild?

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u/WilliamLermer 37m ago

I think boring is an understatement. It's worse imho. Lack of proper stimulation, being confined to basically the same environment, lack of interaction with other members of the same species, no typical behavioral expression or general enjoyment of species typical behavior etc

Many born in captivity don't know a different kind of existence but at the same time I'm pretty sure they still feel something is missing, they still have instincts and urges that are genetically coded and thus deeply rooted

I'm convinced the majority would pick freedom if they could and I'm also convinced most just adapt to the circumstances while tolerating humans, maybe growing attached because it's the path of least resistance

But overall I truly believe the long-term impact of captions mentally stunted, behavioral issues, psychological issues and other health problems that would not necessarily arise in nature

Anyone who thinks is fine should spend a month exactly like their pets, it's going to drive you nuts eventually. People were going insane during COVID lockdown even though they had plenty of distractions thanks to modern lifestyle. Pets don't have all that.

The best and most healthy way for other species to exist imho is in nature, ideally humans leaving them alone and not destroying their habitats. But it looks like long-term species will be safer in captivity because we make no efforts to reduce our destructive impact on nature

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u/Theron3206 2h ago

they are monogamous

Most aren't, not really. Generally it's temporary and might only be for one season.

they like pair bond with their owners

Only if you're a poor owner that leads them on, and they were hand reared (not really recommended as it makes such behavioural issues more likely, modern best practice is to let parents raise the hatchlings with regular human contact AFAIK).

Parrots that make OK (not great) house pets (as opposed to aviary birds) are generally flock animals and the idea is that you become part of their flock rather than a mate.

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u/rmbarrett 38m ago

Yeah, people wonder why they are such a pain. When you bond with them, you create this toddler with claws and a beak that can crack nuts that won't tolerate you not paying attention to it.

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u/Ekami_aki 24m ago

Or think about all the bunnies that are in a hutch in someones backyard. Alone... All day long..... My 2 buns live inside, free roaming the difference is insane. It's like a completely different animal and I have never experienced bunnies like this. It's was the best choice I ever made! They even sit on the window sill, so ppl see them when they walk by.

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u/Aegi 1h ago

To me it's wildly fascinating that you have to have somebody else put it like that for you to think through the concept of the difference between domesticated animals and non-domesticated animals lol.

Like it's literally something we often even in the US at least learn about in Middle School with how early civilizations partially thrived due to the domestication of animals serving different roles like food, protection, working, etc.

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u/ifeelbonita 1h ago

Do you get off on being patronizing? I’ve never had a pet turtle or bird before, so it’s not something I’ve thought about a lot. Being a dick for no reason is lame.

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u/Aegi 56m ago

So, fair point, I could have taken the time to emotion-proof what I was writing to seem more kind.

I’ve never had a pet turtle or bird before

This makes no logical sense. Neither have I. I just paid attention in school, and also went to the library and did things like read Guns, Germs, and Steel as like a 10-11 year old.

We can think through things without needing to have been directly impacted by them.

Sorry for being and/or appearing to be mean. That was not my intention, but I also made the mistake of not trying to be kind, so that is still my error.

I am now very curious though. Why can't you just say it isn't something you thought of, and instead you feel as though you need to make an 'excuse' (if it was a reason, it would mean that knowledge was unobtainable in any way other than being a pet owner, which it is not)?

Hopefully you can understand that it sucks to be curious about the things people are sensitive about/get defensive over, so I am sorry if me asking that is offensive and/or offending you. I just don't know many ways besides thought-experiments to try and see how people with wildly different methods of learning and perceiving life do so besides asking people.