Do turtles make good pets?

I own two turtles and they're naughty! If I released them out of the aquarium, they walked so fast that it's hard for me to catch both of them! if turtle is bad luck, I wonder why Chinese temples here have so many turtles in the pond..?

I've always had a turtle in my house, even growing up. I don't know if its just something my dad and I do together or if its actually a hobby I enjoy. I've noticed that they have personality and get "attached" to certain people. Its all subtle but noticeable behavior. My turtle likes to follow the cat. If the cat comes into the kitchen (thats where the turtles tank is) he follows her and watches her from his tank intently. Its the weirdest thing. If I walk up to the tank he doesn't hide, but if my husband, or mom walk up to the tank the turtle disappears.

I've owned a few turtles at different times and I really enjoyed them as a pet. My favorite thing about owning a turtle was being able to bring it into the pool with me. I didn't do it every day, and I had stuff in its tanks water that cleaned off the cholrine....but it was really fun for me when I got to take him into the pool with me. It's cool to watch them swim underwater and it's fun to swim next to them. If it helps you can pretend your in the ocean with a wild turtle ;P lol. But they are a lot of maintenance!!!!

I keep seeing turtles trying their best to escape from their owners and I doubt that they interact with people.

It wouldn't be my first pick, but I do know some people who have them. They would be good for an outdoor pet, but their aquariums get stinky pretty easily, so it can be a lot of work to take care of.

Certainly a turtle is not the same thing as having a dog or a cat. Maybe there isnt that type of relationship as if you own a puppy or a kitten, however i love turtles. I have one. I bought one, it was very very small. A year passed since I own it and it got very big. It lives in water not those of soil. We keep her in our kitchen. It is so cute. Everytime it sees me or mum she would want to climb out. She got used to us giving her to eat. As i said the relationship between a turtle and its owner maybe is minimum since its all the time in the water, like a fish but its a really nice animal.

I do not make turtle a pet not because it's a boring pet but because of chinese belief that it will make your finances slow down. Chinese followers also believes that fish will make your finance run smoothly. =)

I know of a few people who have had miniature turtles as pets in tanks like they would hermit crabs, or mice or gerbils or snakes or any other small thingy.LOL They are pretty easy to look after and it gives people something to be responsible for. So great for a older child to learn responsibility. I would love to get a small animal for my 8 year old son who really wants to have a pet but we do have a four year old "hunter" cat that would kill anything that came in this house. He has gotten mice, moles, birds, snakes, squirrels, ferrets, and every came home with a rabbit foot. So it is unlikely we could safely do it.

It all depends what you expect from a pet. If you are interested in learning about other life forms and willing to interact is a limited fashion then they can be very good pets, if you expect the interaction to be mutual then get a dog, cat, bird or even a rat. All reptiles live in the reptile world.