Tenant with pet turtle

[KLD313]

I knew he had the turtle and it doesn't bother me at all. When I first saw it it was in an enclosure. I was just down there now letting a repairman in and it's under the couch. It runs totally free. Is it just me or is this gross? This thing is peeing all over my rug.

[crl]

That is gross. Sounds like a new rug will be coming out of that tenant's security deposit.

Catherine

[brittone2]

Some of them carry salmonella too. It might only be the tiny ones that do, but I'm not sure.

Anyway, totally inappropriate for him to have it roaming around.

eta: scroll down a bit here and it talks about how they can contaminate carpet with salmonella. Did you take pics to document? I would, because it can't hurt to have the documentation if you need it. http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm048151.htm

[vonfirmath]

What does your contract say?
How would you handle it if it was another pet?

[MamaMolly]

It can run free in the bath tub and pee to its little heart's content. Remember to put your request in writing and keep a copy for future reference/ security deposit time.

[KLD313]

Yeah, I thought it was pretty gross with possible contamintion issues too. It's odd that he would do that because he's such a neat freak. He cleans constantly, runs an air purifier all the time, vacuums way more than I do. He's a family friend of my BF's brother and we don't really have any formal agreement. Anytime I've had an issue with him before he's remedied the situation so I don't think I'll have a problem with him about this. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't overeacting in my 9 month pregnant state.

[Snow mom]

I just wanted to make sure I wasn't overeacting in my 9 month pregnant state.

If there's a pet turtle and you or a small child touch it or anything it may have been on I'd be cautious and wash hands very well. Turtles definitely can carry salmonella and I would worry about that while pregnant. I'm not usually too paranoid about salmonella but in this case I would be. In general I doubt that the turtle is just using the whole apartment as a toilet. It's probably trained to go in a specific place but I've never had a pet turtle to be sure this is how it works.

[indigo99]

I lived with an iguana that ran free once. It didn't "potty" often, but it did #1 and #2 together when it did, and it was a mess. I don't imagine you really can train a turtle to go in specific places either. Is there carpet? It can ruin carpeting and the pad and possibly even the subfloor underneath. With wood or vinyl, it can probably scratch it up fairly well.

[KLD313]

I lived with an iguana that ran free once. It didn't "potty" often, but it did #1 and #2 together when it did, and it was a mess. I don't imagine you really can train a turtle to go in specific places either. Is there carpet? It can ruin carpeting and the pad and possibly even the subfloor underneath. With wood or vinyl, it can probably scratch it up fairly well.

I don't think you can train a turtle either. Yes, it's carpet, Berber carpet. I went downstairs and talked to him last night. He said at night he puts it in a container and showed it to me. It was like 8x10 in size and had nothing in it. I suggested he put two boards around the mat he has in the corner where the turtle is supposed to stay so it's confined and he said he would. I told him it's gross that it is running around peeing on my carpet and he agreed.