I have three turtles now, two red-eared sliders, and a common musk turtle. All were rescues from crummy setups of childrens. They weren't being cared for properly by any means. I had a painted turtle I just released a month ago, as she's a native species. I had a baby common snapper five or so years ago. I took it home for the winter, and it grew from the size of a penny (carapace/upper shell) to the size of a cigarette pack by the following July. After doing an exhibit at "Kids Day", we all waved goodbye and released "Ed" back into the pond it came from. Hopefully he/she is doing well, but it was fun watching this critter grow so fast. I don't like keeping native species captive for any length of time though. The sliders, and musk turtle will have to fly south LOL!