You could hear the squawking parakeets the minute your entered Woolworth's store. The hamsters and white mice running on their wheels, the large tanks full of goldfish and guppies.
The small green turtles, young "Red-Eared Sliders" with pretty markings, didn't often live very long, no matter how careful you were caring for them... which I’m afraid was the fate of most of the turtles that kids carried home from Woolworth’s.


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Live Turtle Box. |
While Woolworth’s pet departments survived until the entire chain closed in 1997, little green turtles ceased being part of the stock in 1975, when the Food and Drug Administration banned pet stores from selling turtles smaller than four inches in length because children picked up salmonella from playing with their pets and failing to wash their hands.
Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
My best friend and I weeded a garden and her mom paid us when we were about six. We had enough to buy a hot fudge sundae each at the counter and pooled the remainder to buy a turtle which we would share. One week at her house, one at mine. Mom made me keep it in the garage and whoops. He died. Poor guy.
ReplyDeleteNever had a pet turtle. I did have a baby chick at Easter. Don't know what happened to it as I was very young. I hope this practice has been banned. Many people don't know how to properly care for these young animals.
ReplyDeleteThat was a fun little stroll to downtown nostalgia.
ReplyDeleteI had several of these turtles when I was a kid. Their shell got soft and they usually died within a week.
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