i know that too. if not properly treated the water can get disgusting. my wife's brother will not listen to anyone on how to care for his. i feel for that poor thing.
i think turtles are wonderful, and watching them hunt their prey can be fun, for me.
/thread hijack
For sure. Turtles are actually deceptively cool creatures. The common image is of some sort of really dumb, slow-moving critter but they're actually pretty cool - not like that at all. If you keep them as pets, you'll even see individual personalities and tastes start to emerge.
There was a study a while back on NA Wood turtles where scientists were trying to rate their intelligence, in some tests they scored as high as rats! That's not dumb at all for a reptile.
You wife's brother situation is exactly how I ended up with 12+ myself. People get them then realize that they're not at all a low-maintenance pet and they end up getting rid of them. Somehow I became the "turtle-rescue" guy... great, lucky me! :0

