Top Ten Things to Consider When Keeping Turtles for Pets:

1. Turtles are easier and cheaper to care for than dogs or cats, but also more interactive than fish.

2. Turtles are not difficult to care for if you know how to. Fortunately there are guides available to teach you how to properly care for a turtle. You’ll need to get one.

3. Turtles require enough space to swim and/or live in. Aquatic turtles need to have a large area to swim in. Terrestrial turtles don’t need as big an area, but many owners like to keep them outdoors in a pen or enclosed area. Mini-turtles are becoming more popular and they require the least space of all. You’ll have to make sure that you have the housing space before you consider turtles for pets.

4. Turtles need UVB light. Turtles get vitamins A and D3 from UVB light, and so they will require either sunlight or a UVB bulb as their primary lighting. Lack of proper light leads to horrible shell deformations, infections, and softness.

5. Turtles need a basking lamp. This is important, but easy to provide. A simple incandescent light bulb is good enough as the turtle will use this light for regulating body temperature. The light should be placed above a dry land basking area.

6. Turtles need a varied diet. Reptile pellets, vegetables, and live foods will make up your turtle’s diet. It’s very important that you learn about your turtle’s dietary needs. This information should be available in a good guide book on turtle care.

7. Filtration is important. Your turtle tank needs to have adequate filtration. This almost definitely means buying a good filter from the pet store. If you have previous DIY experience building filters for fish tanks, then you will need to make a filter that is double the strength for the same size of tank if it had only fish in it.

8. Water changes need to be done weekly. The key to this point is working out a good system. If you siphon the water into a bucket, and then pump it from the bucket to the sink or outside, you’ll find that changing the water only takes 15-20 minutes once a week.

9. Some turtles hibernate in the winter. There are many different types of turtles for pets available. Some turtles like the very popular Red Eared Slider will not need to hibernate (although they do in the wild). Most terrestrial turtles will need to hibernate however. Again a good guide book will provide all the information needed for properly hibernating a pet turtle.

10. Turtles live for a long time! Turtles typically live for 20-50 years!

Keeping turtles for pets is a great idea for those who have considered the above points. Caring for turtles is not difficult, but it is absolutely imperative that you get the information you need. Invest the time and money to learn how to be a great turtle keeper.

Unfortunately many pet turtles die in captivity because owners have not learned the simple fundamentals of turtle care. Keeping turtles is not difficult if owners know the basic requirements of turtle health and happiness.

As an experienced aquarium enthusiast, Kevin Bauer strongly recommends the Turtle Guide Book as the complete resource for choosing, housing, feeding, breeding, and training pet turtles.

Click here for more tips on keeping turtles as pets.

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