Turtle Care Buying Guide

If you're looking to make an addition to the family but don't have room for a dog or cat, there are still plenty of unique pet options that will provide hours of entertainment  for children and adults alike.  A pet turtle  is one such option, as they are both fascinating to watch and very simple to care for.  If you pay close attention to their diet and habitat,  your turtle can live for several decades.

Turtle Tanks and Pens

There are several factors to consider when setting up a living space for your turtle.  Whether indoors or outdoors, your turtle should enjoy:

• Healthy amounts of shade and moisture.
• Clean water to drink.
• A basking lamp  that provides both light and heat.

Turtle pens are a great way to recreate a turtle's natural habitat, and are often set up outside.  Allowing your turtle fresh air will keep its natural life cycles in check, including hibernation.  People also often use refrigerators to create the most ideal conditions for turtle hibernation, but this can be dangerous if there is a power failure and subsequent temperature fluctuation.  If you're going to keep your turtle indoors most of the time, it's best not to let it drift into hibernation at all.

When you keep a turtle strictly indoors, it is important to consider the following:

• Tank  capacity must be at least 40 gallons because there should be enough room to put a land area and a water area.
• The ideal temperature for your turtle's habitat depends greatly on the breed (aquatic versus terrestrial). In general, 80º F during the day and 70º F at night are suitable temperatures. Try not to take the turtle out of its tank because sudden changes in temperature can affect their cold blooded immune systems.
• Feed your turtle natural spring water free of pH disturbing chlorine and fluoride.
• Water for the swimming area should also be de-chlorinated. You can do this yourself by letting it sit for 24 hours before placing it in the tank.
• Avoid using wood chips to line the tank, as they are harmful when ingested and may breed mould and fungus.
• Try to reproduce natural sunlight with a UV lamp.  Turtles require around 12 hours of sunlight each day.
• Give your turtle a small shelter for hiding.
• Keep the tank free of waste to avoid bacteria growth.

Other Tips

• Practice good hygiene. After handling your pet turtle, it's important to wash your hands to avoid salmonella and other bacteria.
• Keep out of reach of children. Small kids and other house pets should be unable to reach your pet turtle, so consider this when deciding where to place its home.
• Keep budget in mind. Just like caring for any other pet, there can be many costs involved including the cost of food,  vitamins  and habitat maintenance. Also, because a turtle is considered an exotic pet, veterinarian bills can be quite expensive if sickness arises.

Related Guides

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External Links

• PetTurtle.com: The basics on how to care for your first pet turtle.
• Turtle-Care.com: Useful information on caring for traditional turtles, baby turtles and even turtle colds.