Pet Turtle Care : Food to Give Red Eared Slider Turtles

Pet Turtle Care

When it comes to feeding your red eared slider turtle you have to make sure that you are giving them the right amount of vegetation and animal protein. Make sure that you are feeding them a balance between the two so that they are getting the right amount of nutrients and vitamins.

As babies they need to eat large amount of animal protein because they have a very large carnivorous side to them. However, it is still a good thing to feed them a few vegetable materials.

Don't be surprised though if they don't eat much of the vegetation till they are older. When they become adults you can pull back on the animal materials and feed them mostly vegetation.

You can offer red eared slider pellet food. They have a bit a mixture of the right amount of vitamins and minerals. They are sometimes more convenient for pet owners. But this should not be the only thing that you feed them. It is great if you mix their food up a bit to keep them from getting bored and to make sure that they are getting all of the nutrients that they need to be healthy.

Food To Feed Red Eared Sliders

When it comes to feeding them you can give them earthworms, live feeder fish (this includes goldfish, guppies, minnows), waxworms, crickets, aquatic snails, daphnia, earthworms, silkworms, mealworms, and blood worms. These should only be given to small turtles. Adult red eared slider should eat larger animal items.

When feeding turtles vegetation stick with collard, kale, bok choy, mustard, dandelions greens, and dark green leaf lettuce. Never feed them iceberg lettuce because it does not have much nutrition.

If your turtle lives in a pond or aquarium you can always add aquatic plants to feed them. They love to snack on submerged plants like frog-bit, water hyacinth, water lettuce, azolla, anacharis, and duckweed.

Turtle Pet Care is a great site to teach people what it takes to take care of a pet turtle. You need to know how they should live, what kind to get, and of course how to make sure that they stay healthy.

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Pet Turtle Care : Looking After Aquatic Turtles

Pet Turtle Care

If you are interested in keeping a pet turtle in your home, there are a lot of different types to choose from, including those who can live in dry habitats and those that require wet habitats. Whichever kind of pet turtle you choose, you should know what caring for it involves and what it takes to look after turtles at home.

One of the first and most important things that you should consider when looking for a pet turtle is whether you want an aquatic turtle or a turtle that lives in a dry habitat. If you choose an aquatic turtle, also known as a water turtle, you need to be sure that you have the right kind of equipment in your home to properly provide for its care.

Aquatic turtles generally have shells that are softer and lighter in color than those of land based turtles. This helps them to stay in the water without sinking and to swim faster and with more agility than larger turtles or land based turtles. They have different colorings and markings on their shells, showing the kind of turtle they are and where they come from.

Semi-aquatic turtles make excellent pets to have in your home. You need to make sure, however, that you provide a suitable environment for them which includes both an area to swim around in and a basking ground with plenty of sunshine (or a UV lamp). The temperature of the environment needs to be carefully regulated. The water should be kept cooler than the rest of the habitat.

You should also keep in mind that aquatic turtles, like most other types of turtles kept as pets, do have a long life expectancy; some breeds live for many decades while some can even go up to a hundred years!

They are prone to various diseases so make sure to carefully note any changes in their behavior. Give special attention to the condition of their shell, as this is usually an indicator if something is wrong with your turtle. They need plenty of fresh vegetables to eat and a shallow bowl of fresh drinking water available to them at all times. Aquatic turtles can indeed make wonderful pets.

Do you need more information about caring for water turtles?please visit: Aquatic Turtles

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Pet Turtle Care : Top Tips on Choosing the Right Turtle Tanks

Pet Turtle Care

When you decide to keep a turtle as a pet, you have to invest in turtle tanks to put the turtles in. Turtles are low maintenance creatures and once they have settled down in their tanks, they really require nothing much except clean, fresh, bacteria-free water that is aerated.

In terms of maintenance, they are as demanding as fishes - meaning, they are not demanding at all. Give your turtle its freedom in the turtle tanks and it will be more than happy, paddling by itself and sometimes looking out for its owner or following simple commands.

Turtles are extremely hassle-free pets.

Necessity of turtle tanks

Even before you buy your favorite species of turtle, you need to decide on the tank as a turtle requires a proper natural habitat to survive.

A spacious roomy turtle tank with clean, fresh, bacteria-free, aerated water is necessary to prevent the development of skin and shell disease and ear abscess which are results of poor hygiene. It may even turn fatal. You should also never overcrowd the tank with more turtles than it can fit.

Set up a turtle tank outside the home, close to nature, in a corner of your yard where the turtle will feel happiest. Your yard should be a safe place, short of predators or environmental concerns.

Don't keep your turtle tank out in the yard if you spray pesticides on your plants. It will be harmful for your turtle.

Living outside in the open, in harmony with nature will ensure that a turtle knows when it's time to go into hibernation. A proper hibernation ensures a healthy liver. If you keep the turtle inside your home, it won't be able to determine the right time to hibernate and may fall prey to liver damage.

Size of turtle tanks

40-gallon turtle tanks should be the minimum size. You may want to go for a bigger tank (as needed), but it should certainly not be smaller than this as turtles require roomy habitats.

Features of turtle tanks

Must haves in a turtle tanks are:

• A dry land area

• A bit of marshy region

• Water area

Most turtles that are kept as pets are amphibians that paddle about in the water and love to bask in the sun on a dry piece of land. They should be able to submerge themselves completely in the water and at the same time stick their heads out of their shells comfortably. Water depth can't be more than 2 feet. Appetite-whetting plants should be planted in the marsh.

For tips on box turtle care and turtle breeding, visit the Turtle Facts website.

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