Pet Turtle Care : Caring For Your Turtles

Pet Turtle Care

Having a pet turtle can be a rewarding and interesting experience. Turtles can make great and unique pets and some are quite long lived, living up to 50 years in some cases. A key to being able to enjoy your pet turtle is knowing how to care for your turtle properly.

There are a lot of different turtle species in the world today, but there are only four species that are popular as pets. Those include the mud turtle, the sliders, the box turtles, and the painted turtles. These types of turtles seem to do a bit better living in captivity than other turtles, and are easier to contain, care for and feed due to their size.

Caring for a pet turtle is mostly about making the turtle's environment in its aquarium as close to the turtle's natural environment as possible. Aquariums are really the best way to house a turtle. The aquarium should be at least 20 gallons in size. The aquarium will need to be filled with sand and will need to have an area with water in it that the turtle can swim and hunt in.

Turtles like to be able to hide, so there should be some rocks, plants and sticks in the aquarium to provide some shelter. When putting plants in the aquarium, be sure to find out what sort of plants can be harmful to the particular type of turtle you are getting.

Turtles are omnivores, but they should not be fed random scraps or spicy human foods. Many pet turtle owners will feed their turtles a combination of vegetables and live fish. In fact, it is possible to feed a turtle mostly raw vegetables and have the turtle thrive. However, the best care for your turtle is a well balanced diet, and that includes more than just vegetables. Many pet stores now carry special turtle food sticks. While the food stick provides all the balanced nutrition that the turtle needs, feeding the turtle live fish periodically will give the turtle some exercise.

Turtles need to be kept between 70F and 85F, so make sure the room you are placing the turtle in has the adequate temperature control. Turtles are used to natural light with a combination of shade and sun. If your are placing your turtle's aquarium in direct sunlight, make sure the turtle has adequate water to drink and plenty of water to swim and submerge in as well as secluded shaded hiding places.

The effect of bright summer sunlight coming through the aquarium's glass can make the entire aquarium too hot for the turtle without shade and water. Many pet turtle owners place a sunlamp above the aquarium to regulate the temperature and light if the aquarium is in a room that does not receive much sunlight or in the winter months when it is difficult to keep the aquarium in the appropriate temperature range. Some owners will place a heating pad underneath the turtle's aquarium in the cold months to provide extra heat.

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Pet Turtle Care : The Best Way To Take Care of Your Pet Turtle

Pet Turtle Care

Turtles are one of the most popular creatures in the pet store. Many people, at some point or another, can remember owning pet turtles or knowing someone who owned pet turtles. If you are thinking of getting a pet turtle, then here is some of what you need to know to make sure that your turtle gets the best pet turtle care.

Pet turtles do best when they are kept outside. These are animals that like to hibernate during the winter months, and if they are kept inside, they won't hibernate because they won't be able to tell what time of year it is. If they fail to hibernate, they might develop liver problems. Another reason to keep pet turtles outside is that doing so enables you to create an entirely natural environment for them to live in. The more natural the environment the better pet turtle care you are giving.

If you do decide to keep your pet turtles indoors, make sure they have at least a forty gallon tank in which to move around. This is because there needs to be room for a dry land area as well as a water only area and enough room between the two for the turtle to travel comfortably. At least one third of the tank needs to be devoted to land. Some of this dry land should have direct access to rays offered by a UV light. The best way to do this is to place large and flat rocks under the lamp, to give the turtles an area on which to sun themselves. The tank needs to be kept at about eighty degrees during the day and at about seventy degrees at night.

Unfortunately, turtles are not pets that were meant to be played with. Pet turtles are more like fish and best watched through the walls of the tank. Turtles are cold blooded pets and it takes them a long time to adjust to changes in the temperature. Taking the turtle out of its nice warm tank causes quite a shock to the turtle's system, and could cause damage to the pet turtle's immune system. Proper pet turtle care dictates that your turtle's environment be as unchanging (with the exception of getting slightly colder in the winter) as possible.

If you do handle your pet turtles, make sure that you wash your hands afterwards because some turtles are carriers of salmonella. You also need to make sure to keep the turtle's environment as clean as possible. The water needs to stay as fresh as possible and all waste must be removed immediately. You might even want to invest in a water filtration system to make sure the water in the tank stays clean.

In order to give your pet turtles proper pet turtle care, make sure the turtles get twelve hours of sunlight. Get a UV lamp for your turtle tank with a timer and keep the tank a room that doesn't experience much change in its light.

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Pet Turtle Care: Caring for a pet turtle

Pet Turtle Care

Keeping a turtle as a pet has come a long way from the plastic palm tree set-ups of old. From the common box turtle to the less-common Ornate Wood Turtle to the extremely rare albino soft shell, there's a turtle for every lifestyle, budget, and personality. Turtles make fascinating, peaceful pets, but their penchant for longevity means you must be prepared to devote as many as thirty or forty years of care and attention to your new reptilian friend. If you're ready to share your heart and home with one of nature's most ancient and mysterious creatures, then read on for some great pet turtle care advice.

The type of care your turtle will require depends, for the most part, on the type of turtle you plan on getting. While you will certainly want to learn as much as you can about the specific breed of turtle you select, there are some basic rules that apply to pet turtle care, and these rules are different for the two main categories of turtles-water turtles and land turtles. To ensure your turtle's long life and happiness, you should strive to give him a comfortable, home-like environment. For water turtles (such as sliders, coots, and map turtles) this means providing at least 20 gallons of tank space complete with a small "island" for basking, a heat lamp for simulating sunlight, and a UVB light to help the turtle absorb maximum nutrients from his food. Water turtles are graceful, speedy swimmers, so the more swimming room they have, the better! Land turtles (such as box turtles) require plenty of room to roam with hollowed logs or flowerpots to hide in, natural vegetation, a basking area with a heat lamp, and a shallow dish of water for soaking. Many people choose to keep their land turtles outside in specially designed pens. This enables the turtles to not only enjoy the great outdoors, but to hibernate in the winter just as they would in the wild.

While the housing needs of water and land turtles differ dramatically, their diets are actually quite similar. As you learn to take care of a pet turtle, you'll discover that turtles, like most people, are omnivores. This means you'll probably be adding some groceries to your list! There are several varieties of pre-made "turtle chow" available at pet stores, but it's best to use those products sparingly and offer your turtle a wide range of foods. Most land and water turtles alike will happily devour crickets, earthworms, and snails. Water turtles love chasing feeder fish such as minnows and goldfish around their tank and many will also eat cooked chicken, shrimp, and tuna Never feed your turtle hamburger meat, as it's far too high in fat for your turtle to digest properly. Turtles also enjoy a nice salad or fruit plate from time to time. They're particularly fond of Romaine lettuces (never feed iceberg or spinach), dandelion greens, carrots, cantaloupe, strawberries, blackberries, tomatoes, and apples. Who knows! Having a turtle might just help you on your way to healthier eating habits (though we probably can't say the same for exercise).

While you may not feel like a pet turtle care expert right now, you'll hopefully have many happy years to become one! Caring for a pet turtle can be an experience that is both unique and rewarding in a pet-keeping culture dominated by dog and cat owners. While a turtle may not greet you at the door or curl up purring on your feet, it provides a lower maintenance option for busy people who don't have time for a dog or cat. At the end of a long, hard day, a turtle's gentle, peaceful, low-stress personality will surely be a calming influence and inspiring refuge in a speed-driven society. Take some time to relax, munch on a piece of fruit, and enjoy time well spent in the company of your new turtle!

About The Author: Barry S. Mcgee is a pet enthusiast. His site at: http://www.squidoo.com/petcareonline provides advice and information on all aspects of pet care for all types of pets including dogs, cats, ferrets and others and makes it easier for pet owners to choose the best solution for their companion's care.

For answers to all your pet care questions, please visit: http://www.squidoo.com/petcareonline

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