Pet Turtle Care: How to Keep Your Outdoor Turtle Healthy and Safe

Outdoor Care

Moving a turtle from indoors to outdoors constantly can have a negative effect on your pet. When you choose to make your pet turtle an outdoor turtle you need to commit to it wholeheartedly. A sudden change in temperature as little as ten degrees can shock your pet turtle's system and make them ill. Turtle are very sensitive to sudden changes in their environment and constantly changing their temperature can make them unhealthy and sick.

Housing Outdoor Turtles

You'll be able to gauge an appropriate height based on your turtle's size. Even though turtles can be picky eaters, they can also gnaw on and eat things like wood or other organic materials. Your pen also needs to have a water source in the summertime, preferably enough for the turtle to submerse itself completely. It also needs shade and material for your turtle to burrow.
Hibernation

Most turtles hibernate in the wild in the wintertime. This is a natural and healthy process that has helped turtles evolve and survive for literally hundreds of millions of years. If you have a terrestrial turtle, make sure there is enough ground for them to burrow into. Although some people want to bring the turtle inside in the wintertime, it will survive and thrive if it is in its natural environment if it is healthy.

Pet Turtle Care: Where You Can Diving with Turtle

Green Turtles, Hawksbills, Olive Ridleys and Leatherbacks can be found when diving in the Indo-Pacific region. Other types of turtle are indigenous to specific areas for example the Black Turtle in the Americas and the Flatback in Australian waters.

Luckily for scuba divers, all but the Leatherback are found predominantly in coastal areas. Leatherbacks are highly oceanic and venture into shallower water only for breeding purposes.

Very few other creatures are as symbolic to marine conservation efforts as the sea turtle. The sad fact about turtles is that they are literally in the soup...

Loss of breeding grounds due to beach development is a particular concern given that some beaches which once witnessed thousands of turtles coming ashore to lay their eggs now see but a few. Human development, bright lights, rubbish and activity can all discourage females from nesting.

Discarded flotsam, such as plastic bags, are often mistaken by turtles as jellyfish with deadly consequences. Shrimp nets and other fishing apparatus also account for great numbers of turtles who become entangled and just like we would, run out of air and drown.

Turtle meat and soup is still widely available in many parts of the world, including Bali; and turtle eggs are considered an aphrodisiac in certain cultures. However deaths at the hands of humans are not always accidental. The shells are also highly prized for decorative purposes or to be transformed into items such mundane, functional items as combs and spectacles.

So what protective measures can be taken?

The "Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species" (CITES) controls international trade in endangered and threatened species. Sea turtles are covered under Appendix I of this agreement and receive protection from international trade by all countries that have signed the treaty.

On a local scale the dive resorts on Sipadan Island, for example, have been closed to tourists since January 2005 allowing an island which was previously full of nesting turtles to be given the chance to return to its former status. Scuba divers can however visit Sipadan Island by purchasing day permits. Many also adhere to strict rules regarding external lights at night and guests behaviour in relation to nesting.

Despite these measures, turtle populations are dwindling...

World-wide population numbers for sea turtle species do not exist and all figures you will find are based on estimates of the number of nesting females based on nesting beach monitoring reports and publications at varying times. As such it is difficult to state meaningful worldwide numbers.

However what is clear is that local population numbers all record declining populations across every species and the forecast for the future of the turtles on current rates of killing is bleak.

Do you want to know where you can dive with turtles?

Probably the best place is off Malaysia's coast of Sarah where dive spots such as Sipadan offer great turtle diving opportunities.

My recommendations for the best spots for you to dive with turtles are Sipadan Island, the Maldives, Komodo and the Similan Islands.

The island of Sipadan (and many others around Sabah's eastern coast) is a nesting site for turtles. Scuba divers who slip into the surrounding waters are often excited by their first sighting of a turtle. Resting in ledges and on corals, rising to the surface to breathe, the turtles are everywhere!. The excitement can soon turn to amazement as at some dives spotting 20 to 30 different turtles is not uncommon.

In Thailand, you can see turtles most frequently around the Similan Islands at sites such as Donald Duck Bay, but you may be lucky enough to spot them at just about any of the destinations, throughout the country.

The turtle is also among the sights you can expect when diving in Komodo, in Indonesia although you may find yourself distracted with all the other fantastic marine life here.

Pet Turtle Care: Eighty-Six Percent of Sea Turtles Are on the Brink of Extinction

Pet Turtle Care

According to foreign media reports, in the existing seven kinds of sea turtles, there are six kinds of species on the brink of extinction, which accounted for 86%. Also, there is a trend of further reduction in the number. Scientists have called for a stronger protection of sea turtles as soon as possible.

Sea turtles are the reptiles living in the ocean. There are seven kinds, including hawksbill, the leatherback turtle, green turtle, red turtle, olive ridley, flat back turtles and Kemp's turtles. But over the past century, the other six kinds except flat back turtles, the number had reduced quickly, even to be extinction.

So, what makes the turtles in the brink of extinction? Some professionals said that, there are a lot of factors threatening their survival. For example, human's over fishing, a large of natural enemies damaged the turtle eggs, light pollution effected the directional ability on nesting female sea turtles when they laid their eggs and the coral reefs and other habitat destruction. In addition, the turtle's long life and slow sexual maturation are also the very important factors.

For example, the red turtle takes 12 to 30 years to reach sexual maturity, hawksbill turtles take 30 years, while green turtles require 20-50 years. Such a long time of sexual maturity makes them easily affected by various factors, also the recovery process is very long after plummeted.

Sea turtle is of great significance to human and biosphere. It is not only an important species to maintain the marine ecological balance, but also helpful in monitoring changes in the environment. While we must solve all the factors that made turtles are in the brink of extinction if we want to protect them.

In order to better protect them around the world, some countries invested a large number of money to protect them, mainly for restoration and maintenance of their habitats. These funds can be alleviated some turtles in a certain degree, but the most important thing is to make people fully understand the status of sea turtles and enhance the protection awareness, and also actively refuse a variety of sea turtle products.

Only all the forces together can really play a role in the protection. To protect the turtles is a long-term task, like a relay race. Although in the whole life of a protector, there might be small results. However, in the long run, some protectors make all the forces together through national governments, ecological conservation organizations and fisheries organizations. In this way, the endangered sea turtles will get out of the situation and will be able to once again become prominent. In fact, this is also the human beings to protect themselves.

Pet Turtle Care: Signs and Symptoms of a Box Turtle Eye Infection

Pet Turtle Care

Box turtles are great pets with real character but they are not the easiest turtles to care for in comparison to other turtles who are much easier to look after. Although I must say all turtles need a certain level of maintenance. When taking on the responsibility of caring for a turtle you will inevitably come up against some health issues, one of them might be a turtle eye infection.

If you think your turtle has an eye infection the first thing you should do is look for any other accommodating problems such as your turtle having a runny nose, breathing with their mouth open and wheezing or gasping while taking in breathes of air. If you have spotted any or all of these symptoms then it's very likely that your box turtle has a respiratory infection and will need to see the vet as soon as possible.

If your box turtle has swollen eyes they may be having an allergic reaction to the substrate that you are using in their enclosure. Some turtles are allergic to earthly substrates and will have swelling around the eyes as a result of their allergy towards this sort of bedding. If your using earth or soil based bedding then try replacing the bedding with another and monitoring your turtle for a week or so to see if the swelling goes down. If the swelling continues then you will know that it was not an allergic reaction and your turtles eye problem may have something to do with a lack of vitamin A in their diet.

Vitamin A deficiency can be a cause of swelling in the eyes of box turtles and a way you can treat this is to make sure you are introducing foods that are high in vitamin A as a part of your turtles diet every time you feed them. Foods such as Collard greens, carrots, kale and parsley all contain a good amount of vitamin A and can be added to each meal to help fight against this problem.

Of course if the problem continues then you have no choice but to take your turtle to the vet as soon as possible and it may be a case where in order to cure your box turtle's eye infection the vet will need to give vitamin injections to your box turtle to help them get back to perfect health.

Pet Turtle Care: A Step by Step Instructional Guide

Pet Turtle Care

Owning terrapin turtles as pets can be a very rewarding hobby, but the average owners know next to nothing about them or how to look after them.

They are an excellent choice for a pet because they are generally low maintenance, relaxing creatures, and are ideal for families with young children, because they can be kept in a set area of your home, but be aware they do have a long life span and will require a life long commitment by the potential owner.

If the terrapin turtle is for a child you must take into consideration that they require a consistent maintenance regime and any child must be willing and able to commit to this responsibility.

They take less care than the usual pets such as cats and dogs, but they do have very specific requirements that you must be aware of before you buy to ensure your pet stays healthy and happy.

What is the difference between Terrapins and Turtles?

In the United Kingdom and some of it's territories they are known as terrapins which is given to any kind of small turtle like creature that can be kept as a pet, where a turtle is generally the larger species that lives in the sea and cannot be kept as a pet.

In all other countries they are known generally as Terrapin Turtles or Turtles.

Different Variations of Terrapin Turtles

There are four kinds of terrapin turtles: Terrapins, Turtles, Tortoises and Sea Turtles.

Because terrapin turtles can move and live on both land and water, many people are unsure whether they are reptiles or amphibians

They are actually from the reptile family and belong to a group of reptiles known as the 'Chelonia.group'

The ones that only live in water are known as aquatic and consist of sea turtles and fresh water terrapins. Sea turtles live in the world's oceans and can grow in excess of 6 feet and cannot be kept as pets.

Then you have the semi-aquatic terrapin turtles that live in both land and water.

The terrapin turtles that live only on land are called terrestrial and are known as box turtles in the US and tortoises everywhere else. It is important to remember that box turtles or tortoises cannot swim and will drown if put in deep water.

Other differences in terrapin turtles are in their shell structure, size and their limbs. Sea turtles are the largest of this species and have the hardest shells in the reptile world. Fresh water terrapins on the other hand are much smaller and have softer shells.

How Big will they get when fully grown?

Before you decide what terrapin turtle to get you must also find out how big it will get when fully grown. They can be as small as 6 inches or as large as two feet!

They need different types of habitat!

Creating the right environment for terrapin turtles really depends on a number of factors which needs to be researched well.

Find out how big the breed will get when fully grown, remember they all start out small. You really don't want the expense of buying a new habitat when they grow.

How many will you keep together? The more you have the larger the habitat will have to be.

You then need to decide if you will keep them indoors or outdoors and obtain the correct container to suite. This can vary from pond liners for outdoors to glass or plastic containers when kept indoors.

Whether kept indoors or outdoors the habitat that terrapin turtles live in has to be both wet and dry.

A very important factor that you must be aware of is that the temperature must be conducive for that species to ensure its well-being.

Pet Turtle Care: A Fun and Low Maintenance Buddy

Turtle As a Pet - A Fun and Low Maintenance Buddy

A lot of people have preferred a turtle as a pet. You will see different = varieties and types raised now - from the familiar box to rare turtles such as the albino and soft shelled variety. For different personalities, there is certainly a suitable pet turtle. Turtles can make interesting pets though their long life means that raisers should be ready to take care of them for long.

You can search out a turtle as a pet and then just start to be familiar about practical pet care when you start to care for it already. Basically, the needs of pet depend on the kind of turtle you chose to raise. Of course, you wish to know about the specific variety of turtle that you chose, however there a few tips to know when raising them. Also, it is desirable to know about turtles and turtle species before getting to raise as your pet.

Though they are low maintenance, a turtle as a pet could involve care tips regarding water ones and land ones. To assure your pet's long life, provide a comfy environment for it. Water turtles like map ones and slider ones need to be endowed with at least 20 gallons tank together with an area for basking, UVB light for them to absorb food nutrients and a handy heat lamp to substitute for sunlight.

Sea turtle as a pet swims fast and gracefully, thus it is a must to provide them ample swimming space. Meanwhile, land turtles, such as box turtles, necessitate more space to roam. Plus, provide them with flowerpots and hollow logs for them to hide in, a sunning spot and heat lamp, a water bowl for soaking and some vegetation. Especially-made pens can make pet turtles get pleasure from the outdoors and to lie dormant through chilly weathers.

The care tips mentioned earlier help raise a turtle as a pet and turn a room into an inhabitable space. Turtles are omnivorous. Feed them with pre-prepared turtle foods moderately. You can also feed them other foods fit for their diet. Most sea and land turtles consume snails, earthworms and crickets.

Marine turtles adore goldfishes and minnows. They can also eat prepared tuna, shrimp or chicken. It is really enjoyable to have a turtle as a pet, mainly because they are not choosy with food. So, if you do not have that much time to really take care of an animal as pet, the turtle is one pet that you can get.

Pet Turtle Care: Are Pet Store Turtles a Ripoff

Are Pet Store Turtles a Ripoff

Serious turtle enthusiasts insist that you should never buy a pet store turtle. Then they will proceed to tell you horror stories of pet store turtles that died within months of purchase and looked sickly since day one. These people would recommend that you only consider a pet turtle from a breeder or a turtle farm.

Some of these claims of less than perfect pet stores are absolutely true, but that does not mean you have to go to a breeder to find a good pet. You can find a great pet turtle anywhere as long as you know what you are looking for.

Pet stores are no different than breeders, some are good and some are not so good. Theoretically a breeder would have the very best specimen of turtle with the best health and life expectancy.

Unfortunately, this is only true if it is a good breeder you are dealing with. If the breeder puts in the effort and does what is necessary this would be true. Unfortunately the title breeder alone does not ensure quality pets.

When looking at turtles in the pet store you should go over a small check list of things to look out for. You want a healthy turtle with a strong chance at a long life. Before you decide to purchase a turtle you should insist on looking at every part of its body.

Ask someone to get it for you! Do not reach in and grab it yourself. They hate it when you try to reach in tanks and cages. This is simply to protect the animals.

Inspect the Body

Check all over the turtles shell for cracks or week spots. Little dents can be fine, but cracks or soft spots indicate a calcium deficiency or possible mistreatment. The turtles shell is a huge part of its health. As it starts cracking away the turtle can get serious infections. To prevent the shell from weakening pet turtles are given calcium supplements.

Look at the skin and face of the turtle. The skin should have color and not be drab, or covered with a faint white film. The eyes should have no crust or dryness and there should not be any kind of discharge, or slimy stuff coming out of the nostrils or eyes. These can either be symptoms of a captured wild turtle that is over stressed or just illness in general.

Check for Stress

A common problem that gives pet store turtles a bad rap is that some purchase turtles that were captured from the wild. Its recommended that you never keep a wild turtle. Often times the stress of capture is so great that it causes illness and eventually an untimely death. It is also illegal for certain types of turtles to be taken from the wild as they are protected species.

Check the turtles general behavior. Turtles are not the fastest animals on the planet, but they should be alert and active. A listless turtle could be a sign of illness. A healthy turtle may not necessarily be active at the time that you are visiting the store. You could try moving your fingers near the tank to see if it moves at all or check the other symptoms mentioned above.

If you want a pet turtle you do not have to go to a turtle farm if you would prefer not to. Some pet store turtles are quite healthy while others have seen better days. Applying the tips mentioned above will give you a strong guide line for what a healthy turtle looks like and how it should act.

Most pet stores have a very capable staff of workers and have good procedures in place for giving their animals proper care. If you know what you are looking for you can spot a healthy turtle anywhere.