My mom agreed to let me get a Turtle. I want to get one soon, but I also want to be informed on how to properly take care of it. I also want to know that I will have the room and money for it. So I have several quetions. All answers will be appreciated.
1. What breed of turtle stays pretty small? (Like 6-8 inches)
2. Can I keep the turtle in my bedroom in a fish tank? (Like a 20 gallon tank)
3. What do I feed it?
4. What do I do to keep it healthy?
5. Are there any tips about turtles or a specific breed that you think I should get?
Btw.. I am almost 16. I have money to buy it’s food and supplies on my own.
Any tips/advice would be nice!
Thanks so much!
1. Most turtles stay pretty small while they’re young, but by the time they’re 2-3 years old the tend to be much larger (5-24 inches). Most turtles can get to 2 feet in size if properly treated.
2. Yes you could keep a turtle in a fish tank but you need to make it special. For example, you should check out how big the turtle you want is at the pet store then go buy a tank that fits it’s size (Small or baby turtles can thrive in a 20-gallon tank if treated right, but when they start to grow you’ll probably need to upgrade to a 40-gallon tank. Whichever tank you get you should fill it with water just over the 2/3 line and buy a good, strong filter the sucks water in from the bottom of it(Like a Tetra silent power filter for a 10-30 gallon tank,25 ish dollars, it can be found at Petco and Walmart.) and then install it. Then go buy a "Floating rock"(10-20 ish dollars) from Petco or whichever pet store you have in your area and attach it to the side of your tank and have it float (It should not float freely, it should be held to the side somehow, perhaps with suction cups. You can buy what I’m talking about at the pet store). Next you should get a strong, UV light that gives off the full color spectrum (20-30 ish dollars) so that the turtle can bask. Buy rather large pebbles and cover the bottom of the tank to give it decoration and to help keep the tank clean longer(I say large pebbles because if they are small, the turtle will eat them.) Let the tank run for a few days so that the chemicals in the water dissipate.
3. You can buy commercial turtle food from the pet store, any kind will most likely work(I use turtle food pellets). Just make sure it contains lots of nutrients. Every once in a while (Twice a week) you should give it small chunks of almost any fruit or vegetable. I give my turtle dark-leaf lettuce (never light, it gives the turtle little to no nutrients!) and the leafy part of a carrot. When you feed your turtle you should move the it to a much smaller, plastic tank that the water covers an inch more that the back of the turtle (If your turtle’s back is 3 inches tall, fill the feeding tank with 4 inches of water.) and drop in how ever many turtle pellets your turtle can eat within 10-15 minutes. After he is done eating move him back to his tank and rinse out the container and refill it for the next day. This method will greatly decrease the need for cleaning the aquarium tank. Also, put a rock in this feeding tank where the turtle can completely get out of the water if he wants to. Thus if you take him outside to sun himself(Or herself!) he can completely dry off.
4. To keep your turtle happy you should fulfill the instructions I have given above. And if you really want to, on a sunny day once a week, take your turtle outside while he is eating and keep him out there for a while, but ALWAYS WATCH OVER HIM, because sometimes birds are hungry….
5. I own Red-Eared Slider turtles (They have red dot things behind their ears) and I LOVE them. They are fun to take care of and they are very curious about the world. I would get one of them if I were you. Also, be sure to wash your hands after touching your turtle so he can’t get you sick with salmonella(Very rare). Everything I mentioned to you will probable cost anywhere from 30-100$ (Depends where you shop at!
) I bought everything for about 60$ and I am happy with my purchase.
**I gave you info for an aquatic turtle so I’m so sorry if you weren’t looking into them. If you want a land turtle, I suggest looking them up online since I know nothing about them!**
Sorry for the long and confusing information. Hopefully you can decode it and give your-soon-to-be turtle a nice living area. Thanks for researching info about a turtle before buying it, it shows how mature you are! Hope I can help!
*Again, sorry for any confusion or miss-wording!)
I like turtles!
1. Most of the turtles you can get in the pet shop stay small
2. yes you can keep it in a fish tank
3. There will be special turtle food at the pet store
4. keep the cage clean
5. The most important tip I can give you is really make sure you keep it’s tank clean. Turtles have a tendency to really stink, so you’ll want to clean the tank several times a week. They can be good pets though. Very low maintence.
I would get some rocks for the turtle to lie on when it doesnt want to be in the water, and also a heat lamp because they have to stay warm. Good Luck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMNry4PE93Y – the expert on turtles
the small tortouise you will buy that stays small, and is easy to care and feed. – http://www.russiantortoise.org/
none. Once the turtle gets 3 inches your 20 gallon will be to small. A good turtle that will be 6-8 inches would be a male Red Eared Slider. Male Red Eared Sliders are smaller than females. Remember get a MALE RES!.
1. Male RES
2. No
3. Reptomin turtle sticks, veggies, fish, insects
4. Keep it in a tank at least 75 gallon and keep it with a filter and Give it a lot of room to swim an give it a basking area.
5. I think you should get a male RES or male Softshell. A Basking area is land where there is light that warms him up.
It can cost a lot of money to keep a turtle for its entire lifespan. Maybe you could build a pond?