A Turtle’s Guide: How to Take the Best Care of Your Pet
For many people, a turtle is the ideal pet. Children especially love turtles and they can be one of the best
pets in terms of longevity. However, a turtle is quite a responsibility and more so than some people realize. If
you have pet turtles, guide your children in the best possible care for your pets.
One of the first things to realize about a turtle is that they can live up to forty or more years. Be sure you are
ready to take on this responsibility. Many children who have a turtle as a pet will still have the same turtle as a
pet well into adulthood. There are several other things that will require dedication when you own turtles. Guide
your children correctly and they will have a lifelong friend.
Turtles require a habitat to live in. This tank or aquarium needs to be at least 40 gallons to give your turtle
enough room. You will also have to a have dry area and a wet area. In your turtle’s guide, you will find specific
information for setting up your pet’s home.
Turtles regulate their body temperature mainly through their surroundings. They draw the warmth they need from the
surrounding environment and you will need to provide an area for the turtle to warm itself. A heat lamp will
provide a great source of warmth for the turtle, but you will also need a sourse of UV light, as well. This will
allow the turtle to synthsis vitamins for maximum benefit. Your turtle’s guide will explain how this process is
important to your turtle.
Turtles also require a good, nutritional diet. They will eat many different foods, but you must be sure to include
protein. Small pieces of cooked chicken, turkey, fish may be fed to your pet. Your turtle will also needs a variety
of fruits and vegetables as well. The turtle’s guide will give you a diet plan for you to follow, so your turtle
gets the best nutrition.
You must supply your turtle with fresh water daily. A turtle’s urine contains many different kinds of bacteria and
if they have water tainted with such bacteria, it could make them sick. You might also use spring water instead of
tap water, because tap water usually contains chlorine. There are also filter that can be used to improve your
turtles water supply. Check with your turtle’s guide to see specifically recommended filters.
Turtles are not meant to be playthings, so be sure to keep your turtle safe. Teach young children not to touch the
turtle unless there is adequate supervision. If a turtle is dropped, it can be fatal. Also be sure to keep your
turtle safe from any other pets you may have.
Your turtle’s guide will address these an many more issues that may arise with your reptile. Take the time to read
the guide thoroughly so you can keep a healthy, happy turtle for many years.
Pet Turtle Care Tip #1
Turtles are members of the Reptile family and they are some of the oldest living creatures
on the planet. They have been around for more than two hundred million years. This makes them as
old as the dinosaurs. There are hundreds of different kinds of turtles all over the planet.
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Pet Turtle Care Tip #2
Sea turtles are the most popular of all of the turtles. These are also some of the largest
creatures—some sea turtles can grow to more than six feet in length and weigh hundreds of pounds.
Scientists think that sea turtles are actually land creatures that went back into the water and
never came out. Over time their limbs evolved to make them stronger swimmers and to keep them in
the water: their front appendages are actually flippers.
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Pet Turtle Care Tip #3
All turtles, even sea turtles, are air breathing creatures. While some turtles can stay
under the water for hours at a time, they all must surface at least once a day to stay alive. There
is one turtle, the giant turtle that only has to surface once a day to take in air. There are some
studies being done to see if some species of turtle might be able to draw oxygen from their cells
much like some fish use their gills to breathe.
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