Pet Turtle Care - Keeping Terrapins As Pets

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Keeping Terrapins as Pets

If you are considering keeping terrapins pets, there are a few things you should first consider. When you visit the pet store, baby terrapins seem like small easy to care for reptiles. However, terrapins require a life long commitment. They can often live longer than most other animals, with a life expectancy of up to 80 years. This is much longer than a dog or cat.

If you are considering keeping terrapins later in life, you may need to make arrangements for someone to care for the turtle after you are gone. You should also take careful consideration if you are thinking about your children keeping terrapins as pets. Many children lose interest quickly and they may not have the ability, time, or interest in keeping terrapins as they get older. Many children lose interest in just a few weeks and because they do live so long, it can be hard to relocate a terrapin when your child grows bored.

Keeping terrapins requires a lot of work, as well. Terrapins require a complex living environment that includes a garden area, pond or water area, and a sunbathing area. While you can consider keeping terrapins in glass tanks or enclosures, they will be much healthier and happier if they are kept outside in a warm environment similar to the conditions they would enjoy in the wild. Keeping terrapins requires a temperature between 75 and 80 degrees. You will also need to consider that terrapins only grow to about seven inches if they are male or five inches if they are female. If you do not have the proper environment, your terrapins can either escape easily or fall victim to many types of prey.

You will also need to consider contamination and health issues when keeping terrapins. If you do not keep the area clean and fecal material, begins to build up and your terrapin can quickly become ill. If your terrapin refuses to eat or seems sluggish or reluctant to move, you may have an issue that needs to be addressed by a veterinarian. In most cases, you can keep the area clean with just a few hours of cleaning each week. If you do chose to go with a terrarium, you will need to keep a closer eye on cleanliness.

When keeping terrapins in an indoor habitat, you will also have to use a water filter and UV lamp, since these structures are enclosed. Your terrapin requires ultraviolet light to synthesize certain vitamins. With an indoor unit, you will need to include the same elements you would have outside and it is best if you can let the terrapin outside for fresh air on occasion.

Terrapins are also much happier when they live among others of the same species. If you have two or more terrapins, they will be much happier and healthier. However, if you have a male and a female you will have to consider the possibility of baby terrapins and that may not be something you want.

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.

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.

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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