Deciding to take a turtle for a pet is a lot different from having, say, a dog or a cat, at home. Some people wonder why there are even those who are interested on how to take care of a turtle – a creature that isn’t as active as any other animal that can pass off as a better companion. But in any case, many people find it entertaining – fulfilling even – to learn how to take care of a turtle properly which is essentially what this article is all about.
The basics
For starters, a turtle is considered an exotic pet. They are more than just the “novelty pets” that some people tend to use for ornamentation. Turtles need proper care and attention and learning hot to take care of a turtle starts with setting up an environment that will protect it and ensure that it can still have considerable freedom of movement. You will need to make sure that it has enough space, ample lighting, shade, moisture and water supply. But these are just the basics. Each type will have specific ways on how to take care of a turtle so the method will greatly depend on the species that you choose as a pet.
Habitat
The next thing that you need to learn on how to take care of a turtle is setting up a place for your pet to live in. Ideally, you should establish an environment that is much like its natural habitat so it’s only logical that you should have your turtles stay outdoors. You can probably start with an aquarium that can hold forty gallons of water or an enclosure that is at least fifteen feet from side to side.
Another point that you need to know on how to take care of a turtle is that these animals will need a lot of sunlight for them to develop their shells. You will need to place the turtle’s enclosure in an area that gets direct sunlight. If you’re planning to keep your pet indoors, you will probably need a UV light of some sort. The tank should also provide an area for the turtle to leave the water for a while. Part of understanding how to take care of a turtle is learning about how the reptile behaves. It spends as much time on water as it does on land but it tends to exert more energy when it is in an aquatic environment.
Food
Another thing that you should understand about how to take care of a turtle is that they are just like humans – they have to eat properly. Naturally omnivorous, healthy meals for a turtle generally consist of a lot of vegetables and live prey such as worms, insects and such. An important thing about how to take care of a turtle is the amount and frequency of each meal. For hatchlings until they are about eight to ten months old, you’ll probably need to feed them daily. Older turtles will need to eat every other day.
Learning how to take care of a turtle is important if you want to pursue rearing this reptile as a pet for a long while so it’s important to read a lot on the topic – if only to keep your pet alive and healthy.
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.
