Identifying Your Turtle If you have found a turtle or if you have been given a turtle, making sure it gets proper care is important and the only way that you can make sure it gets the care it needs is to identify which kind of turtle you have. There are several ways to do this. 1. Either take the turtle itself or a picture of the turtle to your veterinarian (or a veterinarian if this is your first pet). Most veterinarians will be able to identify which kind of turtle you have with just a glace. A bonus to bringing the turtle with you is that the veterinarian might have time to give your turtle a quick exam to make sure that it is healthy. 2. You could also post a picture of the turtle on the internet. There are plenty of forums for animal lovers and turtle experts. If you post a photo of your turtle, you will probably get lots of responses that will identify which kind of turtle you have. 3. Go to your local bookstore and buy a field guide to turtles. Try the Peterson's guide, as the Petersons guides are often the most prolific. These guides are especially helpful in identifying which kind of turtle you might have come across in the wild (in which case, simply leave it where it is. It is happy there). There are, of course, some general hints that can help you identify which kind of turtle you have: 1. If the shell of your turtle is not hard but instead made of soft and leathery skin, then the turtle is a softshell turtle. 2. If the toes of your turtle are webbed, it is either a semi-aquatic or an aquatic turtle. 3. If your turtle's toes are web-free, it is land turtle. Don't put it into any water since most land turtles do not swim. 4. If you were on the beach when you found the turtle and its front legs look like paddles or flippers, you have found a sea turtle. If you have a cell phone on you, you should call your local wildlife rescue station to help you get the turtle back into the water. Do not handle the turtle by yourself. It could panic and accidentally hurt you. 5. Box turtles typically have high and dome shaped shells. 6. If the turtle's shell is flat and it has markings that are black, yellow, red or orange, it is most likely a water turtle and is of the Chreysems species (aka the painted turtle). 7. If your turtle has clawed front feet and webbed back feet, a small bottom shell that looks like it is too small for the turtle's body, a long tail, long neck and large head (especially when compared with the size of the shell), hooked jaws and a dark or black upper shell, you most likely have a snapping turtle. Do not try to handle this turtle, it is very aggressive! Leave it alone or call your local wildlife rescue station for help.

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.