How to take care of pet turtles | A quick guide

Need some advice on how to take good care of pet turtles? Here is a quick guide with a list of the most important things you need to know when it comes to taking good care of these small pets.

Habitat

For turtles that spend all the time in turtle tanks this is of utmost importance. You need to provide a fairly large tank that would be equipped with turtle tank filter, a pump and a tank heater.

Taking care of pet turtles is not that hard, as long as you pay enough attention to pet's hygiene.

Keep the tank clean, change water when ever you see it is getting dirty and add vitamins to it. When you feed the turtle try not to leave the food rot in the water. A good solution is feeding the pet in a separate bowl.

You can decorate the tank with pebbles and aquatic plants. The pebbles should be larger than the turtle's head and the plants should be the ones small pet turtles like to eat so they can have a snack every now and then.

Food

A pet turtle has no other way of getting food but from you so you need to provide a good turtle diet. It should include meat, pellets, live prey, vegetables, greens and aquatic plants. While the turtle is young feed more proteins to it, and as it gets older feed more vegetables and greens.

Don't feed it with human food and lunch left overs. Don't feed the pet too much because it can lead to obesity and illnesses. You should feed it every second day with high quality food. The amount is about the size of the turtles head and neck. You can see more info about turtle feeding here.

Water

Although turtles live in water they sill need a clean source of water to drink from, so provide a little bowl of fresh clean water.

Health care

If you see any changes in the pet's behavior or looks, it is probably a sign of a disease. Turtles are sensitive and it is better to prevent problems. But if the turtle does get sick it needs to be taken to a vet.

Make sure that the water is not too cold or too hot because that affects turtle's health a great deal.

To keep it healthy, don't put freshly poured tap water in the habitat, chlorine can hurt the turtle. Leave the water in a bottle for 24 hours or boil it before putting it in the tank.

Before you get a turtle it would be good to find a vet that is qualified to treat them.

The company

Try not to keep other species with your water turtle. If you put fishes in the tank, the turtle will chase it, hurt it and eventually eat it. Also, small pet turtle does not need a company of other pets, like cats and dogs. These pets can eat the turtle and they often will.

Interaction

Turtle does not need interaction with people or other pets. As already said, other pets can hurt the turtle. When it comes to people, turtles and not cuddly like puppies. They don't ask to be played with and more important, they don't even like it too much.

Don't let kids play with the turtle because the turtle can be a source of salmonella. If you let your kid play make sure you supervise him/her and that the kid washes its hands afterward.

This is a short guide on how to take care of pet turtles and you have all the basic information you could need. If you want more detailed info on different issues of taking care of pet turtles just follow the links.