Turtles

alexjk

I was thinking of getting some turtles, it's something I've always been interested in doing. However I'm a complete novice and I've no real idea of what equipment I should get. Any advice/tips would be appreciated!

StiffLitlemicky

I once owned a turtle unfortunately it died a few years ago, but it had lived a good happy life i think.
Yeah get one, they practical raise themselves, just be careful not to sit on it.

Jimkel

Now you mean aquatic turtles and not tortoises right??

If thats the case then heres a few things you should be aware of;

First of all are you prepared for a very large aquarium? or an indoor pond?

Because the commonly available turtles can grow to around 15 inches shell diameter if they are female and they need a very large home. They have no love for their owner, and will gladly bite a chunk of your finger off if they can.

They do not like being handled or touched and they require, like all reptiles, A heated environment. you will also need a dry basking spot under a heat lamp and a UVB tube to prevent metabolic bone disease.

They should be fed a mixture of commercial turtle food, fresh high calcium veg like spinach or Kale and also live insects. They will aslo need regular vitamin and mineral supplements.

They are messy and require an excellent filter suitable for large tropical fish and also a regular weekly partial water change with dechlorinated water (using a reptile safe product like zoomeds reptisafe water conditioner) and also a regular substrate (IE: gravel or sand) clean using a gravel syphon.

They can carry salmonella and you should always wash your hands after handling them or any reptile for that matter.

Glowing

Are you referring to terrapins? If so, they're a very expensive pet to look after - just something else you should keep in mind. They will need a huge tank as mentioned above, it will take up an *entire* wall in your house ....