Pet turtles and tortoises are the perfect first pet for smaller children, those with allergies to traditional pets, and small homes without a lot of outdoor space. While you may not think about a turtle being a cuddly pet alternative, they can make great companions and they can live up to 20 years or more.
Turtles are generally easy to care for but do require a long-term commitment. It is essential to their health that they have a clean environment to live in that is the proper size and set up for their needs. Their diet is fairly simple as well, mostly consisting of vegetables.
If you are looking for an alternative style of pet you can find your turtle match at adorablehomepets. Let’s take a closer look at some of the things that you will need to do to take care of your pet turtle.
Environment
Your turtle will need to have lots of room to move around and explore. Turtles need an environment that provides them both water for swimming and land to walk around on and bask. You will need to invest in a proper terrarium and water pump to start your turtle habitat. The larger the terrarium the better. Turtles that don’t have enough space to move sufficiently can suffer from a lack of growth or sickness.
Maintaining a clean environment for your turtle is the most important aspect of their care and will help to keep them healthy and thriving. The main duty of any turtle owner will be to keep the water in their environment clean. Turtles go to the bathroom in their terrarium water leaving them vulnerable to infection and disease if it is not changed regularly.
You can choose to set up your terrarium with a specialty water pump that will keep the water a bit more clean, or you can change the water out manually. With a pump, you will still need to change out the water in your tank a few times a week. Without a pump, you should clean it daily to keep your turtle healthy.
If you don’t have the time to dedicate to a high level of environmental management, you may be better off adopting a ground-dwelling tortoise that doesn’t need water in its home environment.
Diet
There are several companies that have formulated granulated turtle food that makes feeding your turtle very easy. If you want to go with a more natural diet, you will need to do a bit of research about the type of turtle or tortoise that you own. In general, turtles will eat small fish, insects, and dark greens. Tortoises are herbivores and like to eat a wide variety of fruits and fresh vegetables.
Turtles and tortoises don’t need to be fed daily once they are grown. You should aim to feed them about four to five times a week. Their digestive system works slowly to help them maintain their health in the wild where natural food sources are not always consistent.
It is common for turtles to develop vitamin A and calcium deficiencies that can affect their health. You can feed them supplements to keep them on track.
Adding a turtle to your family can be a rewarding experience. Follow these care tips to provide your pet turtle with a long and healthy life.