Caring for Turtles: 3 Rules for Caring for Pet Turtles

At first glance, tortoises seem like the ideal pet. They mostly stay in a tank, eat little scraps of food…what’s not to love? The problem is that turtle care is a bit more advanced than that. Tortoises are unique animals that have their own quirks, and the more informed you are as an owner, the easier it will be to care for pet tortoises.

1) Never overfeed your turtle: Turtles are like dogs when it comes to food. If you give them too much food and leave them alone, they will eat themselves to obesity. This is incredibly unhealthy and can lead to some serious illnesses that require large veterinary bills to treat.

Turtles don’t have access to endless food supplies in the wild, and if they did, they would eventually eat themselves to obesity. A good rule of thumb is to feed your turtle a piece of food no larger than its head and neck, and then let it eat for 15 minutes. When the 15 minutes are up, remove the food and that is your daily diet.

2) Always keep the environment clean: This is for your benefit and that of the turtle. Tortoises eat disorderly and do not care in the least where they defecate. Rotten food pieces and feces in the pool area create an unsanitary environment, not to mention a tank that will make your entire living room smell!

Be sure to get a powerful swim area filter rated for at least twice the capacity of the water and remove large pieces daily to prevent the water from becoming acidic. Setting up an area in the turtle tank or even an eating area outside the tank will reduce the amount of old food spilling out.

3) Turtles don’t like to be mistreated: This is particularly true with children who like nothing more than to spin the turtle in all sorts of directions to explore the different sides of the shell. The problem is that turtles get easily stressed when handled.

When they are really small, it is actually illegal to sell turtles less than 4 inches long because the smaller the turtle, the more likely a child will put it in their mouth and get salmonella poisoning. All tortoises of all sizes carry the salmonella gene, so any time you need to handle the animal, be sure to wash your hands before and after.

Wash before you touch the turtle to avoid contaminating it, and then wash afterwards so you don’t contaminate yourself. It goes without saying that turtles are NOT good pets for children, an adult must constantly maintain the environment of the turtles.

Taking care of turtles is a lot like taking care of other pets if you think about it. Any pet requires you to provide a safe and hygienic environment to live. There should be nothing in that environment that would allow the animal to harm itself. Turtles are very similar in this regard. You should keep in mind that turtles don’t necessarily know what’s best for them and they don’t mind being tidy. As long as you are informed, you will do a good job of taking care of the turtles.