21 Things You Have to Know Before Buying a Pet Turtle

In my opinion, having a pet turtle can be a very beautiful and rewarding experience, but some people consider that it’s too much effort for very little reward. In general, this depends on what you are expecting from a turtle and how much time and effort you are willing to invest.

I decided to write this article due to all my friends who see my turtles and usually find them really cool or cute and some of them tell me that they’ve been thinking to get some pet turtles of their own. At this point, I have to tell them how rewarding it can be to have pet turtles but I also have to tell them that with a great pet comes great responsibility as well. Most people don’t know how different turtles are from other pets. So here is my article that will list 21 things that you have to know before buying a pet turtle.

1. They are Not Like Other Pets

Turtles are not very social so don’t expect them to show any kind of affection toward you.

Turtles are definitely not similar to dogs or cats, for example, even if you let your turtle roam free through the house she will never come to greet you at the door as your dog does, nor she will like it when you hug them. Turtles make even the grumpiest cat in the world seem like your best friend in the world when you compare them. So if you want a pet that will show you affection back turtles might not be the pet for you.

You might also think that turtles are similar to fishes, after all, they both live in an aquarium. But they are actually very different, turtles also need to get air and spend a good amount of time on land and not to mention all the extra gear you will need for a turtle tank compared to that of a fish.

If you want to know more about turtle social behavior you should read this article: Are Turtles Social Animals?

2. You Will Need Some Space

The tank will occupy a lot of space, and believe me after some time you will definitely need a big tank. You will also need space for a basking area. Basking is vital for a turtle’s being, and if you have more than one turtle that space will need to be significantly larger.

In some cases, you might also need some space for the water filter. Turtle tank water filters can become really big, even if they do the same thing as the small sponge-like filters that you see in small fish tanks they require a lot more power than those and this requires more space.

3. There Will Be a Lot of Noise

Maybe a lot of noise is a bit of an exaggeration but there will definitely be some noise coming from the filter that I just mentioned. The noise can vary, if you have a really small tank with a little turtle in it you will not have as much noise as you would with a tank with 3 turtles in it and a huge water filter. But no matter what your circumstances are you will definitely need a filter that will produce some noise.

So if you were thinking about putting the turtle tank you should rethink that if you still want to sleep at night, but if you are the kind of person how doesn’t notice noise after some time it should be no problem for you. But if you are like me and you prefer a quiet environment when you are at home you should think carefully about what room you will put your turtle in.

4. You Will Need a Lot of Equipment

Besides the tank and the water pump, you will also need a water warmer, a basking area, a UV light, a heat light, and cleaning equipment. All of those things are essential for turtles so take that into consideration when you are thinking about getting a turtle.

If you want to know more about the equipment you are going to need to check out the Recommended Gear page, where you will find all the information you will need.

5. You Have to Be Careful About the Temperature

Turtles require very specific temperatures, this includes air temperature, water temperature, and basking area temperature. They are not unreasonable temperatures. The air temperature is usually between 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit which is probably around the temperature you have in your house anyway, but the water and basking area temperature have smaller variation ranges than that of the air and it differs from species to species, again they are not unreasonable temperatures but you will have to make sure that you maintain them.

The fact that certain species require different temperatures than others can make it impossible to have a common tank or basking area for two turtles that are from different species so this is another thing that you have to keep in mind.

6. You Will Have to Be Careful About the Light

All turtles will require a light source during the day, it can be natural light or even the light that you already have in your room so this is not a big problem but you will have to keep it on for almost the entire day.

Besides normal light, they will also require a UV light which is essential for them for multiple reasons.

You can find more information about lighting and heating in this article: Guide for Lighting and Heating a Turtle Tank and Basking Area.

Lighting won’t be too much of a trouble in general, you will only have to turn it on and that’s it but forgetting to do so multiple times can lead to health problems.

7. They Will Live a Long Time

Having a pet turtle is a long time commitment. Some of the most common pet turtle species like the red-eared sliders and box turtles live between 30 and 40 years. While this is not as much as other species, for example, the Galapagos turtles live up to 100 and most sea turtles live up to 80 years old, 40 years is almost half a lifetime. The lifespan of a turtle is considerably longer than that of most dogs who live around 10 years or most pet fishes who live for about 2 years.

The fact that they live so long can be a good thing as well as a bad thing for you, depending on your expectations. In general, it’s considered a great thing that your pet will live a long life. But let’s talk about two possibilities,

Maybe you want to get a pet turtle because your child wants one, at the moment he is in middle school so he has the time to take care of the turtle and he is very fascinated about the turtle, but the turtle will live until your child will have his own children, will he be as disposed to take care of the turtle as he is now? Or will you be able to take care of it when he is not able to?

Or maybe you don’t have too many responsibilities now and you have the time and budget to take care of a turtle, are you sure that this will be the case after 20 years?

40 years is a long time, make sure that you will be able to take care of your turtle for all this time if you want to get one.

8. They Can Require a Lot of Maintenance

Turtles are really messy and you will have to clean them and the aquarium at least once every two weeks, and in a lot of cases, you will have to clean them even once every week. The whole process usually takes me about 30 – 45 minutes, so it’s not that time-consuming but you will have to do it if you want your turtle to be healthy, and if you don’t want the whole room to smell bad.

And you will also have to feed them once or twice a day and this can be quite inconvenient especially if you have a busy schedule. And unlike some other pets turtles will usually eat all the food you leave them and overfeeding is a very real and prominent problem for pet turtles.

Even if it doesn’t seem like too much to do some people have a very busy and schedule, and depending on your job it can also be very unpredictable. So take it into consideration when thinking about getting a pet turtle.

9. Turtles Can Bite

Turtles can bite and they will do so if you annoy them. Some species will be more aggressive than others, but most pet turtles will not bite without any reason. A lot of them will even hide in their shells, but even those turtles will bite you if they feel threatened.

In most cases, it depends on the personality of the turtle, just like humans, some of them can be more aggressive than others.

But in general, you shouldn’t worry that your turtle will bite you if you don’t give it any reason.

10. They are Not as Resistant as They Seem

Don’t get me wrong they are more resistant than most pets, but that doesn’t mean their shells are unbreakable. If you drop them while holding them in your hand they will get hurt and really badly, depending on the height that you drop them and the surface on which you drop them some of them can even break their shells, and this can be very dangerous or even fatal for a turtle. The shell is part of the skeleton of the turtle and underneath it is the organs of the turtle. So if the shell breaks or cracks it leaves the turtle very vulnerable to parasites and infections.

So if you wanted to get a turtle because you thought that they are very resistant and you won’t have to worry if you drop them or if they fall from a table you should think again.

11. They Can Smell Really Bad

Turtles themselves don’t smell but the fact that they leave their excrements in the water and that they way eat in a really messy way makes the water in the tank really bad, and there is also the algae that get stuck on their shells that contribute to the bad smell.

I cover more things about the smell of turtles and how to properly lean them in this article: Do Turtles Smell? so if you want to know more about this check it out.

12. Not All Turtles are the Same

There are a lot of turtle species out there and some of them are easier to take care of than others.

If you want a pet turtle because one of your friends has one and he told you that it’s not very hard to take care of it make sure to ask what species his turtle is. You don’t want to get a species that is hard to take care of just because somebody who owns a different species told you that it’s easy to take care of them.

Different species have different needs so make sure not to get them mixed up.

13. You Will Have to Feed Them a Lot of Different Foods

The diet of a pet turtle should be very varied. Most turtles are omnivorous and they should have a varied diet consisting of vegetables, meat, pellets, and some occasional fruits, of course, some turtles are strictly carnivorous and you shouldn’t try to feed them any kind of fruit or vegetable. The same thing applies to herbivorous/vegetarian turtles, you shouldn’t try to feed them meat.

When they live in the wild they have access to everything they need, meat, insects, fruits, and vegetables. So you should try to offer them a little bit of everything they would have been able to find in the wild.

Only giving one type of food will lead to serious health problems.

14. They Can Carry Salmonella

Like most reptiles, turtles can carry salmonella which is a dangerous bacteria that can infect humans really easily. Most adults can recover without any problem from this bacteria, but children and the elderly will have a tougher time recovering from it.

A turtle doesn’t have to be sick from salmonella to carry it. So even if your turtle looks and feels completely healthy it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t carry the bacteria.

If you want to know if your turtle carries salmonella then you should visit a vet. Most vets will be able to perform a test and tell you if your turtle carries the virus or not.

Symptoms of salmonella include:

• Fever
• Abdominal cramps
• Diarrhea

To make sure that you don’t get salmonella you should always wash your hands very thoroughly after you touched the turtle. Make sure that you don’t use your hands to touch your mouth, eyes, or any other sensitive part. If you want to let your turtle walk freely through the house make sure that it doesn’t go anywhere near the kitchen, if the bacteria gets in your kitchen you are in big trouble. And if you put your turtle on a table or a chair make sure to clean it properly with a paper towel and when you are done throw the towel away.

Overall salmonella can seem like a really big problem but it’s not as hard as it seems to stay properly protected from it.

You shouldn’t worry too much about it as long as you take good care. I know a lot of people who have turtles and had no problem like this. I’ve had multiple turtles for more than 20 years and none of them carried it and I never got infected.

15.They Might not Get Along with Your Other Pets

Actually, they will definitely not get along with your other pets.

If you try to put them in the same aquarium with your fishes they will eat them. Even if your fishes are a lot more agile than your turtle, still your turtle will be able to catch them at some point. Even if your fishes are bigger than your turtle that won’t stop the turtle from trying to catch and eat them, and at some point, they will take the fish down even if it’s bigger than them.

If you think that other reptiles will be able to leave peacefully with your turtle you are wrong. At some point, they will inevitably start fighting with each other. There are a lot of reasons why a fight can happen, it can be because of the food, even if you give them both enough food they will instinctively fight for it. They can also start fighting for territory, this can especially happen if there is not enough room for both of them in the tank. Or they could also start fighting just because they want to show each other who is superior.

Dog’s will also not get along with turtles. I am not sure why but dogs are very attracted to turtles and they will usually start chewing on the turtle. The turtle can sometimes get out of this unscratched but that doesn’t mean that they like it. If your dog is well trained and behaved this should not be a problem but if your dog is not that well trained you should take this fact into consideration.

Turtles and cats will also not result in a great mix. At some point, your cat will try to hunt or play with the turtle. And not only the turtle can get hurt in this process, but the cat can also get hurt by the turtle as well. Don’t forget that turtles can bite and they will do so if they are threatened.

Depending on the personality of your turtle and your other pet unpleasant things can be avoided. You can also make sure that your turtle doesn’t have to interact with your other pets. So don’t let the act that you have other pets discourage you from getting a pet turtle.

16. They Don’t Get Along Among Themselves

Not only that turtles don’t get along with other pets very well but they also don’t get along with other turtles.

Like always, there can be exceptions but most adult pet turtles will fight at some point for one reason or another. Again depending on the specific personalities of the turtles this can happen very rarely or very often. Let me go over all the possible combinations and explain to you why they will fight.

If you have two male adult turtles they will certainly fight, this is probably because of hormones. Just like all male animals, they will instinctively fight, this can be for territory or just to show who is the alpha male in the group.

If you have one male and one female turtle, the male turtle will never leave the female alone, especially during the mating season, and at some point, the female will have enough and will start to fight with the male turtle.

When you have two female turtles they will also find a reason to fight, usually for territory or food, even if they have enough of both they will still fight at some point.

Baby turtles are usually a lot friendlier with each other, especially if there is enough food and space for them. Most turtles start being aggressive toward each other when they reach sexual maturity.

The best way to avoid fights between your turtles is to make sure that there is enough food to go around and that there is enough space so that they don’t have to stay very close to each other Or you could always just have multiple tanks.

17. They Can Grow a Lot

Turtles definitely look really cute when they are small but in just a few months they can double in size. So don’t get a turtle just because you think they will stay that small and cute forever.

The fact that they grow over time also means that they will require bigger tanks which means that they will require more space. They will also require a lot more food when they are bigger.

Some species will grow bigger than others so take that into consideration when choosing what species you want your pet turtle to be.

18. Wild Turtles Will Not Always Adapt to Being Pets

If you found a turtle and you want to take it as your pet you should think really carefully about this. Not all turtles, especially older ones, will be able to adapt to life as a pet. Even if they won’t have to worry about food or predators they will not always realize this thing and they will live in constant fear.

The lack of freedom can also be a big problem for a turtle that is used to being able to go wherever and whenever they want.

But in general baby turtles will better adapt as pets than older turtles.

19. They Will Try to Eat Anything

When I say that they will try to eat anything I really mean anything, this can include electrical wires among other dangerous things. So you should always keep an eye for your turtle when you take it out of the tank and let it walk for a bit. And you should also be very careful about the wires from the equipment near the tank, make sure that your turtle will never be able to reach one of those wires.

20. Some Health Problems Can Be Permanent

One of the most common problems for pet turtles is pyramiding. Pyramiding is when the shell grows unevenly resulting in a “pyramid” shape underlying each scute. This can’t be undone and it can seriously affect the health of your turtle. Pyramiding is usually the result of overfeeding. It can usually be avoided really easily, but it’s still something to keep in mind when thinking about getting a pet turtle.

21. Make Sure You Buy Them From a Legitimate Source

If you are sure that you want to get a pet turtle the only thing that I have to tell you is to make sure that you buy them from a legitimate source, like most pet shops. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take into care turtle of somebody that isn’t able to take care of his turtle and wants to give it to somebody, if you want to you should definitely do that. But be careful because a lot of people capture wild turtles and try to sell them online, this is bad for multiple reasons. First, they captured a wild animal and they are selling it for a profit, turtles should only be sold by legitimate sources. The turtle could also be carrying a lot of bacterias from the wild that could affect you or your other pets. The turtle could also be in poor health and no matter what you do it could not survive very long.

So if you want to get a pet turtle make sure that you get it from a legitimate source.

Conclusion

I want to mention that this article might seem to be created to discourage you from buying a pet turtle but this is not the case. Any pet requires some degree of care, and turtles might require a little more than other pets and I just want to make sure that you know that before you get a pet turtle. But if you really want to get a turtle and you are willing to take good care of your pet turtle or turtles there should be no problem.

If you’ve found this article interesting but you are still not sure if you should get a pet turtle or not check the other articles on my blog in the section Care Guides or if you decided that you want a turtle you should check the Recommended Gear page to see what you should get for your turtle.

If you have any questions you should leave them in the comment section and I will answer them as soon as possible. Or if you want to contribute to the list you should also do this by leaving a comment, the bigger the list the better.

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