Turtles pets can be a great addition to your family and provide hours upon hours of enjoyment.  Having said that it is very important to do your homework up front before you go and buy your new turtle or turtles pets.

There are many different types of turtles which can be very different in size and or personality.  It is very similar to choosing which breed of dog or cat is right for you.

You should take into consideration the amount of time you have to devote to taking care of your turtle, the space you can provide, how old the people caring for the turtle are, how much financially you can put towards your turtle, what the laws in your state are regarding keeping captive turtles, and many other things.

I have seen a lot of people start off with a small turtle in a 5 -10 gallon aquarium only to find out that their turtle would soon outgrow this enclosure and need a bigger space.

There are some types of turtles that stay small enough to live their entire lives in a 40 gallon long aquarium but I would never go smaller than that for any types of turtles.

This is why it is essential to find out how big your turtles pets full grown adult size is before you buy it so that you can plan ahead.

A perfect example of the way not to take care of turtles and one probably familiar to most readers is in the movie Rocky.  Rocky’s wife worked at a small pet shop and Rocky had two baby turtles in a very small, round, glass fish bowl in his apartment.

They had very little water to swim in, no UVB light, no heat lamp, and way to small of an enclosure.

I won’t get into full detail of how to care for your turtles pets in this article, but if you would like to learn right away, just click the link on the right side of this page.

In most states turtles under 4″ in length are illegal to own unless you are a research facility or university.  The reason for this is that it is believed that there is a greater risk of contracting salmonella from these smaller types of turtles.

Years and years ago some small children had contracted salmonella from putting these smaller turtles in and around there mouths.  That is another reason why it is so important to have proper supervision around turtles pets.

As long as you use good judgment and wash your hands each time after handling your turtles pets or any part of your turtles habitat you should have no problems.

If you want to start off the right way and learn the basics BEFORE you buy your turtle……..or if it’s too late and you already bought it…..click the link on the right side of this page and start moving in the right direction to owning turtles pets.

If you would like to learn more about turtles and how to take care of them the proper way, check out:

Click Here For The Ultimate Turtle Guide