Turtles are living creatures and decided to adopt a turtle as a pet means you fully understand and accept what this responsibility entails. This page is intended as a resource to help provide useful information to those interested in turtle adoption.
Turtle Habitat
All things being equal, aquatic turtles are much happier and easier to maintain when kept within an outdoor pond as apposed to an indoor aquarium. There are exceptions to this recommendation. For example, if you reside in a location with freezing temperatures , it may be best to move your turtles into a heated tank for the winter. A proper turtle pond habitat should allow your turtles to easily climb in and out of the water, while also providing an area for your turtles to bask in the sunlight. Female turtles will bury their eggs in the spring so be sure to provide an area of dirt or sand. Lastly, turtles love to explore so due diligence is required to keep them from wandering off. Turtles are exellent climbers and can easily climb over netting, chain link fencing, and landscape bricks. We have found 18″ plexiglass fencing provides a very effective and cheap method to prevent turtles from leaving their designated area.
Turtle Health
Signs of a healthy aquatic turtle
- Active and alert
- Eats and passes stool regularly
- Smooth, hard shell with no lesions, pitting or soft spots
- Clear, bright eyes with no swelling or discharge
- Supple skin with no sores, lesions, swellings or discoloration
- Clear nose and vent
Red flags (if you notice any of these signs, contact your veterinarian)
- Eye, nose or mouth discharge
- Discoloration, bumps, soft spots or pitting on shell
- Lesions, swellings or discoloration of skin
- Lethargy
- Frantic swimming or swimming sideways
- Abnormal feces
- Sneezing, runny nose or difficulty breathing
- Swollen eyes
- Bubbles from eyes, nose or mouth
- Overgrown beak
- Swelling on the sides of the face, near the ears
- What do water turtles eat? Aquatic turtles eat commercially available pelleted food, leafy greens and chopped vegetables, plus occasional insects, worms, rosy reds, common goldfish, fruits and freeze-dried shrimp as treats.
- What is the best turtle for a pet? Red-eared sliders, painted turtles and mud turtles can all make great aquatic turtle pets when cared for and fed properly.
- How long do aquatic turtles live? They can live 20–40+ years when given proper care and nutrition.
- How do I take care of a water turtle? Water turtles need an appropriately sized tank with water to swim and eat in, a basking area, floating food (including turtle pellets, leafy greens and chopped vegetables), cool and warm zones in their habitat (heated with incandescent bulbs or ceramic heat emitters and submersible heaters and monitored with several thermometers), UV light and calcium and multivitamin supplements. Their tank must be spot cleaned daily, have partial water changes weekly and be cleaned thoroughly every 2–3 weeks. Tank size must be increased as your turtle grows.
- How big do aquatic turtles get? Aquatic turtles do not reach adult size (approximately 10–12 inches long) until 5–8 years of age, depending on species.
Feeding Aquatic Turtles
A well-balanced aquatic turtle diet consists of:
- A high-quality commercially available pelleted turtle food as a source of protein and calcium (up to 25% of total diet)
- Occasional live crickets, earthworms, bloodworms and rosy reds, comet goldfish or freeze-dried krill as a treat; be sure that any rosy reds or common goldfish offered are from a reliable source, as they can carry parasites that can infect turtles
- Dark, leafy green veggies (like collard, mustard and dandelion greens, kale, bok choy, deep green lettuces or parsley) and finely chopped vegetables (like bell peppers, carrots, squash or green beans); these are excellent sources of vitamin A, which is crucial to turtles’ health
- Small amounts of fruit (like apples and berries), which can be offered as occasional treats
Aquatic turtles should receive a calcium supplement without vitamin D 2–3 times per week (either lightly dusted on their food or provided as a cuttlebone in the tank), plus a multivitamin supplement once a week.
Things to remember when feeding your aquatic turtle:
- Aquatic turtles must be fed in the water in order to consume their food
- Generally, aquatic turtles require both animal and plant material to stay healthy
- Young aquatic turtles are growing and, therefore, require more animal protein, so their diet tends to be more carnivorous than omnivorous
- Young turtles should still be offered some vegetables so they are familiar with them and more willing to eat them as they get older
- Turtles should be fed daily and prefer to eat food floating in water or clipped to the tank in the water
- Consider a separate feeding tank, as aquatic turtles are messy eaters
- While pellets may make up a significant part of your turtle’s diet, offering them a variety of different foods in addition to pellets can help keep them interested and provides a wider range of nutrients
- Avoid overfeeding rosy reds and common goldfish, as they are high in fat and can lead to obesity
- Do not feed frozen fish, as freezing can affect vitamin levels
- Avoid feeding raw or cooked chicken or beef, as these foods do not contain the appropriate balance of calcium and phosphorus for a turtle
Common aquatic turtle health issues
| Health Issue | Symptoms or Causes | Suggested Action |
|---|---|---|
| GI tract parasites | Poor appetite, listlessness, weight loss; possible diarrhea and rectal prolapse | Consult your veterinarian as soon as possible. |
| Respiratory infection | Open-mouth breathing, eye, nose and/or mouth discharge or bubbles, sneezing, decreased appetite, lethargy; can be caused by inappropriate temperature or lighting in habitat | Consult your veterinarian and ensure habitat is the correct temperature and has correct lighting |
| Shell rot/infection | Discolored, soft, or foul-smelling patches or pits on the shell; may be caused by an unclean habitat, inappropriate habitat temperature or lighting, or imbalanced diet | Consult your veterinarian; ensure your turtle has a balanced diet and maintain proper habitat cleaning, temperature and lighting |
| Eye, ear or respiratory infection | Swollen eyes and sides of head where ears sit; commonly caused by vitamin A deficiency, dietary imbalance and inappropriate habitat temperature and lighting | Consult your veterinarian for proper treatment |
