Small pet turtle - Welcome the new pet

If you have decided to house a new small pet turtle this is a care list to help you get organized:

• turtle aquarium
• the tank needs to have basking area and swimming part (water)
• it needs filtering system -- just a simple turtle tank filter
• include lights and heater
• you will still need to clean the tank approx. every two weeks
• the turtle needs to eat a variety of turtle foods including live prey in a proper diet specifically created for turtles
• there are certain turtle feeding rules
• you will have to maintain temperature levels for water and air in the tank
• the pet will need a specialized vet in case it gets sick
• it is not a play toy.

Turtles seem like easy-to-maintain pets because they are so quiet and... What can they possibly need...? You would be surprised. A turtle will need much more attention and care than you might think. They pretty much need special conditions that might make you give up on selecting this pet.

So unless you ready to spend some money on setting up a great turtle habitat, you might want to consider housing a different animal.

Is a small pet turtle an "easy" pet?

I didn't know how hard it could be when I got my Red Ear Slider. Also, I might as well say it straight away. I would not recommend an aquatic turtle as a first pet for a young child.

It needs too much work for a kid to keep it healthy. If you will take responsibility of the turtle and let your kid just enjoy having a pet around, than it could be a good choice.

Don't let sellers trick you

In any money-making-machine pet shop, when you buy a turtle, they will persuade you to get a little box of turtle food and a small plastic container with a tiny plastic palm tree in the middle. The salesman will tell you that it is all you need.

It won't take you but a couple of hours, after you get back home, to realize he tricked you. So let's prevent this by learning what we need to keep our little pet happy.

I have been lied to, so many times in pet shops: "Oh, this turtle is as big as it will get". It never is. It grew to be several times bigger. And that can create a few problems in small apartments.

There are also times when you won't notice that the turtle is sick when you are purchasing it, so make sure to learn all about choosing a healthy pet turtle to avoid making a mistake.

How about your time?

Turtles don't really need you to spend time with them like dogs do. They don't need you to play with them. So if you are a busy person don't worry about this. But do count on spending some time cleaning since it is very important to keep your small pet turtle in clean environment.