Do turtles make good pets?

Question

I have an 80 gallon aquarium in the back yard, half in shade, half in sun. I was thinking of making it a turtle habitat. How many turtles could live comfortably in it? Any advice?

Answer 1

I have two baby red eared slider turtles and I think they make pretty good pets.  They don't smell that bad really and they're fun to watch swim. They also don't require too much attention.  The only bad things is you can't really handle them too much, their entire tank needs to be cleaned about every 1 or 2 weeks, and you need to watch out for salmonella.  As for as an outdoor tank setup, I think it would work just fine.  You would need a basking area (can be as simple as a few cinder blocks stacked up), possibly a filter (depending on how many turtles you get), food (pellets, crickets, aquatic plants),  possibly some rock gravel for the bottom of the tank (big enough so that they cannot swallow it), maybe a few fake or live aquatic plants and rocks, and a water conditioner.  You may also want a shell conditioner to rub on their shells to keep them smooth and healthy. You'd also want to make sure no rain water could get in the tank as it could overflow it (and the turtles in it could be flooded out). Birds could also swoop down over the tank and snatch up a turtle to eat too, so make sure you have a wire mesh lid for it. The water could be filled up to 1 1/2 feet for babies, as they are good swimmers from the time they are born, but for adults you could fill it much higher like about 2 1/2 feet.  You could probably fit about 10 baby turtles, or 4-5 adult turtles in the tank comfortably.  Just beware if you are putting baby turtles with adult turtles, the adult turtles may try to eat the baby turtles since their smaller than they are.  Oh, and also make sure you have a good herp (reptile) vet's number just in case.  Hope I helped!

Bella

Answer 2

Yes, but you need to have the right equipment for the type of turtle you have and need to know how to take care of it. Redear sliders are very easy to take care of. All you need is a tank, heater, basking light, water treatment, a rock or hut that it can climb out of the water on, and food.

Answer 3

If you know how to take care of them outside,about 50 baby turtles and 3 or 4 adult.(If you want red ear sliders.

Answer 4

i guess they do, but their really smelly and the water gets dirty really fast. you have to clean their shells too, because they can cause salmonella. you have to feed them to, but their not as much as a hassle like a dog would be, you don't have to walk them and stuff. and depending on how big they are, maybe 20 small ones yeah??

Answer 5

Turtles or tortoises make great pets if you are willing to do what is needed to keep them alive. I have a tortoise, so keep that in mind when reading my response, there are a lot of differences between owning a turtle and owning a tortoise. I have a sulcata tortoise, which grows to be around 200 lbs. She currently weighs under a pound at just over a year old. She lives in a 55 gallon tank in my living room. They are easy to take care of, the hard part is getting everything together that you need to take care of them. Once you've got it, it's a small matter of feeding and cleaning. Your tank would be a good environment for turtles, the trick though is that if your tank is glass it will increase the actual temperature inside the tank and may become too warm thus killing your turtles. Though living outside is the best bet for turtles since they need the UV rays that the sun provides. Heat lights kind of provide UV but no like the sun. I would say that the number of turtles that could live in there totally depends on their stage in life and what type you are interested in getting. I would suggest you pick a type and then get one or two to see how you like it and then go from there. Don't buy 50 baby sliders to start out!  Box turtles are great, russian tortoises don't require all the water and stay under a foot in length (my sulcata will grow to have a 3 foot long shell).  There are tons of options out there, if you want anymore help and advice and you want to, go ahead and email me at [e-mail]

Answer 6

i have a red earded slider turtle and i LOVEEEE him. theyr usually very friendly. my tank is 70 gallons i think and i can have up to 2 full grown turtles in there. be carfeul leaving turtles in the backyard because even with a top on the tank, other animals find a way to get to them.

i have a filter, a heater, and a heat lamp and something for him to lay on under the light. i feed him about 10 goldfish a week and change the water once every 2-3 weeks.

Answer 7

For aquatic turtles, the rule of thumb is 10 gallons per inch of shell, cumulative. That means you could have an adult painted turtle or a smallish male red-eared slider. You will have to cover the tank so that raccoons can't get in and they are very clever, so you may want to lock it. Do you live in a warm enough climate for a turtle to survive the winter?

Answer 8

i think they do because you dont always have to be watching over them you just feed them and change their tank and thats it