The enjoyment of your pet turtle usually comes from simply observing its behavior. Careful responsible handling is critical to their fulfilling the promise of their expected longevity. If you’re bringing a pet turtle into a home with young children, make sure that they understand how to treat these interesting pets. With proper supervision, the turtle’s presence can offer a great opportunity to teach the children about responsibility.

Before you bring a turtle into your home, make sure that you can meet all of the turtle’s basic needs. Buy the biggest tank that you can afford (40 gallon minimum) to ensure that the turtle’s home is large enough. An aquatic turtle is going to want to spend most of its life in the water, along with a few hours each day basking in real or simulated sunlight. Make sure his habitat has enough swimming area and suitable land area to meet those needs. Ensure that the habitat provides enough light, shade, and clean water. A UV light is great; giving the turtle an opportunity to bask and absorb much needed vitamin D. A nice rock protruding above the waterline is great for basking in the light.

Because turtles are cold-blooded creatures, temperature control is very important. 80ºF is a good daytime temperature, which can be lowered by 10º at night. The turtle also needs a place to hide from your family’s well meaning intrusions, a little privacy. A small shelter can be purchased at a pet store, or you can easily make one yourself. Your turtle will occasionally go into the shelter for a little quiet meditation time.

Make sure you understand the turtle’s nutritional requirements. Most aquatic turtles are omnivores, land turtles tend to be strict vegans. You can check with your veterinarian for nutritional recommendations, which might include the regular administration of vitamin and mineral supplements.

Be a good housekeeper for your turtle. A clean habitat is a healthy one. Make sure that you clean out the tank at least once each week. This can be an excellent chore for the children once they learn to handle the pet responsibly.

When you remove the turtle from the tank, make sure that he is roaming in a safe place where he won’t get lost, trapped, injured, or harmed by other pets. With a little knowledge, regular care, good nutrition, and a comfortable healthy environment, your pet turtle can give you and your family virtual decades of pleasure.

After some time, your turtle will begin to recognize you. After all you are the one bringing them food. It is very common for a turtle to get excited or come over to you when it sees you walk into a room. Although your turtle is excited to see you, keep in mind that he still does think of food. Try to keep your hands away from its head, it can still bite. If you do walk into the room and the turtle does not react, or you have noticed that it is not active, it may have gotten sick. Check the turtle for anything that doesn’t look right. Droopy eyes, bulging eyes, closed eyes, gunky eyes, can all be a sign of something is wrong. If you suspect your turtle is sick you should seek the help of a qualified reptile vet.

If you are going to have your turtle outside, it will begin to hibernate in the fall. Try not to disturb your turtle while it is hibernating, doing so can create health risks or may even be fatal. When a turtle is hibernating, you probably will not see it until about the end of April or so. Hibernation helps prevent liver disease among turtles and also helps create a healthier turtle for breeding. Try not to let your turtle hibernate if you do not want him to be gone that long. If you can keep your turtle inside around room temperature, the turtle will not hibernate. It is OK if your turtle does not hibernate; it just takes it out of a natural cycle and may be cause for liver problems later.

It is almost impossible to know the age of your turtle unless the place you got it from knows when they were born or you raised it yourself since birth. Often time’s people think that you can count the rings on the turtle to determine the age. However, this is not the case. Turtles can have growth spurts in their life and grow more than one ring. Turtles live a long time, so guessing is almost worthless. Some land tortoises have been known to live for more than 200 years (it would be hard to track down the original owner), box turtles have been known to live for 75 years, and water turtles around 20-30 years. Sometimes you can tell if your turtle has been around the block by looking at the shell, older turtles will have worn spots from digging holes over the years.

One of the most common problems that show up in a vet’s office is malnutrition. It is very crucial that your turtle receive the nutrients it gets from a balanced diet. For instance a turtle lacking vitamin a can develop abscessed areas usually in the ears. If a turtle does not receive enough calcium they can have an enormous amount of problems. This is why it is crucial to have a proper UV light in the tank with an indoor turtle. Also be sure to replace the light after about 6 months when they lose their effectiveness. You can even get a black sharpy marker and write the date of purchase on the light so that you know when to replace it.

You should take your turtle to the vet for annual exam. During this exam your vet can examine the overall health of your turtle and review with you its environment and eating habits. It is not uncommon for a vet to work with you on a change of diet or a little adjustment in their living area. Additionally, your vet may take a stool sample to check for parasites and may give your turtle a de-wormer.

Some symptoms to look out for can include:
Swollen or goopy eyes: This can be a sign of a lack of vitamins found in a balanced diet. This is a very serious problem for your turtle and should not be ignored. These problems can only be treated by antibiotics and if you do not treat it, your turtle will die. This will not go away on its own. You should seek the care a veterinarian at the first sign of this problem.

Fungus: This is sometimes caused when a wound has been left untreated. It will look white or grayish and a little gooey. Most of the time a fungus can be treated with salt being added to the tank (1/4 cup per 5 gallons), or even an over the counter powder available at some pet stores. If the problem persists seek the help of a qualified vet. Baby turtles do sometimes look like they have a fungus, but often times it is the skin shedding. This does happen often in a turtles first year.

Respiratory infection: This is also common for turtles to get if the water is not cleaned or if they are not in a proper environment. The symptoms of respiratory infection is, they will breath with their mouth open, their will be bubbles coming out of their nose, they can make a weasing sound and often breathe with their necks stretched out. Although this disease is often treatable, gone untreated can lead to more problems and eventually death. Your vet can often give you an antibiotic to give them at home and it should not return if the environment is ideal for the turtle.