Turtles make great pets but to have one you really need to know a lot about your little buddy and what they need in order to live a happy and healthy life. A lot of people make the mistake of buying turtles without finding out what species they own, they jump to the conclusion that because it is a turtle it is like any other. This asumption can be the difference between your turtle living a happy long life and a short miserable one.
There are many species of turtle but each species can be put into only three group types which is an indicator of what kind of habitat they would require if kept as pets. These three groups are Land, semi aquatic, and aquatic. As the name suggests land turtles live mostly on land but will at times need fresh water to bathe in and drink. Semi aquatic turtles are comfortable both in fresh water and land but if kept at home they will need more land than water and maybe a bowl or area in their terrarium for them to soak themselves every once in a while. Aquatic turtles on the other hand as pets will need to be housed in an aquarium filled with fresh filtered water. Depending on what type of aquatic turtle, they may need a floating dock or log where they can sun themselves.
Another important factor turtle owners or people thinking about owning a turtle need to take into account about the species of their turtles; is that different turtles have different dietary needs. Some turtles are herbivores, some omnivores and others carnivores. Feeding your pet turtle the right foods is essential for their growth and health and understanding the species of your turtle will help you to know what foods will benefit your pet.
Making sure that the enclosure in which you keep your pet turtle in is designed and built specifically to cater to your turtles likings is something that is neccessary in order to keep your turtle happy and content with their environment. A stressed turtle will be affected by the environment that they're in and in turn this will also affect the bonding between you and your turtle. knowing the species of your turtle will give your an advantage towards creating the perfect environment for your little buddy.
On a final note remember that turtles on average can live to as long as 40 - 100 years so they are a pet and friend for life if you take good care of them. I hope this article helped to open your eyes to a few questions you should be asking when thinking about buying a turtle and ones you should already have answered if you own a pet turtle.
