Turtles may not wiggle their tails every time you come back home to them and they won’t come to cuddle with you when you go to sleep, but they’re still lovely creatures who need to be taken care of. So here are some tips to keep your turtle happy.
Turtle care isn’t hard, but since they require a special environment, you need to be careful about several essential things. So let’s find out more about that.
The Turtle Home
Turtles are water loving creatures, so swimming is a big part of their lives. Besides that, they like basking in the sun and live active lives in general, so they need the right space to do all that.
Keep Your Turtle Happy Tip 1: The Aquarium
Make sure you do your research and find out how big your turtle can grow before buying an aquarium. Keep in mind the fact that they are reptiles and they live in a large territory when out into the wild. Also, make sure you provide them with an area where they can swim freely and a dry area that simulates a beach where they can get out of the water and get dry.
A glass aquarium three to four times the length of the turtle at maturity should do the trick. In general, the larger the aquarium, the happier the turtle, though we can’t say the same about the turtle owner, so that’s where you need to think well before buying it.
Keep Your Turtle Happy Tip 2: The Beach
Yeah, at home – their natural home in the wild – turtles have an area where they can climb back from water and onto the land. That’s usually a beach and you should try to replicate it into the aquarium. It should be a gentle slope, so your turtle won’t have any trouble getting into and out from the water.
A turtle is most happy when she can both completely submerge and swim and then stay on land and bask in the sun. Or an UVA and UVB lamps in the aquarium.
Keep Your Turtle Happy Tip 3: Cleanliness
As with most creatures on Earth, turtles require a clean habitat to live in. The situation with pets is a little special, since we are responsible with cleaning that habitat, so make sure you do that every week for your little turtle.
The Turtle Life
Turtles are omnivore creatures and they need variety in their diet.
Keep Your Turtle Happy Tip 4: A Balanced Diet
A balanced and varied diet should provide your turtle with everything she needs to grow happy. Green vegetables, insects and special turtle food will do that. Some turtles prefer fruits and even flowers, so make sure you know what type of turtle you have so you can feed her appropriately.
It’s a good idea to give her some snacks every now and then in the form of live insects, worms or fish and let her hunt happily.
Keep Your Turtle Happy Tip 5: Play and Exercise
Even if you manage to provide your turtle with a big enough habitat, you should take your turtle out of it every now and then and go outside and play.
In the wild, turtles are very active animals and usually cover a lot of ground, so going out to play will be a very welcome addition to her every day turtle life.
Leave a Comment