Pet Turtle Care
Turtles are reptiles and belong to order Testudines. They are cold blooded animals and unable to maintain their body temperature with respect to the external environment. Like other reptiles turtles hibernate under the cold conditions. After completing the specific time period they come on land where can move freely.
Turtles have a hard bony shell present outside the body. The shell is very heavy and allows only slow movement. It is mainly made up of a protein called keratin. There are different sizes of the turtles. They vary from large size to the small size.
Turtles can live in water as well as on the land. However they spend most of their time on the land. Like other reptiles they lay eggs on the land. The eggs may be elongated or spherical. The eggs are buried in the sand where they later on hatch and give rise to the young ones.
Turtles as Pets:
Turtles are the best choice to be kept as pet but they need special care and attention. Both land and aquatic turtles can be kept as pet. Keeping turtles as pet is a great fun but to look after them is also very important.
You should pay special attention towards your pet turtles. There are different species of turtles that people prefer to keep as pet. The aquatic turtles need specific environment to live in healthy condition.
Turtles should be avoided from the reach of the children. They can damage their habitat. Often children take them out of their dwelling place for longer time which can put severe threat to their lives. As children are greatly fascinated by the pets therefore they should be allowed to play under the supervision of their elders.
Factors Affecting the Health of a Pet Turtle
There are many factors that are considered to be appropriate for good health of the turtle. Proper light, moisture, clean water and basking lamp should be provided while raising the turtle at home.
Pet turtles should be kept in a large tank having a minimum capacity of 40 gallons of water. Moreover they should be kept in the clean water. For this purpose chlorination should be done to make the water free from the microbes. Clean water environment will ensure good health and long life of pet turtle.
Lightening and Temperature:
Adequate lighting and temperature are very much important for survival and health of pet turtles. Proper arrangements for keeping heat conditions to the narrow limits should be made. It should be maintained between 24C0 to 29C0. Proper light can prevent the bone diseases. To fulfill the need of light UV lamp shout be adjusted in the tank.
As turtles are cold blooded animals so it takes ample time to adjust their body temperature. Turtle should not be taken out of the tank more often for playing. The sudden changes of the environment can cause health disturbances.
The water can be infected by the fungus that can severely damage the health of turtle if ingested. To avoid this problem a piece of wood should not be used.
Feed of Turtles:
Like other pet animals, pet turtles also need proper diet to maintain good health. The diet should be balanced and should contain variety of things. The diet should comprise of frozen fish like trout, goldfish etc. Dried dog or cat pallets, earthworms, snails and mollusks can also be included in the diet.
The diet you chose for your pet turtle should have proper nutritional value. Commercially available diet should be avoided as the ingredients used may be impure which can greatly affect the health of turtle.