by Nina Frerichs

Created on: June 19, 2010   Last Updated: June 20, 2010

*introduction*
I am a pet lover but when I was younger, my brother was allergic to most pets. We had two rabbits that lived in our garden, but my dad also bought two turtles so we at least could have some pets inside. Turtles aren't the real cuddly kind of pets but can be really a lot more fun than people think!

*Turtle facts*

Turtles are one of the oldest animals on our planet. Turtles belong to the Order Testudines. There are salt water turtles and  sweet water turtles. Some turtles can mainly be found in the water but some prefer to live on land mainly.

First of all, a lot of people do not know how to keep a turtle. When we bought them from a local pet shop, the owner didn't even know how he had to keep them as a he only had a bunch of baby turtles in a glass box with cold water standing on  his cash desk. My father did some research and discovered that we immediately needed to throw away the glass box we had bought at the same shop and we needed to get a special aquarium, with a pump to clean the water an a thermometer to keep the waters temperature nice. We also bought a water heater specially made to warm the water the turtles were in. Thanks to my dad's research, "Dolly"and "Schildje" lived for a long long time (and still do!)

So what do you need to keep in mind when you buy a turtle (or two);

- If you have an aquarium, make sure 2/3 is water and 1/3 is land
- Turtles are swimmers and the bigger their aquarium, the better they feel
- Make sure the water is high enough, because when a turtle falls on its back it needs to be able to turn around easily.
- The part where your turtle likes to take a sunbath (the dry part) needs to have a lamp to keep the turtle warm.
-Water temperature needs to be between 24 - 28 degrees.
- Use an aquarium filter!
- Turtles eat almost everything that comes from a pond. Young turtles need to be fed daily, the older ones can be fed 3-4 times a week.
- Wintersleep; 30% of the turtles kept in captivity, doesn't wake up after their wintersleep.
- When a turtles shield is soft, it has a lack of the right vitamins!
- A turtle can bite, and yes, that hurts a lot!
- A turtle can grow, grow grow! The bigger their aquarium, the bigger your turtle will get.

*My opinion*
Turtles are funny little reptiles, but they do need proper care! You have to be aware of the costs that comes with a turtle. A special heater for water temperature, a big aquarium, a filter, that doesn't come cheap!
I think they are great, but turtles only can be kept when you know what to do with them!

Thanks for reading!

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