I want to keep a turtle

You live in NYC? Go to turtlepond in central park! It is amazing!!! Its only turtles, all sliders, many hundreds! You can go out on a dock and they will swim up and you can see a hundred wild turtles at once! They are all slightly different. It is the best thing about NYC!

Or china town

That’s where I got my red earred slider

Everyone: you should really really consider getting a turtle from someone that can not keep it anymore, or from a shelter. So many young and old turtles and tortoises die every year due to owners ignorance or lack of knowledge. If you buy from a pet store/ breeder / street vendor you will increase the demand for turtle hatchlings. Many people buy turtles on a whim - especially for their kids. Take a turtle off some lazy kids hands - it is a living animal that you want to care for and that the kid is already bored of.

If you want a male tortoise - you can get a grown up one! They will live longer than you if you take care of them right! If you want a herman one you need to have a garden and a temperate climate. They climb! My slider ran away once - you will need a lot of fence!

Best of luck! Please rescue turtles!

Right… I thought getting one from a breeder is the best possible way but it’s far better to get one from someone who can’t keep it anymore or a shelter.

Does a herman tortoise need a garden? I thought they can be kept indoors? Of course I’ll let them sunbath in a balcony when I can. For temperature I’ll buy all equipments needed such as a hot spot, and a sheet heater for winter or a fan for summer.

Getting a grown-up one is a really good idea!

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This thread makes me miss @Turnip. She loves toads, but I am sure she would have good advice about turtles, too :frog::turtle:

Yeah, I miss @turnip too. I hope she’s OK. I remember she built that cool homemade toad habitat and was going get some toads for it.

I kept a turtle when I was at my very worst. A red eared slider. Honestly he kept me going. I’m not sure what kind of turtle you want, but here’s what required for such a turtle. They are aquatic and land.

Aqarium. (They get up to 6 inches you will have to get bigger aquarium as they grow and they say 10 gallons per inch so you might want to get 40 gallon tank to start then you won’t have to upgrade for quite a while)

Heat lamp

Sun light (forgot name)

Water heater.

Basking rock

Thermometer to make sure water is set to correct temp

Water conditioner get rid of chlorine

They eat turtle food. Dry pellets and dry meal worms. They can also eat live food. Small fish

You can give them calcium blocks those are good for them to have.

Plenty of water to swim

You can go on websites and learn about it before you get one or YouTube about tank setup. I may have missed a few things. I just mentioned the basics.

I kept mine in an open tank and he was very friendly. Used to follow me around as I walked passed the tank. When I got up in he morning and turned on his light he would get excited and come splashing over to me. Then he used to get even more excited when I opened his food drawer. He learned that’s where his food was, and his arms and legs would be dancing all over.

I would love one again, the hardest part is cleaning the tank. If you are a bit of a messy person or not one for keeping on top of cleaning, I wouldn’t get one. There is also the expense of light bulbs, electricity to take into account and who would take care of it if you were to go on holiday.

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I was googling " turtle" and this popped up :confused:
Looks like something Martha Stuart would make.

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They are very active - just make sure you give them enough space! Reptiles are often sensitive to fans, they easily get colds and stuff. In nature they burrow to cool off. Indoors i would maybe make a shady cave and build a pile of dirt on top of an ice pack if it is crazy hot.

The main issues on tortoises are shell pyramiding, egg laying (ignore if you don’t have a female) and hibernation. If you read up on that, and make a smart setup, your tortoise will love you. But that said, i live with one turtle who would never run away, and one constantly planning on it. And the rabbit we have is not in a cage, and she is ruling the whole house. We need to use baby gates to have a meal in peace and quiet. So maybe you get a nice tortoise, or maybe you get one that learns to get into your trash or hide your shoes.

Post pictures when you get one!

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I sure will! :smile:

I’ve been reading only one book and various websites on how to keep a tortoise but am just back from a library with all the books they have on tortoises! I just need more knowledge.

I want my future tortoise to live happily til the end.

Please help when I need help in the future!

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