How to Choose Your First Aquatic Turtle

A small aquatic turtle is often a child's first pet. Aquatic turtles spend the majority of their lives in water. They have webbed feet for swimming in fresh water. A few species inhabit brackish water. There are more than 50 varieties of aquatic turtles. They are generally an inexpensive turtle to purchase and they have minimal care requirements, which make them ideal for the novice pet owner. Aquatic turtles are normally separated into two varieties; the basking turtle who adores sunning himself out of the water on a ledge or rock, and the non-basking turtle who simply floats in the water to soak up the sun.

Things You'll Need

  • Aquarium
  • Filter system
  • Aquarium rocks
  • Large aquarium rock
  • Full spectrum lighting
  • Aquarium vegetation, live or plastic
  • Basking rock
  • Incandescent light
  • Submersible aquarium heater
  • Aquarium thermometer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Choose which type of aquatic turtle is the easiest for you to house. Basking and non-basking aquatic turtles have different housing requirements. Both live in an aquarium setting, but their aquarium design will be different based upon the variety of aquatic turtle you purchase.

    • 2

      Purchase an aquarium. Many people purchase a round fish bowl, but this offers very little space for the aquatic turtle. If purchasing a non-basking aquatic turtle as a pet, purchase an aquarium water filtration system. There are various filtration systems sold. Some filtration systems are designed to hang from the side of the tank and others are laid under the aquarium rocks. Non-basking aquatic turtles produce a large amount of waste material and the water will need to have a heavy duty filtration system and be changed regularly.

    • 3

      Place live or plastic vegetation in the aquarium for the non-basking turtle to climb on and float. Provide a large floating log or floating rock for non-basking turtles to climb up on when they are tired of the water. For a basking turtle, the aquarium will simply have a small flat water dish in one corner surrounded by aquarium rocks and a large rock. Vegetation is also a nice touch to let a turtle feel safer. The basking turtle will simply crawl into the water dish when it wants to be wet and the rest of the time it will spend on the aquarium rock or the large rock basking.

    • 4

      Place an incandescent light 12 to 18 inches above the basking area to offer ideal heat for both the basking and non-basking turtle. Place an thermometer near the basking area to maintain the temperature between 88 to 94 degrees Fahrenheit. Full-spectrum lighting should also be provided to offer both the basking and non-basking turtle the ideal conditions. .

    • 5

      Provide sphagnum moss for the basking turtle to burrow into. The non-basking turtle will simply turn to the water to cool off, should he become too hot.

    • 6

      Place a submersible aquarium heater into the water for aquatic turtles. Watch the water temperature using a thermometer. An ideal water temperature should be 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit.