List of Small Pet Turtles

Turtles make interesting and easy-to-care-for pets. Unfortunately, many of them can grow to be quite large, which can make it difficult to keep them in an aquarium or other indoor habitat. However, there are a variety of semi-aquatic and land turtles that stay small all their lives.

  1. Red Eared Sliders and Painted Turtles

    • Red eared sliders, a popular type of small turtle, are about 1 inch in diameter when they first hatch and can grow to about 12 inches, according to Pet Education. Sliders have olive green skin with yellow stripes, as well as a thick red line behind each eye or on the tops of their heads. They spend part of the time in the water and the rest of the time basking in warm sunny places. Red eared sliders mainly eat snails, earthworms and crickets, as well as various types of plants and vegetables.

      Painted turtles grow to be between 5 and 10 inches long, according to the Grizzly Run website. Like red eared sliders, these turtles are semi-aquatic. They are omnivorous and need a variety of plant and animal protein. Painted turtles have olive-colored or black top shells with yellow or orange coloring on their plastrons or lower shells.

    Reeve's and Mud Turtles

    • Reeve's turtles, commonly imported to the United States, are native to China and Japan. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill describes Reeve's turtles as having a rectangular-shaped shell with coloring that can range from brownish-yellow to black. These turtles grow to be only around 5 inches and are relatively easy to tame. They are semi-aquatic and eat insects and frogs as well as plants.

      Mud turtles are another semi-aquatic variety of turtle that stay small in adulthood, only growing to be around 5 inches. Mud turtles have smooth, greenish-brown shells, according to the Pelotes Native Island Reserve website. They eat tadpoles and insects, as well as a variety of plants and vegetables.

    Box Turtles

    • There are several different varieties of box turtle, including the Eastern, the ornate and the three-toed box turtle. Box turtles, which live on land, have dark greenish-brown or black shells with bright yellow or orange patterning. Male box turtles have orange or red eyes. These turtles usually stay under 8 inches in length. Box turtles prefer live food, such as insects and earthworms, but they also eat vegetables.