How to Keep Pet Turtles in a Child's Bedroom

Pet turtles can live in any room of your house as long as they have the proper enclosure. The turtle needs enough space to move around, lighting, clean water and fresh food. Semi-aquatic turtles need both land and water areas in their enclosures, while terrestrial turtles require a large amount of dry space, and must be kept at the proper temperatures. You can set up a turtle enclosure in a child's bedroom if it suits all of the animal's needs, but you must make sure and do it properly or else the turtle's health could suffer.

Things You'll Need

  • Enclosure with lockable lid (such as 40 gallon tank with screen lid)
  • Basking lamp
  • Food and water dishes
  • Water heater (if needed for aquatic species)
  • Water filter (for aquatic species)
  • Rock, ramp, bridge, or other furniture
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Instructions

    • 1

      Make sure the turtle enclosure's lid can be locked. Some turtles will climb more than others and may try to escape, so a lid is important. It is also necessary to include one that locks so that you can keep your child out of it if necessary. Turtles do not like to be handled very often and you should limit how much access your child has to the turtles when you aren't around. A lockable lid will also prevent children from throwing in potentially harmful items such as candies and other human foods as well as small toys.

    • 2

      Set the enclosure up high enough that your child cannot mess with lights, filters, water heaters or electrical cords. Basking lamps can become very hot, creating temperatures of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and if they are knocked over may cause burns or even a fire. Filters that are pulled out of the water while running can burn out, and tank heaters that are messed with can become too hot or cause burns if adjusted incorrectly.

    • 3

      Use a quiet filter and light timers. A loud water filter may keep your child from sleeping, while lights that do not turn off by themselves may be forgotten and not turned on or off when needed. Plug basking and other lights into timers that will turn the lights on and off at reasonable times each day so that they run correctly and do not disturb your child's sleep.

    • 4

      Keep the turtle food someplace an adult can keep track of it. It is good to have your child be responsible for feeding the turtle as it is in their room, but if you keep the food nearby they may try to overfeed while you aren't looking. If you have a lockable lid on the enclosure this shouldn't be too much of a problem, but just in case you may want to keep the turtle food in the kitchen or where other pet foods are stored. This can also help you keep track of when new food needs to be purchased.