I really want a turtle but my moms wants me to do reasearch on them so does anybody know much about them??

Question

how often they get sick? how big tank is required for a turtle about 4cm by 2cm? are they poisonous? Are they hard to handle? What type is best? What do they eat?

Answer 1

well i'll answer your main question but for sake of typing out everything you need to know i'll leave you with two of the best links i have ever come across.

www.turtlecare.net/
www.austinsturtlepage.com/

these have lots of ACCURATE information.

yay cm. i guessin gyour outside the US so any breeds i know of that are good may or may not be in your area so that part of your question i can not answer but austin's turtle page can (second link)
2x4 cm is about less than 1x2 inches. that's a pretty small little turtle. but it won't stay that small for long. some grow really fast and some fast but not as fast. but they ALL GET RATHER LARGE. like upwards of 25 cm (10 inches)
there is a rule of one gallow of water for 1 inch of shell length so i gal is 4 q. 1 q is really close to a liter. 2.54 cm per inch so 4 liters of water per 2.5 cm.is minimum FOR a WATER turtle. a land turtle ie tortise is square feet in acordance to squarage of the shell and i raise turtle not tortises so i don't know the perfet recomendations for that other than 5x lenght of shell by 4 x the width and wall tall enough that it can not climb out. also tortise and aqauriums are bad because of the transparency of galss. but the're ok for turtles.
anywho. they are not poisonous but they can bite. they aren't hard to handle but some may be aggressive and may bite. and what they eat depends on breed.

hope that helps and if nothing ele definately check out the sites.

Answer 2

1. How often do they get sick? Rarely, if properly cared for.

2. Big of a tank? Figure about 10 gallons per linear inch, or about 10 liters per centimeter long. Most turtles hit 6-12" (15-30cm) as adults and you need to think about the adult size.

3. Poisonous? No, although they can carry Salmonella if kept too dirty- but that is easily dealt with by good handwashing.

4. Hard to handle? Turtles do not like handling, but are easy to when needed.

5. Best type? Water or land?
- Water- Mud Turtles, Painted Turtles, Reeves Turtle
- Land- Eastern Box Turtle or Hermann's Tortoise

6. Eat? There are several basic turtle diets, too many to go into in depth here.

A good 'all-in-one' site for your needs would be http://www.austinsturtlepage.com and their forum- http://www.turtleforum.com

Good luck!

Oh- try this article first: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Articles/firstturtle.htm

Answer 3

I'm assuming you'd like to get a box turtle? They make good pets but they're rather high maintenace. A good enclosure and a cheap one is a large storage tub you can find at Wal Mart. My turtle's enclosure was 4ft by 2ft lined with peat moss and potting soil. Around the perimeter, I put some different odds and ends to make a barrier to keep him from climbing out. I had a spray bottle I sprayed the soil with to keep it moist. On one end there was a pool for him to soak in along with a dish for his food and on the other end, there was a heating lamp and basking rock. Also, in the winter, they hibernate, and you have to make sure they have the right conditions to hibernate. They need to be hibernated properly and brought out of hibernation properly or they'll get sick. There's no such thing as a poisonous turtle.

They're very high maintenance if you want to keep them healthy and happy...if you're thinking that a measley 4cm by 2cm is enough then...I don't think a pet turtle is right for you. Maybe a fish or a hamster would be better for you.

Answer 4

Turtles are an easy bet to keep, but the type you have determines food needs most eat fish and fresh veggies, They do carry something called salminila but as long as you wash your hands after handeling them and keep your hands away from your mouth and eyes you will probably not get sick, as for all pets they should see a vet at least once a year, there are actually shots they need. You need vitamin suppliments that come in powdered form to put on say a dead goldfish or wet fruit, you need an ultraviolet lamp that helps them actually convert vitamins like k and d ( just like us) and because they are cold blooded you need a heat rock for the cage. its best to use brown paper bags as the liner, becasue youll find you need to change the paper at least once a day because they tend to be a bit messy, all in all if you take care of them they can live a long time and be very good pets, I would suggest a box turtle for your first one, stay away from sliders and painters as they can be aggressive, and of course snappers if that goes well you can upgrade to a tourtuse it might actually outlive you, bot a box turtle only needs a 10 gal. aquarium as long as you take it out everyday for exercise let it walk aound the yard or even the house but it comes from nature so you really should let it experience it.

Answer 5

Good news: Turtles are easy to care for. They don't get sick very often and they don't need a big tank. If they have eight inches of romping room around their body, then the tank is big enough. However the bad news is, they are not much fun. They mostly just sit there and do nothing at all. You can love them with all your heart but they will never love you back or be affectionate.

I think that you might like a guinea pig better. They are fun. You can buy a clear, hollow excercise ball at the pet store, put your pet in there, and they will zoom all over the house. It's hilarious! You can cuddle it and hug it. You can teach it to come when you call it. If you are nice to a guinea pig, she will love you right back. The bad news is that you have to clean the cage everyday or it will smell. How responsible are you?

Answer 6

turtles are fine and dandy when they are small and young, but they can get up to a decent size when they start getting older, turtles I believe have a lifespan of upwards of 20-30 years and some can get big enough that they need to be put like in a bathtub

Answer 7

Turtles aren't great pets. I had red ear sliders and found new homes for them. They eat turtle food that you can buy at any pet shop, they eat small fish and they love brine shrimp all can be bought at any pet shop and also they love hamburger.

Answer 8

here are some links on different types of turtles and care;
very kid friendly each one is about a paragraph and very
!!!!!informative!!!!!
African Spur Thighed
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/turtles/Tortoise_AfricanSpurThighed.pdf
Arid
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/turtles/Tortoise_Arid.pdf
Asian Leaf
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/turtles/Turtle_AsianLeaf.pdf
Cherry head Red Foot
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/turtles/Tortoise_CherryHead_Redfoot.pdf
Greek
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/turtles/Tortoise_Greek.pdf
red eared slider
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/turtles/Turtle_RedEaredSlider.pdf
Tropical
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/turtles/Tortoise_Tropical.pdf
Aquatic
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/turtles/Turtle_Aquatic.pdf
Bell's Hingeback
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/turtles/Tortoise_BellsHingeback.pdf
Map turtle
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/turtles/Turtle_Map.pdf
Russian
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/turtles/Tortoise_Russian.pdf
----In the past I've had a snapping turtle, a painted turtle, and a box turtle: for you I strongly suggest a painted or boxed breed so be sure to at least check out these links below on painted and boxed breeds:
Painted box turtle
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/turtles/Turtle_PaintedWood.pdf
Asian box turtle
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/turtles/Turtle_AsianBox.pdf
common Painted Turtle
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/turtles/Turtle_Painted.pdf
and common Box Turtle
http://www.petco.com/caresheets/turtles/Turtle_CommonBox.pdf
good luck, and your mom is right you should never get a pet before throughly researching it; all of these links cn be found at http://petco.com under the pet care info tab on the bottom left side and then in the animal care sheets link REMEMBER: turtles can be a life long commitment-the only reason I don't have all mine still is because my parents gave them away when I went to camp! Otherwise my turtles would have probably outlived me and ended up being passed down to my kids-lol-I'm serious they live a long @$$ time!!! Be sure you know what you're getting yourself into and good luck

Answer 9

Here are few of articles to get you started: http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/reptilesturtles/a/aquaticturtles.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/reptiles/turtles_pets.html
http://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/spotlight_an_turtles.htm
http://www.petturtle.com/care.htm
http://www.calpoly.edu/~smwong/Pets/Pet-Turtles.html