What type of turtle should i get but it has to be small?

Question

For my b-day i'm getting a turtle and my mom said i can only get one that stays small.She said I can get it early (maybe). My b-day is October, 27th and i'm turning 12. I also need to know what type of food and habitat should i get for it and remember it has to be small.

Answer 1

Mud turtle or musk turtle. Check out the links the first person gave. They are both good breeders.

Answer 2

The smallest common pet turtles are:
- Mud and Musk Turtles- 4-6" as adults
- Male Painted Turtles of some sub-species stay under 6"
- Most Box Turtles (a dry-land species) stay around 5"

The Red-Ear Slider is a big species- 9" males and 12" females, and get big quick when well-cared for. These are often sold under misleading names to sell them- 'miniature', 'green', etc.

Most turtles need about 10 gallons of water per inch of turtle shell length for good health.

You can learn a lot about most turtles at http://www.austinsturtlepage.com

Answer 3

Hmm a red eared slider takes a LONG time to get big. They live like 40 years or something. Food buy some pellets from petsmart and every so often cut of some fruits or vegetables to small pieces NO spinach. For a habitat because its a baby when you get one a 10 gallon will do i got mine at petsmart for 12 $. For the habitat they are aquatic turtles so you need some big rocks that the turtle can climb up on mind yourself the turtle is small and after you get the rocks in maybe some decorations and water the height that's the legnth of its shell x2 then a UVA/UVB light and a heat lamp. If the turtle dosn't it that means its to cold and its digestive system won't work ounce you get everything in place they are easy to take care of. Red eared sliders CAN carry salmonella so wash your hands before and after you handle the turtle don't handle it to much or it might get mad. Do not just set it on your hand and walk around the turtle may decide to start walking instantly (trust me i've excperienced it) hold the top of its shell and the bottom with your index finger and your thumb do not squeeze it will hurt the turtle and thats about all. Hope this helps you out alot

Answer 4

The turtles Dennis B refers to are not "miniature" turtles, they are baby red-eared turtles. The adults are quite large.
I agree with the others, stick with musk and mud turtles.

Answer 5

I agree. Mud and musk turtles are small as adults, and very easy to care for.
I think that you should also read some books on basic turtle care.

Answer 6

Mud or Musk turtles are very nice and stay 3-5 inches full grown. You'll need at least a 20 gallon turtle tank, water heater, water filter, basking spot, basking heat lamp, UVB reptile bulb, varied diet. Here is a good care/info site:

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-stinkpot.htm

Answer 7

A musk turtle! they eat turtle pellets low amount of water and love standstill water! they only get 5 in. max!

Answer 8

OK. I've read the other answers. They're good, and informative. I've got another idea. You seem computer savy. When I was about your age, my Mom and Dad, and I were walking through a big pet store. They had small turtles, green, and the size of Silver dollars. Miniature ones. They also had small plastic enclosures, with a small pond, and shading plastic palm tree. They were indoor. I've seen these extremely recent at swap meets. They're just way, way under $8.00. I don't know the exact name, but description I've given will help. These are the Chihuahua's of Turtles. IF I were you, I'd check with pet shops, on info. on these little guys, and gals. Quiz your parents, and their friends, to I.D. these. They're PERFECT. Perhaps, some other Y/A people can help on this. Some may already know, after reading this. Good luck.

Answer 9

Turtles do get big.
And pls don't buy them without doing any researches on how to take care of them.
Go under Google.com and do your research.