turtle as a pet?

[NRRfrogmanP5]

does anyone on here have a turtle as a pet? i was thinking about getting one and just wondering how it is. like taking care of it. alot of work, smells. feeding? i hear its alot of work but ima read up on it. but any ideas would be cool too. thanks --mattman

[mckraut]

It's been a long time since I owned one, but a turtle was my first pet. It was an aquatic type and I don't remember it being a lot of work. Then again, I was seven, so I'm sure my parents did most of the heavy lifting.

I'm sure others can help you out more, but I think a turtle is pretty low maintenance depending on which one you get.

[NRRfrogmanP5]

there are different kinds?.. wow. i need to research this lol

[SuperStretch18]

Turtles are big and messy. If you want an aquatic turtle and plan on keeping it properly, plan on at least a 50 gallon fish tank with all the filters and everything, as well as the proper heat and full spectrum lighting that you would need for a lizard. It's not cheap to do it right...

[speed1016]

+1 I found out the hard way. HAHA not very easy pets to take car of.

[NRRfrogmanP5]

damn i think im gonna pass on the turtle but they are sooo cool i already had a name picked out lol

[SuperStretch18]

michelangelo? ;)

[NRRfrogmanP5]

Spike!

[Captain KRM P5]

my in-laws have two small turtles. my daughter likes to poke them and watch them retract into their shells. other than her getting a kick out of that, and watching them swim around, they don't seem to do much else.

[bgibb68]

reptiles can be messy and smelly....had 2 iguanas....not bad though once a week i'ld clean out their cageand just let rome the house....if ya got the water turtles just clean the tank one a week or when it get dirty and no probs....stick 'em in the bath tube when ya clean

[DeanSweet]

you won't ever forget the smell of the water... it's different. :X

[NRRfrogmanP5]

yeah thats why i like turtles...they remind me of myself. just easy goin creatures who like to relax. i think i still might gotta look into how exspensive the lighting is and all that

[Captain KRM P5]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEXo9EE-nMs

[kickniteasy]

I was thinking the same thing.....you need a big tank though, and it gets expensive quick. That, and they do smell pretty....unique? They live for forever too, so be ready for a commitment.

[bucksatan]

My step sister had a turtle, it lived for 15 or 16 years I think. Red eared slider. Didn't actually take all that much work, mostly just cleaning the tank from time to time. Pretty boring as a pet.

[MazdaSpeeder]

You could always get a box tortoise. I had one of these when I was a kid...no messy water for it, and they're not bad looking. If I recall, they do smell a little, but you don't have the dirty aquarium problem.

Edit: this thread is 4 months old, so never mind.

[wmbeaver]

Once you get everything set up, it isn't so bad. Their initial cost is way more than their upkeep. I have 2 red-eared sliders and they can grow close to 10" or larger. They do live for a while too. They can get kinda stinky too if their tank gets dirty. I usually change their water every couple weeks, in which I also buy new filters (if needed) for the pump and clean it out. It is worth it to splurge for a nice water pump too. Nicer ones clean the water much better are more user-serviceable, last a lot longer, and are quieter.
As far as feeding them, you usually only need to feed red-eared sliders once every 2 days if you use turtle food, which is relatively cheap. Also, they sometimes I'll go to the pet store and get some crickets or even goldfish for them to eat, just as a treat every now and then.
My turtles are actually pretty social, too. Anytime someone walks by, they start swimming over to that side of the tank.
Be sure to get a tall tank because when I first got mine, they routinely would climb out and I'd have to look under beds and such to find them. I really do enjoy having them though.

[JDM-P5]

Wife had a turtle. Couldn't take it with us on the move, so we gave it away.
Ummm...upkeep was relatively easy. Feed, wash the tank...pretty much it.
During the colder months, she got pretty lazy and cut down on food intake.
And, yes they are kinda stinky. Just clean the tank often and its no problem!

[Marmeladeone]

Unfortunately, my turtle "Little Dolly" died last week, I'm so blue (Dolly was 12 years old).

[tylerjones553]

Well I don't have any experience of keeping Turtle as a pet but It seem that they are also good pets only have dog till now they are also awesome

[JDM_Pro5]

I've had a pet turtle for 2 years. I have a Red Ear Slider. I keep a small aquarium filled with water and I have a pad the turtle can crawl on. I buy little bottles of turtle food. The bottle has a tunable top, similar to seasoning, it has pellets, krill, and tiny shrimp. I feed the turtle a little bit of each once a day. It's okay to underfeed but deadly to overfeed. Other than feeding it, all I have to do as far as keeping up with it is changing the water once every two months. The turtle required a heat lamp or else it tries to hibernate. I have a timer that runs the lamp during the day and turns off at night. The bulbs last a long time. Due to the bulb, the water is prone to grow algae and of course the turtle used the water for waster but also drinks the water, therefor it's a good idea to clean it. When cleaning the water, I fill a large jug with tap water and let it sit out overnight, this lets all the chlorine and other chemicals harmful to the turtle evaporate before giving it to the turtle. There are also drops you an add to the water to help purify it. I love my turtle :D

The turtle has a lot of benefits and I can tell a lot of people in this forum are saying the same things. The turtles are very social. I have some cats that love to hang out with the turtle and vice versa. The cat will sit on the screen on top of the aquarium, or pressed against the glass, and the turtle will get on her platform and dive off repeatedly. The turtle loves it when the TV comes on, she will watch all the colors. Also, the tank makes a good night light if you keep the light on.

I bought my turtle as a young hatching at the beach, illegal, from some Russians lol. I doubted it would live so long. It came in a TINY hermit crab cage and they gave me fish food to give the turtle, which it had nothing to do with. I took my turtle home, bought it a real tank, a platform, a lamp, and some food. I spent about $100. It has been over 2 years now, my turtle is no longer a hatching, I am able to tell her sex now that she is no longer a hatchling. She has more than tripled and size and couldn't even attempt to fit in the cage she came home in.

A turtle is a cool pet, but as far as fun goes, I have an albino ferret and he is the coolest!

[Malcolm123]

i have just buy a little turtle some days ago.it has no smell and turtle don't eat so much food.
and it don't so much care i just have to clean his tank after some days and just give him a little food that's it