How to Keep Turtles

Turtles are beautiful creatures and you can easily fall in love with them.but most people dont keep them in right way. If you are interested in turtles too and are willing to by one here is a (almost) complete guide to keeping turtles.

By the way this i my first instructable so please "FAVORITE" it.

Turtles need a lot of space to swim so we need to have a at least 30 gallon aquarium.but there is a rule of shell that tells how much space the turtle needs.It says 10 gallons per every inch of the turtles shell but i you have a baby or hatch ling you should find out the full grown size to calculate the aquarium size unless ,your turtle will grow and you'll need to change the aquarium every year.Turtles dont need a lot of height and they need some wide space to swim.

There's a deep blue breeder aquarium witch has a reasonable price and is great for turtles.

And remember the bigger the aquarium the less smelly it will be.

Turtles are very messy and poop a lot so u might want to buy a big filter .Like if you have a 50 gal aquarium you need a aquarium filter witch is for a 60 gal one.But even if you have a great filter you should change the water and clean the whole aquarium every month.but always remember to check the basking are too because they get dirty very fast.

Most turtle keepers dont use any substrate so that they can clean the aquarium easier but to me substrate is a must have thing. Because the turtles like digging in it and the aquarium will look nicer too.

here is a list a popular substrates

• Fine sand is a popular substrate that many turtle hobbyists like. But I think sand is a terrible substrate. I find it very difficult to keep clean even with frequent vacuuming. In my opinion, the only reason to use sand is if you're keeping turtles who like to dig in it, like soft shell turtles.

• Aquarium Gravel is another substrate that I don't like. It's not a very good plant substrate because it contains little or no nutrient value for the plants. Also, turtles sometimes eat gravel; so unless it's very smooth and the pieces are large enough that a turtle can't eat them, I don't think it's worth the risk.

• Fluorite. Personally, I think Fluorite is the best choice for a planted turtle tank. Fluorite is a porous clay gravel that's designed for use in planted aquariums. It's an excellent root medium for plants, it looks very natural and attractive, and I've never seen a turtle eat it. However, when you first fill the tank, it will make the water look like mud. I just let the dust settle, and then then let the filter run for a few days with nothing in it except floss (with several floss changes), before introducing the turtles.

The writing about the substrates is from internet and i haven't written it.

Basking is one of the most essential things in a turtles life and if it doesn't bask and dry it will get very sick.So for basking we need a basking area and heat and UV lamps.The basking area can be any thing. You can ether buy a ready basking area from the pet shops or make one by placing rocks or using a floating log there is a picture of my basking area on the top.

OK..... heat lamps,they should be over the basking area to heat the place up but be sure the heat lamp is at least 2 inches away from the turtle because the turtle can burn it self.

The UV light is a lamp with produces ultra violet rays so the turtle can get the needed vitamins if not your turtle will get a soft shell a will become very ill.

Turtle eat a huge variety of food but you should feed them right.You just can feet the with any thing around the house.Turtles mostly eat meat but i depends on your turtle mine never ever eats veggies .

Insects, worms, frogs, small fish, already dead fish, certain green plants, and ..... are all the tings u can feed to your turtle.If you feed your turtle dead fish or some thing its best to feed them life fish or tadpoles so they can chase it around the aquarium and if your turtle doesn't,its OK dont take the fish out because it eats the left over food and your aquarium will be cleaner.

Well turtles dont need a lot of decoration but a little bit is needed to make aquarium look natural. Some smooth rocks and some fake or real plant will work but make sure the real plants aren't poisonous because your turtle might nibble them.

• Adults should be fed every two days and juveniles should be fed every day.
• Never feed you turtle dairies.
• Try to hand feed your turtles .(dont worry their bite dose not hurt.)
• Most people buy red ear sliders but i have kept the European pond turtles for three years and they make great pets
• Handling turtles doesn't have any limit .

• Turtles live a long time so if you are the kind of person ho might forget your turtle dont buy one

and here is my first instructables pleas feel free to ask questions and one again please 'like'

When i was 10 my grandfather bought me tank and nameless.I didn't know much about turtles back then .But that wasn't the problem the real problem was the seller had told us they were tortoises and that's why i kept the out of water in a very dry area.If turtles aren't in water they can not eat food so the didn't eat food for a long time .we were all tiring to make them eat some thing but they didn't so i just released them in our back yard.after 3 years when i was playing in the yard i saw a black thing moving in our pool i picked it up with a net a suddenly realized it was Tank.I told my self this time i have to take care of him the right way.I surfed in the internet for 3 days and found a turtle expert at last.I sent him a couple of pictures from him and he gave me the right information about him so i bought a aquarium and the right food and introduced him to his new home .After a couple of days i started feeding him but he didn't eat the food . I was so confused why he didn't eat.After a couple of days i was walking into my room when i saw my 3 year old brother trowing cheese into the aquarium. I ran to the kitchen to get a hook to get the cheese out but when i came back into the room i saw tank eating the cheese and before i could do some thing he had eaten it all but From that day he started eating !!! in fact he had became a eating machine.I dont know what kind of magic cheese was that but i didn't care because he was the happiest turtle in the world.