How to Buy a Pet Turtle or Tortoise

Turtles and tortoises can make great pets. Keep these following tips in mind when buying your pet turtle or tortoise.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• $15 or more

1. Decide what kind of turtle or tortoise you want. Remember, turtles live mostly in water, whereas tortoises live on land.

2. Decide where to buy. If you want a more common species such as a red eared slider, you can probably buy locally at a pet store. If you want a more exotic breed buy online. TurtleSource (http://www.theturtlesource.com) has a great selection and ships good quality turtles. Online stores often keep turtles in better health than local pet stores.

3. Pick a healthy turtle. If you buy online, your best bet is to buy from a reputable source. A benefit of buying locally is you can inspect the turtle yourself. You'll want to pick an active one. He should swim around vigorously and be difficult for the store keeper to catch. Stay away from the ones sitting at the bottom of the tank. Once caught, he should offer strong resistance and try to pull away from you. If you give a light tug on his foot, he you should feel him pulling away.

4. Watch out for diseases. Eyes should be clear, not cloudy, which can be symptomatic of vitamin A deficiency or eye infection. Shell should be firm without cracks or white spots, which can be symptomatic of shell rot.

5. Take your new pet home!

Tips & Warnings

• Remember, it's illegal to buy turtles smaller than 4 inches (you can buy them from certain online places for "research or education"
• Always practice safe handling of turtles. They can carry salmonella so always wash your hands after handling
• Keep in mind how big your turtle will get when he/she is all grown up and whether you can provide a habitat big enough.
• Try to stay away from the turtles sold in chinatown which are often already sick and kept in poor conditions.
• Baby turtles and tortoises, while very cute, require more care than adult ones.

Resources

• Turtle Source
• Dr. Fosters and Smith

[SimplyCuttings]

on 12/31/2008 Great article; thanks for the tips.