How to Buy a Turtle

Series Summary

Turtles might not be the high-energy pets that cats and dogs are, but they require just as much care in their environment and diet. Turtles are among the oldest reptile species, and when cared for properly, a turtle can have a very long lifespan. With their cute little heads, colorful shells and calm dispositions, turtles are a great pet for the individual that likes to see nature at its calmest. However, don't assume that all turtles are docile! Some, such as the snapping turtle, are carnivorous and can have quite a bite. There are many different species of turtles, and all of them have unique characteristics and needs. So, before rushing to a pet store or adopting a wild turtle, make sure to do proper research. In this free video series, get some tips for caring for pet turtles. Tim Cole, owner of a reptile conversation company, takes time to explain how to buy a turtle. Also, learn how to create an environment for a pet turtle, and find out about red eared turtles and how to care for them. Tim even demonstrates how to care for a tortoise. So, if a pet turtle sounds alluring, keep them healthy and happy with these tips.

Video Transcript

"Hi, my name is Tim Cole I'm with the Austin Reptile Service and I've been keeping reptiles and amphibians for over forty years and I'm hear to talk to you about how to buy a turtle. One thing to keep in mind that it is illegal for baby turtles to be sold under four inches unless there for educational purposes, scientific purposes. One of the ways you can buy turtles that would be healthy is going to reptile shows and talking to the breeders, the people that actually breed these turtles. Some turtles make good pets and some don't, you've got to keep in mind how much space you have available. Red-eared sliders are one of the more common turtles sold as pets and they're actually one of the more difficult turtles to keep because of their size, they do get big. And once you've had a turtle in captivity just like any other reptile, you cannot release it back into the wild. There are lots of problems associated with this. So once you buy this turtle, you're committed to keeping it. Reptile shows quite often have breeders that are available to buy turtles from. So do your research and figure out what kind you want to get, how big they're going to get, what you have space for. Lots of turtles stay small or a reasonable size like mud turtles, musk turtles, map turtles, painted turtles, and then we can start talking about tortoises. Keep in mind the spur-thighed tortoises get very large but they're fairly common in the pet trade and they're starting to show up as rescues. Leopard tortoises are a little bit smaller, your average leopard tortoise could be about twenty pounds, twenty, thirty pounds. And then you got smaller species of tortoises like hinge-back tortoises, Russian tortoises, Greek tortoises. All of those make suitable tortoise pets because they don't get a whole lot bigger than that."