If you have decided to bring home a pet turtle or terrapin, you should know what is necessary to house them comfortably. Depending on the kind of pet turtle or terrapin that you choose, each has its own needs and requirements for living a healthy and happy life in your home. Generally there are a few needs that most turtles have in common as far as their habitat is concerned.
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| A hatchling Ornate Terrapin (Terrapene ornata ornata) (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
The first thing to keep in mind is being able to provide them with a comfortable environment that consists of a wet habitat and a dry habitat. This can be done by constructing a turtle tank with both a wet area and a dry area in it. There are certain things that you should provide no matter what type or gender of turtle or terrapin you have.
The wet aquarium should consist of water that is at the right temperature for them. It need to constant filtration and regular cleaning. It should also include the right levels of other materials such as rocks, plants and comfortable places for your turtle to bask on.
Your aquarium should maintain a constant temperature between environments to help your pet turtle or terrapin adapt to the change between wet and dry more easily. You should also make sure you place a constant supply of fresh water in a shallow container in the dry environment for them.
Their feedings should be done in water as they cannot swallow otherwise and you will need to keep both environments clean on a regular basis.
Some pet owners make the mistake of thinking that their pet turtles and pet terrapins do not require a lot of care and cleaning, but in point of fact turtles would keep themselves very clean in their natural environment. So you need to make sure there are kept safe from any possibility of bacteria or soft-shell disease.
The water should not be too deep and the basking ground should be made of small pebbles and flat stones so that it is more comfortable for the turtle.
The basking ground should either be in a very sunny spot, with natural, unfiltered sunlight or be lit by an ultraviolet (or UV) lamp. Reptile UV lamps are available at most pet stores and you should certainly invest in one for the health and well-being of your pet turtle.
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