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Turtles: Expert Guides and Resources
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Articles & Books From Turtles
Your fun guide to selecting, caring, and loving your turtle or tortoise!Coexisting with a turtle or tortoise may not be a warm and fuzzy experience, but it definitely has its rewards. And with more than 250 species to choose from, you’re bound to find one that’s right for you. Looks-wise, they can range from very plain and unadorned to a brightly colored and embellished with every manner of crest, crown, spike, and dewlap.
Article / Updated 08-22-2018
You can house your terrestrial turtle or tortoise in a number of ways: glass aquariums, commercially designed reptile cages, home-built wooden enclosures, and plastic swimming pools. However, before you decide which type of cage to use, you need to figure out how large it should be. In addition, you need to make the cage escape-proof.
Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-27-2016
Your shelled pet may not have the warm fuzzies of more ordinary choices, but turtles and tortoises definitely have a cool factor that mammals can’t touch. As the owner of a turtle or tortoise, you enter a world with a whole new vocabulary and a different set of records to keep.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
As your turtle's or tortoise's caretaker, you are ultimately responsible for its good health. You aren't able to hear directly from your turtle or tortoise when it is unwell or has been hurt. In fact, your turtle or tortoise is genetically programmed to hide illnesses and injury, because in the wild, predators prey upon the weak.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
In the wild, aquatic and semi-aquatic turtles live wherever there is a constant source of water, coming out to forage, bask in the sun, or lay eggs. Quick-running rivers, slow, meandering streams, and tiny creeks all support turtles. Swamps, ponds, lakes, and even brackish (salty) marshes have chelonian residents.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
When you think of turtles, do you think of the tiny quarter or half-dollar-sized turtles that used to be sold in pet stores (and in some places still are)? If so, you're not alone. That image is the one that comes to mind when many people think of turtles. However, those tiny little turtles (most of whom died shortly after their purchase) are only one of many different types of turtles and tortoises, many of which can be long-lived, healthy, hearty pets.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Turtles and tortoises are not your run-of-the-mill pets, and if you choose to add a chelonian (a turtle or tortoise) to your family, you may want to broaden your vocabulary beyond what you need when talking about more, uh, ordinary pets. The terms here are some of the words used in reference to turtles and to
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Keeping records on your turtle or tortoise is a necessity. Do you remember exactly when you bought your pet? When were those eggs laid? In addition, with so many species protected by law, you need to be able to show where, when, and from whom you got each pet. Records and photographs can also help you identify your pets if one is stolen or escapes.
