The African Spurred Tortoise

The African Spurred Tortoise (Geochelone Sulcata) is found in Northern Africa. The Spurred Tortoise likes the hot and dry regions of the desert, and they are the largest African tortoise. They have a flat carapace, and thick skin. The males have claws, and they are usually bigger than females. The carapace of females is flatter, and this is one of the best methods to distinguish them.

The maximum size reaches 61-65 centimeters, and it weights an average of 40-60 kilograms. The largest of them reach 100 kilograms! The African Tortoise lives more than 50 years. The known record in captivity is 54 years, but it is believed that they live a lot longer in their natural habitats. The skin color is the same as the one of the carapace, which is great for camouflage. The general color of the tortoise is the one of the sand, which makes it the perfect hiding place. It is an herbivore, and it can hardly be adapted to other habitats. As they have a strong shell and all the defensive weapons possible, the only real enemy of African Tortoise is man.



This tortoise is great as a pet, but they need food and space, and also a habitat that resembles with the natural one. It is not suited for indoor, even if the owner is able to ensure the right temperature.

The African Tortoise has a great ability to dig, so in captivity, you need to take all the measurements to protect it. It is recommended to enclose the space of the tortoise with concrete. Males are aggressive when they are put together.



The environment must always be dry. The light must be strong, and the best one is the natural light. Of course, a part of the enclosure must be shady. As for the furniture required for a tortoise, a large water bowl is recommended, but it is a good idea to fix it in one place.

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Common Tortoises in Europe

Testudo Graeca can be found in Eastern Europe and around the Mediterranean Sea, where the climate is proper for its development. It is a protected species. Kidnapping such tortoise from its natural environment is considered a criminal offence. Moreover, buying one without documents attesting the origins of the tortoise, from an authorized breeder is also forbidden. It is a dry tortoise with small dimensions. An adult can reach 20 centimeters or even 30. The males are smaller than the females. The shell is rectangular, and if has a brown color with different nuances. The young ones have a light brown shell. The sides of the shell are big, and they are contoured in black. The head is covered with large scales and the legs are also covered with scales of a light color.

The Greek Tortoise comes from the arid zones with a sandy field, and with high temperatures. It is ideal to offer the tortoise some space that imitates the natural conditions. The Greek Tortoise CAN’T live in the interior, no matter if you have a generous space or aquarium. For the entire hot season, you can keep her outside in a designed space in the yard. Surround it with big stones or with a fence, at least two square meters for an adult. Those tortoises can climb really fast, so the fence must be high and vertical. The area must have two zones: one with grass and another one with sand. Make sure that the ground under it is not humid, as this damages the health of the tortoise. Breathing problems that are often lethal occur. The dry tortoises are shy animals, so they need places to hide. Give them two or three places of this kind. Leave your imagination to guide you. Contrary to the general belief, the dry land tortoises drink water. You need a large vessel for water, but don’t choose a deep one. The torto
ise might fall in it and it might not be able to get out. Birds and foxes are ferocious hunters of tortoises, so make sure you protect it against those also.

The Greek tortoise needs natural light to produce D3 vitamin, under the influence of the UV rays. This is important for the metabolism of Calcium. A tortoise without natural light and exposure to the sun can lead to affection of bones. The place where the tortoise stays must have sunny and shadowed areas.

The Greek tortoise is herbivore. It needs fibers, and fewer proteins. Only a few people know this and they offer the turtle all kinds of animal originated snacks, which affect the digestive system. The Greek turtle must be fed with vegetables, salad, green onion, spinach, pumpkins.

Greek Tortoise

Baby greek tortoise

Greek tortoise habitat

Black greek tortoise

Greek tortoise size

Greek tortoise full grown

Greek tortoise care

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Different types of turtles

Before analyzing the types of turtles, we must establish the differences between turtles and tortoises. The turtles are the ones that live in the water. The tortoises live on dry land, but they also have the capacity to swim.

The most common type of turtle in USA that is also popular as a pet is the Florida Turtle (chrysemys scripta elegans). It is a middleweight species that reaches 20-25 centimeters as an adult, and a weight of 1.5-2 kilograms. Many times, it is appreciated like a small turtle considering that it only measures 3-4 centimeters at birth, and a weight of 10 grams. When she is young, the turtle has about the same dimensions. It is found in North America subtropical areas, but it is easily adaptable and spread all over the world. The young baby turtles have an intense color, with a green shell with yellow and green stripes. As the baby grows, those expand to the neck, head and members. On each part of the body, on the posterior side of the eye, a red dot can be observed. Sometimes, there is also a red stripe on the head, but this has a less intense color.

As the turtle gets old, the general color of the turtle becomes darker, and when it reaches maturity, it has a brown-green color with violet reflexes. The yellow stripes are less obvious. In the natural environment, they can be found on watercourses that are less deep and flooded areas.

The European turtle (emys obicularis) has small dimensions, with varieties of 15-25 centimeters. The body is different considering the age category, evolving from a rounded shape to an oval one for an adult.

The members of the European turtle are strong, with long claws for the five anterior members and the four posterior ones. As a particularity, we can say that the claws are united with a membrane that allows them to swim easily.

The body is enclosed with a bone shell, covered with bone scales. Even if it is called the European Turtle, it can be found in Northern Africa and Eastern Asia also. This turtle likes to stay on the shore of the river, but at the smallest alarm, it jumps into the water and disappears. It is an agile species that can swim easily, where it also eats. It is carnivore, expecting the pray covered by aquatic vegetation. The European turtle eats roaches, rodents and even small birds, worms and insects. During the winter, the turtle hibernates on the bottom of the water. At the end of May, the female lays 3-16 eggs in flooded areas, but not far from the shores of the water.

There are many other types of turtles, but those two species are the most common one as pets. They are small enough for an average aquarium, and they are not so pretentious when it comes to food. It is estimated that 60% of pet turtles are a part of one of those species.

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Taking Care of Baby Turtles

The baby turtles must be kept in water with moderate depth, so they could easily reach the surface. It is important to change it every day, or once every three days if you have a filter.

A small filter required a depth of water of 5 centimeters, so it could function correctly, by creating a significant current. If the current is too strong, the turtle will swim against it, and it will get tired really fast. If you want to prevent this situation, you must slow down the current, by placing a round big stone in the middle of the aquarium. This serves as a support also, as when the turtle needs to rest, it will climb on it, and whenever the water is too strong, they can hide behind the stone. Another method is to incline the aquarium a little, to obtain a place with deep water. It the temperature in the room is too low, cover the aquarium. However, don’t let condense to appear. Lack of ventilation is bad for the turtle!

Ensuring the environment 



The water and the air in the aquarium reach a temperature of 29-30 degrees. Those thermal conditions prolong the lives of baby turtles. Generally, the incandescent lamp placed over the aquarium will maintain the water temperature high, especially if there is a stone in the water. If you want to maintain those conditions, you can use a thermometer that can be bought from specialized stores.

Alimentation

The baby turtles are carnivores, but fruits and vegetables are also recommended for an equilibrated diet. Leave those to float on the water, from where the small turtles would pick them whenever they want. A complete alimentation is made with pre-packed food, which must be distributed in moderate quantities, once or twice a day. Don’t give them too much food. Excess food increases the weight of the baby turtle dramatically, and the shell might deform.



Health problems

When they are free, the baby turtles have a small chance to survive, 1%. Even if this percentage grows significantly in captivity, don’t expect for all the baby turtles to live. In case of diseases, it is pretty hard to treat a baby turtle, as the disease progresses fast, and the animal dies before it is possible to take measurements. This is why we recommend you several turtles. Unfortunately, we can’t tell you anything else besides offering a good habitat to the turtles, with a heating and a ventilating system, in a room, which is not noisy. If one of the turtles gets hurt, take it to the veterinarian as soon as possible.

It is great to have a baby turtle as your pet, because of many reasons. They require minimal care, and if you are able to establish the right space for those, they will look decorative. The baby turtles are great for people that have allergies to cats and dogs, or which simply don’t have the time to take care of animals, as they would want, especially because taking care of those is easy.  

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The Sea Turtles: General Characteristics

The Sea Turtles are not suited as pets, because they are protected by the law. Even if you are able to find one, besides the fact that it is illegal to keep them in captivity, you will also need a special place to raise it. Imitating the natural habitat of the sea turtles is almost impossible, because you will need fresh seawater all the time. The only method to keep a sea turtle is to make a fence in the sea and on the shore, where the turtle can live. Even so, the turtle will not be happy. A turtle needs to migrate and it can swim for days to find the special beaches where to lay eggs, so the freedom of the turtle is limited.

The Sea Turtles are almost extinct in some parts of the world, because of massive hunting and because of wild animals. The most important moment in the life of a turtle is the…beginning. The eggs must be put at about 50 meters from the sea, and the small turtles need to reach the water as soon as possible to survive. Many of them are not able to do so, especially because the mother leaves the “nest” as soon as the eggs are buried. As there is nobody to help the little turtles, many of them don’t make it because of the wild animals. Eagles and birds learned to lift the small turtles in the air, and to smash them on stones. The turtles need some time to reach the water, and during this time, they are exposed to such attacks. Even the ones that are able to reach the water don’t survive all the time, as there are other animals there hunting them.

The shells of the turtles are their most important weapons. It is one of the best defensive methods invented by nature. Practically, besides smashing it, there are no other ways to crack the shell of a turtle. Even so, the sea turtles are in danger. Especially those living in highly populated areas and industrial areas die because of pollution. The turtle eggs are delicious, and even if it is against the law, there are many people searching for those eggs. Practically, even if a turtle can lie up for 20 eggs in one nest, only ten are able to survive and reach the sea, and from those, only four or five will reach maturity.

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Why Are The Sea Turtles Not Suited As Pets?

The Sea Turtle (Caretta Caretta) is not suited for growing in captivity, unless you can offer them special conditions. However, it is important to know a few aspects about it, so you could recognize it when you see it on the shores of the ocean.

Generally, the Sea Turtle has big dimensions. The adult males can reach 1.2 meters, and a weight of 200 kilograms. This species lives in the Atlantic Ocean, in the Mediterranean Sea and even in the Black Sea. As a particularity, when they are young, the sea turtles have three careens, and the old ones have one single big careen. The posterior side is cut and covered with bone planks.




The head is big, with strong jaws, the anterior members have the shape of a pallet, and they have two claws. The color on the backside is brown-red, and the plastron have a yellow color for adults, and almost black for the young ones.

The species is exclusively of marine origins. During the reproduction period, they have their special beaches in the tropical and sub-tropical area where they lay eggs at approximate 50 meters from the sea. The turtles dig holes in the ground, and then they cover the eggs with sands. The eggs hatch in two-three months, and the babies must run to the water as fast as possible, as this is their only chance to survive.





This turtle is omnivore, eating fish, marine animals but also sea fruits and vegetal marine components.

If you want a sea turtle, you will need to live by the sea. You need your own beach, and a special place surrounded with a fence. However, the sea turtle needs to migrate, so it is unlikely for it to like your pen. Moreover, even if you have a male and a female, it is unlikely for those to reproduce. It is protected by the law, so you will need some authorizations that you will never get for growing sea turtles.

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The Decision of Having a Turtle as a Pet

Any person that sees a turtle at the pet shop can’t resist the temptation to buy it. At the beginning, they are only a few inches long, but you need to remember that they grow pretty fast and they can live long enough if they are taken care of. In other words, don’t buy a turtle unless you are absolutely sure about your decision. In the pet shops, you will find many types, the most popular being the Florida Turtle (Chrysemys scripta elegans). The turtle has the size of an egg at first, and then it transforms into a little “monster” this is why you can buy a large aquarium since the start, if you want a turtle, so you will not have to change it after. It is preferred to choose a large aquarium, where you can put two turtles, and to watch them whenever you feel that you need to relax. It is a real pleasure to watch them swim.

The shell of a turtle is covered with scales, which change periodically and allow the turtles to grow. The new scales have different colors than the previous ones, and this can be observed especially for mature turtles. The growing shell is made not by multiplying the scales, as some might believe, but through dimension growing of those.

The turtles must be washed, and this is made by rubbing the shell with a toothbrush. Each scale must be washed separately, those from the shell and from the belly. For a healthy shell, you need to put a calcium blog that can be bought from the pet shop in the aquarium, and a source of light is also required for synthesizing vitamin D (the most important for the shell)

Turtles are reptiles. They reach their sexual maturity at the age of 2-5 years for males and at 5-7 years for females. You might wonder how you can determine if the turtle that you want to buy is a female or a male. Well, once the sexual maturity is reached, the males and females can be distinguished by a few simple to follow elements, such as the tale. The males have longer claws, and a bigger tale.

If you already have turtles, you noticed that, when they are scared, they withdraw in the shell, making a characteristic sound. The sound is given by the air that the turtles breathe, so they could fit in the shell. A turtle can’t leave the shell and survive.

Those reptiles are omnivores. Their food is bought from the pet shop. Amongst the common foods, the small and long worms called Tubifex are good. The turtles can also receive apples cut in small pieces, carrots and salad. Not all the turtles eat the same thing. Some are really pretentious, and they simply don’t eat carrots or salad. It is not a rule, and sometimes, turtles from the same species eat really different things.

The turtles need a certain temperature, and the aquarium must always be clean. The water must be changed every day, or you could buy a filter to spare you from troubles.

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