If you are in a store or shopping online and see baby turtles for sale, you may be tempted to impulse buy. Like bringing home a puppy or a kitten, baby turtles require a lot of time and attention. Unlike a puppy or a kitten, a baby turtle needs to have an environment already created for it before you buy it and bring it home.You should find out what types of turtles are available for sale around you. You should also research each breed to find out how large the turtles will get, what they eat and what their life spans usually are.
Turtles should not be given free rein in your house the way you might allow another type of pet to do. Though they can make messes, the bigger concern with turtles is the bacteria that they can spread. This is one of the reasons that it is so important to have an aquarium already set up with the right land to water ratio for your turtle.
Another reason is that turtles can be more susceptible to hazards in your home and without certain things being provided, they can die. So don’t let them wander around.
When you do handle them, which you will probably do on a daily basis, be sure to wash your hands well. Make sure that any family members and visitors to your home do the same. Salmonella is one of the more common bacteria contracted from pet turtles.
When you decide that you are ready to purchase your baby turtle, do so in the late spring, summer or fall. baby turtles for sale in these seasons have most likely recently left the nest. Baby turtles that you buy in the spring may have actually hatched the previous fall. However, they do not leave the nest with winter coming on. Rather, they overwinter in the nest. This means that they hatched in the fall but then they stayed in the nest and hibernated until the weather warmed up. Then they dug out of the nest.
Something else that you should be aware of is that it is illegal for anyone to sell a turtle, baby or otherwise, that is less than 4 inches (approximately 10 cm) in length. It’s not illegal for you to buy such a turtle, but you may not want to split hairs on that.
Knowing the life span, habitat and nutrition needs and how big a turtle will grow will be invaluable when you are ready to purchase and bring home baby turtles for sale.