Yellow Bellied Turtles are a good choice if you are looking to make a turtle your pet. They may also be called Yellow Bellied Terrapins or Yellow Bellied Sliders. All three names are actually the same breed of turtle.Their natural habitat is the Eastern United States. However, you may be able to purchase one that has been bred in captivity if you would like to. They can grow to be just over 12 inches (16 cm) long, so make sure that you want a turtle that size. If you don’t, there are other turtle breeds commonly kept as pets that will not get to be quite so big.
Yellow Bellied Turtles are omnivores once they mature. Since they are a breed of water turtles, they will eat what is available in their natural habitat. This generally consists of the larvae of insects and amphibians, snails, plants that grow in their body of water or on the land surrounding it, fish and smaller crustaceans.
Of course, if you start out with a baby Yellow Bellied Turtle, it will only eat meat until it grows up. Be sure to keep your fingers back when feeding these turtles. They are not known for distinguishing between the food being offered and the finger holding it. Use tongs or some other utensil if you are feeding them by hand and protect your digits.
Because Yellow Bellied Turtles can grow to be rather large, you have a couple of choices when it comes to providing them with a tank. You can start with a smaller tank that is proportionate to the size of the baby turtle and replace it with a larger one as the turtle grows. Rather than go through the expense and effort of doing this, you may want to simply purchase a tank from the beginning that is going to be large enough for the turtle once it matures. If you think that you will want to add turtles or buy multiple turtles at once, be sure to get a tank that will be large enough to provide sufficient space for all of them at full maturity.
Keep baby turtles separated from adult turtles, though. Turtles are not a species that cares for their young. It is very likely that the adults will view the babies as a snack. The tank should be large enough that the turtles can swim around in it and turn over. There should also be sufficient land areas for them to bask.
Since Yellow Bellied Turtles can live up to 12 years in captivity, purchasing one is an investment in a companion for many years. As long as they are taken care of, yellow bellied turtles will make very good pets.