After now, over 3 days having bumped into 2 people who had received incorrect or bad instructions for buying equipment for their turtle, I have chosen to write this little post.
What do you really need when you are now standing and are completely green with your first turtle.
Land turtles are reptiles, and like any reptile, each species has its own needs.
A multitude of species is offered for sale.
Whether the Mediterranean, tropical or continental, each of them is adapted to its native biotopes.
From this simple observation, we can easily understand that the choice of the species must be carefully considered in order to be certain that its breeding is within the reach of the amateur!
Land turtles have long aroused sympathy and a form of familiarity in the common mind, and for good reason; for centuries they have been omnipresent in Western cultures …
A little history :
Formerly sold on display in markets or pet stores in times, these reptiles were not subject to any regulations at a time when animal protection did not exist.
Mediterranean turtles were then captured en masse in the wild (from the south of France and other Mediterranean countries) to supply the “Garden Turtle” market.
Thus each year and for many decades, tens of thousands of animals were sold for a few francs on the stalls of fishmongers in particular.
The lack of knowledge at the time and the ease in obtaining these cheap companions contributed to a massacre since it is admitted that of the hundreds of thousands of animals sold during the 20th century, only 1 to 4% are still alive today (despite a life expectancy of around 100 years), corresponding to those who were lucky enough to be welcomed by a scrupulous breeder or in a properly exposed garden!
Fortunately for them, times have changed and France, like many other countries, has protected all of its fauna; during the 1970s and 1980s, laws prohibited the trade in “Garden Turtles”.
Marketing again possible:
Since 2006, the trade-in “Garden Turtles” has been authorized, but controlled and governed by strict regulations. In a nutshell: to be able to be sold, bought, and legally owned, a “garden turtle” must meet the following regulatory requirements:
- be from an approved breeding
- been born in captivity in the second generation
- have an Intra-Community Certificate
- be identified
- be raised in a declared breeding
Species concerned: all species of the genus Testudo, in particular Testudo hermanni (Hermann’s tortoise), Testudo graeca ibera (the Levantine tortoise), Testudo marginata (the bordered tortoise) – Astrochelys radiata (Syn .: Geochelone radiata ), tropical species!
Before we start on the equipment, we need to have a few things in place!
I always say that the turtle is the coolest animal because it has not undergone a giant evolution as other animals have.
They are hardy and can withstand a lot of mismanagement without actually dying from it, and then they are found on pretty much every continent.
When faced with having to buy your first turtle, the important thing is to familiarize yourself with the needs of the animal.
Some become huge, and others tiny. Therefore, it is important to have familiarized yourself with what you are buying before you buy it.
tropical tortoises
Keeping tropical tortoises in captivity:
Their breeding differs in many aspects!
For these species, which are more or less difficult to breed in captivity, space or technical factors are often an obstacle to their maintenance by the simple amateur; while some will, for example, need several square meters at their disposal once they have grown up, others will need an annual climate cycle that has been artificially recreated.
Their maintenance outdoors is impossible except on a few beautiful summer days, and again …
They are therefore rather reserved for the most experienced and informed breeders.
Their marketing:
All tropical (terrestrial) turtles are protected, their purchase implying at least the issuance of a nominative invoice mentioning the origin of the specimen (for example: CITES number)
How do I best care for my tortoise and what does it eat?
The answer is simple and difficult at the same time, because as with all other reptiles, it is very much about imitating nature, and here the turtle is no different from other animals.
The turtles that are sold the most in most European and North American areas are the Greek tortoise (Testudo Hermani), the Broad-shouldered tortoise (Testudo Marginata), the tortoise (Geochelone Sulcata) and the leopard tortoise (Geochelone Pardalis).
Common to them all is that their diet should consist of a low-protein and high-fibre diet.
In the spring and summer, it is no problem as gardens and parks abound with dandelions, squatter cabbage, roadside, nettle, clover and other grasses, but in winter, the problem arises.
What now?
It is important to stick to a high-fibre and low-protein diet, and there are several good turtle products on the market that meet these requirements.
Pre alpine Testudo products are one of them, but also dried flowers, dandelions, and fig cacti are some of the things that are good for turtle food.
Forget about what you find in the pet store, as it is typically made by large producers who have spent the most money on soybeans and proteins, it is not healthy for your turtle, and it shortens its life.
Maintenance
Maintaining a reptile (in other words practising terrariums) involves certain fundamentals, the order of which is very important:
1) the choice of a species that meets the expectations of the future breeder
2) the acquisition of a minimum of prior knowledge
3) the acquisition of the appropriate material for the species
4) the acquisition of the animal at the right time
5) meet all requirements
What about light and heat for your tortoise?
There are quite a few different solutions on the market, and not all of them are suitable for turtles.
It’s a jungle out there, and it’s hard to figure out what to buy.
HID bulbs and ballasts are an excellent choice for turtles, but they come in 4 different sizes, and not all of them are equally suitable for turtle teams.
For closed terrariums, I always recommend min. 50W HID bulbs, and in open boxes, 70W is usable.
A 35W HID bulb does not heat much more than 25-30 degrees in an enclosed terrarium, and that is far too little, no matter what species you are dealing with.
However, HID is the best solution for turtles, in my opinion, and experience, as many turtles seek shelter and sleep much of the day, and only minimal stay under the heat lamp.
Do you not have the money to buy an HID solution?
Then a combination of a UVB tube and a light bulb may be the solution for you.
To heat the animal with, I recommend that you use min. 60W light bulb, and in the case of open boxes, you should consider 100W.
Familiarize yourself with the distances and need for UVB light in your animals. If you have high ceilings, you may well need a 10.0, even if you only have one Greek tortoise.
Heating mats are a no-go in most cases
Over time, I have seen many who have been recommended heating mats for their turtles, which is with fatal consequences.
It is a no go to use a heating mat for the European species for its turtle, turtles generally need the heat from above, but in quite a few cases, a heating mat may be necessary.
This may be necessary if the temperature is only around 15 degrees at the cold end, for example, because the animal is standing on the floor or the need maybe 22 degrees at the cold end, but you only have 20 degrees in the room is standing.
Again, it is the animal’s needs that determine it, but in general, only very, very few turtles need a heating mat.
None of the species mentioned in this article needs a heating mat if kept properly with proper temperatures at both ends of the terrarium.
A bottom layer or bottom bedding! What to use?
This is probably one of the most debated topics, and it is probably the few who completely agree on what is right.
However, my own personal attitude and experience are that if you keep your turtles natural, you will also achieve the greatest success.
Here, the internet is often your friend because you can see pictures from your turtles’ areas and imitate these areas.
According to the species, a mixture of soil or cocos humus mixed with sand in a 50/50 mixture up and down is what I have had the most success with.
Others have used limestone and have had great success with this, but basically, it is the humidity that is crucial to whether you get a successful hold.
Toblerone shields and dented shields are typically something that occurs because the climate is too dry, but conversely, respiratory diseases and other things can also occur in too humid climates.
A whole thing is a balancing act, and my own experience to date has been that turtles in open boxes thrive better than turtles in closed terrariums.
The young turtle wants to be a little moist as a youngster, but keeping a humidity of 80% throughout the terrarium can cause problems.
Therefore, instead, establish a moisture shelter with sphagnum moss, which can be moistened and where the turtle can seek refuge if it should end up getting too dry in the rest of the terrarium.
As mentioned earlier, I swear to open boxes.
The reason is that every morning I spray the box as if there was morning dew.
The box dries out during the day due to the heat from bulbs and other things, and the turtle goes into a humid climate without it getting too humid to cause health problems.
The dry bottom layer is moistened the following morning again. The moisture cover allows the turtle to sleep moist if it has this need.
Do turtles need to bathe?
Again, there are very divided opinions about this, but the answer here is that a turtle should not take a bath. It can easily handle it itself.
Bathing it in 37-degree hot water is like bathing it in the scorching sun, and it is not nice for anyone.
It may sometimes be necessary to bathe the turtle underneath, but here I bathe at 25-27 degrees, and this is mostly to ensure that the fluid balance is kept at the top.
I never bathe my turtles weekly, nor every other week.
It can take several weeks, sometimes months, between them getting a bath, only if necessary.
You can typically feel it on the turtle’s weight, as it becomes lighter than normal when there is too little fluid in the body.
For this reason, it is also, therefore, a good idea to weigh your turtle every week.
That way, one can keep an eye on whether the turtle is sick or otherwise not thriving.
Should I weigh my turtle?
A kitchen scale is an important weapon when keeping turtles.
A weekly weigh-in can show if there are health things that one should be aware of.
A weight loss of a few grams is not a problem, it can be the one who has just groomed or peed, and it can get turtles well give big effects on the weight.
A weight loss of 10% or more is an indicator that something is wrong.
You should then seek veterinary advice as soon as possible.
Vitamins and minerals are a science, but that’s how you help yourself!
There is a myriad of vitamins and minerals on the market, and it is almost a science what to choose.
Even the dealers doubt when you ask them, but it does not have to be that difficult.
Turtles are shield-bearing animals, and a large part of their body is made up of bones.
Therefore, they must have some proper UVB light, but there is something about that further up.
On the turtle’s food, lime must be sprinkled over the food every day, it does not have to be a lime with vitamin D3, as the turtle gets masses of vitamin D3 through the UVB light, but if in doubt, I recommend using a Nekton MSA, as it contains little vitamin D3. Therefore it does not become too much.
When looking at the multivitamin that the turtle should have 2-3 times a week, then the most important thing is to read on vitamin A’s content, as too much vitamin A has a descaling effect and thus makes the turtle soft in the shield.
Here I use Nekton Multi Rep myself, as this vitamin is developed and composed by veterinarians, so all vitamins and amino acids are perfect for turtles and tortoises.
In this way, I ensure that the animals get what they need and provide a vitamin that is not developed for a wide range of animals.
Should you want to know much more about vitamins, then read our excellent guide to vitamins here.