The turtle-keeping hobby has long been a mainstay in the pet industry & continues to grow as these animals appeal to more & more people. Unfortunately the care information necessary to realize their potential (decades of companionship & learning) is daunting. We’re committed to helping hobbyists gain the knowledge & skills to properly care for their new charges.

             For that reason, we have here links to the most commonly needed resources available to you free online, pooled to meet the needs of you and your pet. We hope you find this information helpful. Let’s take a look.

This is a question lots of people ask; some for themselves, some for others. It’s a great question, and if you’re asking it, congratulations! You’re one of the lucky folks who thought before you bought! There are a lot of people trying to unload alligator snappers and female red-eared sliders who wish they had. When I was a kid, you kept what you could catch, unless you wanted a wild-caught adult or sub-adult red-eared slider from the pet-store. Things have changed. Yeah, there’s a federal law prohibiting the sale of turtles whose carapaces are under 4 inches in the United States, but the law allows sale of smaller turtles for research purposes. Turtle suppliers generally post on their web pages that sales of such smaller turtles are for research purposes only, but the practical reality today is that generally nobody checks & many get turtles this way. Of course, maybe you are after a beginner research turtle! Or a classroom turtle. Uh, yeah, that could happen, right? Either way, you can now research your options & choose a species best suited for your wants, needs & setup. Old-time turtle keepers realize how precious this is. Continue reading the Article Here

Caring for you turtle is relatively easy once the basics have been established. Dispel the thoughts of getting a turtle and putting it in a bowl of water with a rock. Those little "Turtle Ponds" that you can still find in some pet stores, are completely inadequate and have even been dubbed by experienced keepers as "Death Bowls". Turtles require more than a small, simple container to ensure proper health and longevity. Heating, lighting, temperature control, filtration - all of these play an important role in the health and happiness of your turtle. Even a large aquarium, filled to the top with water in not meeting their needs, as they need an area to get out of the water and be able to get completely dry. Continue reading Here

For Species-Specific Care, click HERE

For Habitat Specifics, click HERE

For Feeding Specifics, click HERE

The enclosure is more than your turtle’s home; it’s his world. Land, air, water, temperature, light, heat, dining room, septic tank, the whole works. There’s a lot more to setting up the enclosure than getting the turtle.

For Habitat Specifics, click HERE

For Filtration Specifics, click HERE

For Reviews on Filters, click HERE

For an Article on Filtration, click HERE

For Examples and Estimates, click HERE

Yes. Large plastic storage tubs make great alternatives to more expensive all-glass aquariums.

Learn more about them by clicking Here

Baby turtles take a little bit more work than the adults, because their little immune systems are not as advanced as the adults, much like in human babies. They require higher temps for the first year or so and sometimes they need a little extra coaxing to feed.

Read this article for more information.

Seeing algae in your turtle's home in not a bad sign...in fact, it is a very good sign. It means that you have developed a full functional, working eco-system in your turtle's habitat, so congratulations for succeeding! There are numerous ways of dealing with algae without harming this eco system. One of the most popular ways of dealing with algae are algae-eating fish.

 Read this article for more information.

Turtles require a heat light (commonly referred to as a basking light) and they also need UVB lighting.

For more information on Lighting, click HERE

For Basking Light Specifics, click HERE

For UVB Specifics, click HERE

For Habitat Specifics, click HERE

There are numerous ways to get the proper lighting for your turtle's home. The best, of course, is natural sunlight, but inside the home, that's not possible. Windows and aquarium glass filter out the much-needed UV rays.

For reviews on Lighting, click HERE

For more information on Lighting, click HERE

For Basking Light Specifics, click HERE

For UVB Specifics, click HERE

For Habitat Specifics, click HERE

One thing to keep in mind when selecting a filter - turtle produce much higher amounts of waste than fish, so a filter that is rated for a 20 gallon aquarium, is not suited for a 20 gallon turtle habitat. Filters are designed with fish in mind, so you need to double the requirements for your turtle's tank. So for a 20 gallon turtle tank, you will need as filter rated for at least a 40 gallon aquarium.

For Filtration Specifics, click HERE

For Reviews on Filters, click HERE

For an Article on Filtration, click HERE

The sky is the limit on what to use for creating your turtle's basking area.  As long as the turtle can easily exit the water onto their basking platform and it's not too rough where it scratches their shell, is secure and allows them to dry out fully, there's not too much you can do.

For Habitat Specifics, click HERE

For Examples and Estimates, click HERE

Filtration is key to your turtle's overall health. Poor water quality can bring out severe health issues, including shellrot, eye infections and skin infections.

For Filtration Specifics, click HERE

For Reviews on Filters, click HERE

For an Article on Filtration, click HERE

The best submersible heaters out there are presently Tronic and Ebo Jagers.

For Reviews on Submersible Heaters, click HERE

For Heater Specifics, click HERE

There are a number of things that can be offered to your turtle as their dinner. Depending on which turtle you have and how big it is, you could offer fish, crickets, meal worms, earthworms, pinkie mice, aquatic plants, flower, veggies that you buy at the store or grow in your own garden. The key is to ensure that your turtle is getting a varied diet with all of the essential items needed.

For the article on What to Feed, click HERE

For General Feeding Information, click HERE

As with anything in the turtle keeping hobby, there are a number of ways that experienced keepers have successfully kept their turtles when it comes to feeding programs. It is very important to not overfeed your turtles, but underfeeding is also a concern.

For the article on Feeding: How Much and How Often?, click HERE

For General Feeding Information, click HERE

As with anything in the turtle keeping hobby, there are a number of ways that experienced keepers have successfully kept their turtles when it comes to feeding programs. It is very important to not overfeed your turtles, but underfeeding is also a concern. There are a number of things that can be offered to your turtle as their dinner. Depending on which turtle you have and how big it is, you could offer fish, crickets, meal worms, earthworms, pinkie mice, aquatic plants, flower, veggies that you buy at the store or grow in your own garden. The key is to ensure that your turtle is getting a varied diet with all of the essential items needed.

For the article on What to Feed, click HERE

For the article on Feeding: How Much and How Often?, click HERE

For General Feeding Information, click HERE

There are a number of things that can be offered to your turtle as their dinner. Depending on which turtle you have and how big it is, you could offer fish, crickets, meal worms, earthworms, pinkie mice, aquatic plants, flower, veggies that you buy at the store or grow in your own garden. The key is to ensure that your turtle is getting a varied diet with all of the essential items needed.

For the article on What to Feed, click HERE

For General Feeding Information, click HERE

As far as keeping turtles together, it is typically not wise to keep turtles together that are greatly difference in size or from different regions of the world. For adding in fish, frogs, salamanders, lizards, etc, it is not really a good idea. Read through the article linked below for more information on what and why.

For the article on What to Keep with Turtles, click HERE

The 4 inch law was brought about in the 70s based on ignorance in public and the government.

To read the Editorial on the 4" Law and to view the law, click HERE

More information coming soon.

There are several reasons as to why catching them (wild collecting) is bad. Not only is it bad for the turtle, but it could also potentially be bad for you and any other turtles in your collection. And, in some states and with some species, it might very be illegal to do. And yes, they do watch for wild collecting of these species.

For the article on Wild Caught vs Commercial Pet Trade, click HERE

The tricky part is finding a vet that has experience with reptiles, and even moreso, with turtles. ATP, along with the NYTTS, has compiled a list of Vets with turtle experience and published it on the web. Click the link below to view the state-by-state listing of turtle-qualified vets.

ATP: Turtle Vets - State-By-State Listing

As more and more people are entering into the turtle keeping hobby, they are demanding more and more information and better care practices and medical advice. ATP strives to keep current on those updates and discoveries and bring them to you as they become available. Click the link below to read about different symptoms and illnesses and some of their treatments.

Common Turtle Illnesses & How to Deal with Them

With the growing number of people keeping turtles today, there are still not many in comparison to other pets. We turtle keepers are a rare breed right now and it's nice to get together with a large group and discuss turtles. So where can you go to do this? To chit chat, share great news, learn more information, ask questions, help other people and just have an overall sense of community as it pertains to turtles and various other aspects? ATP created a Turtle Forum that brings all of these needs into one place. And if you have ever been to a Discussion Forum, you know that they can be fun, but they can also be harsh with people sometimes getting out of hand and even sometimes getting a bit rude. But not on TurtleForum.com. We do not allow this type of behavior and we take pride in the fact that people from all over come come, ask questions, offer help, get help and also share things without the fear of being insulted or being made fun of of having their questions not answered. No posting goes unanswered and we have the highest number of the most experienced keepers on the net. And another point of pride we have is the fact that we youngster-friendly. No foul language or content is permitted. We have a high number of staff that constantly moderate the forum, so if someone does get out of hand, the situation is promptly taken care of - and that goes for emergencies as well. If you need help in a hurry, we're there!

Click the link below to visit TurtleForum.com

A Turtle Forum You Can Join Free to Learn More and Help Others

For Book Reviews, click HERE

To read through the discussion on various Turtle-Related books, visit the Herper's Cafe'

Turtles are ‘cold-blooded’ (a.k.a. ectothermic, poikilothermic, etc…) & don’t use high metabolism to maintain a high body temp. like mammals. Turtles bask to use the sun & achieve optimum warmth for activity, immune function & digestion. Sunlight (& certain commercial bulbs) produce UV-B light that converts a precursor into Vitamin D3 in the turtle’s body (by shining on/through the skin). And alternating submersion/basking makes the turtle’s body a hostile environment for potentially harmful microbes. Basking is usually healthy, but constant basking with water avoidance raise suspicion of pneumonia.

To learn more about some of the things turtle do, click HERE

This maneuver is often used by male turtles to persuade females to mate. It may also be used by females, or most any turtle toward any other turtle (some suspect it can also be an assertion of dominance). It does not reliably indicate male sex.

To learn more about some of the things turtle do, click HERE

Male water turtles occasionally produce the penis, which may appear like a dark, misshapen worm much larger than you would’ve expected. This is normal, but if another turtle bites that penis hemorrhage, infection & death can result. This does reliably indicate male sex.

To learn more about some of the things turtle do, click HERE

Not sure anyone knows for sure. It’s been suggested some tortoise young may eat dung from elders to acquire beneficial bacteria for their G.I. tracts. It’s also true that animal digestion isn’t 100% efficient & there may be nutrient left in dung.

To learn more about some of the things turtle do, click HERE

Usually not. It’s thought most water turtles require the assistance of water to swallow. There are exceptions (esp. turtles who spend a lot of time on land, like wood turtles). But the typical slider can’t.

To learn more about some of the things turtle do, click HERE

Yeah, they do. Even stinkpots, long regarded as almost completely aquatic, bask in nature (I often photograph basking wild stinkpots). I have photographed many basking spiny softshells and a number of common snappers. With very rare exceptions (a.k.a. adult alligator snappers & Fly River Turtles), you should assume a turtle basks at least rarely. Individuals vary (my pet stinkpot almost never basks; a friend’s basks a lot).

To learn more about some of the things turtle do, click HERE

In nature turtles don’t have a reliable fixed feeding routine. A fortuitous bounty (like gorging on a large dead fish) may be followed by days of low-nutrient vegetation & bad hunting. Ergo, they gorge when they can. Although not ‘pack’ animals, they do learn to associate their keepers with food. Turtles will plead for far more food than is healthy for them.

To learn more about some of the things turtle do, click HERE

Turtles are not pack animals & have no frame of reference for regarding a large human care-giver. It’s debatable whether it even knows the hand coming from above is part of that massive creature outside the tank, or whether it cares. Turtles learn to associate an approaching human with being fed, triggering feeding behavior (snapping at anything that might be food). The turtle doesn’t really discriminate the large pink mass (hand) from the food it offers. Further, hand-feeding turtles I’ve observed their close-in strikes above water are often inaccurate, so their sight & aim are in question. Either way, depending on species & individual temperament, many turtles will bite your hand, given the chance. This is not abnormal or cause for ‘training.’

To learn more about some of the things turtle do, click HERE

Your turtle is not mad at you and is not threatening you. Their shells don't allow them to expand or contract when they breathe, so when they take a deep breath and their lungs fill up, it takes up a lot of room in their shells. So when they are scared or startled, they want to bring their head and legs into their shell for protection. With their lungs being full and taking up all that room inside, these legs and head won't fit....so they have to expel a good percentage of this air to get their lungs to deflate so they can fit their appendages inside. This sudden rush of air makes a hissing noise.

To learn more about some of the things turtle do, click HERE

a.       Austin’s Turtle Page – A comprehensive source of information targeting the study & husbandry (care) of turtles & tortoises, domestic & exotic. Designed to teach the newcomer from scratch & also educate the advanced.

b.       The Turtle Forum – A creation of ATP dedicated to the study, furtherance & enjoyment of all aspects of the turtle hobby (keeping, researching, field observation & photography, etc…).

 Other Online Resources.

a.       Tortoise Trust

b.      World Chelonian Trust

c.       Diamondback Terrapin World

d.      The Snapping Turtle Page

e.       Yahoo! Discussion Group on Fly River Turtles

f.        California Turtle & Tortoise Club