Most of the turtles I had as pets were found in the wild, and I only kept them for a few days, then turned them loose. The ones I had as long time pets were the; Red Eared Sliders and the Soft Shelled Turtles, which I bought in pet stores.
One of the hardiest and favorite turtles to keep as a long term pet, is the Red Eared Slider. These are the turtles that most pet stores sell, although I have seen painted turtles and other species for sale in some stores, over the years. Before you decide on getting a red eared slider turtle, or a few of them, make sure you examine it closely for signs of sickness, such as; cloudy eyes, cracked or damaged shells, not moving or acting very lethargic for a turtle, growths or sores on it's legs or other body parts.
If you do decide to get two or more turtles, remember that red eared sliders will increase in size. My Daughter bought 4 of them a couple years ago, when she bought them they were not much bigger then quarters, and they all lived fine in one of them plastic oval shaped turtle aquariums that have the little plastic palm tree. Now, her turtles require a 10 gallon fish aquarium to move around in freely, and they will soon need an even larger home.
Your turtles home will need enough water in the bottom of it to cover it's shell entirely, when the turtle decides to be submerged, but you should also place some large flat rocks in one area, so your turtle can easily climb out to dry off, and sit when it wants to. If your aquarium is large enough you can even add a large tree limb or log for your turtles to crawl and set on. One word of warning, turtles can give you a nasty pinch when they bite, and as they get larger they can possibly even bite a child's finger off, so be careful, and avoid sticking a finger near the turtles head.
Once in awhile you will need to clean your turtles shell, as they tend to get covered with algae. Simply hold your turtle under some slow moving water, and gently scrub it's shell with a toothbrush. You may wish to purchase a product called; ' Tetra - Vitashell ', which is a deep-penetrating, turtle skin and shell conditioning cream, that you can apply with your hands to your turtles shell and body parts, this is a great product that I buy for my Daughter, to apply to her turtles after washing them.
Your turtle can live fine on the normal turtle food sticks and any other turtle treats you want to buy for them in pet stores. Make sure you keep your turtles home cleaned as often as possible, as turtles tend to dirty their water and home pretty rapidly, and in a short time they can stink really bad. Taking good care of your turtle, can give you a pet that will possibly last for many years, and it will give you something to do to help shake the winter blues.
There is a website that describes numerous activities and other methods to help eliminate the Winter Blues, this website is called: Winter Activities - and it may be found at this url: http://www.winter-activities.com
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