Does anyone have a pet turtle. My son needs to take care of a reptile for boy scouts. How much money are we talking about getting the set up and all for a turtle? How much trouble are they to care for? THanks!

turtles are easy to care for.Other than bits of fresh fruits and veggies once in a while,they mainly eat reptile sticks and cuttlebone.
I have two.the older one,about 6 inches across,eats from my fingers.He was only the size of a quarter when I was given him,aboujt 5 years ago.Someone just gave me another one,he is still only just a bit bigger than a quarter.

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People that hate cats will come back as mice in their next life. - Faith Resnick

Caring For Your Pet Turtle

This site helped when my son tried to keep a turtle. We ended up letting him go.

I have aquatic (red-ear slider) turts... 11 in fact.. At various times of their fertility, we've had over 100 at a time. Anyway, 9 of mine live outdoors in our pond and I have 2 babies in a tank indoors. The indoors ones are easy with filtered water and an island to bask in the light. I clean the tank every 2-3 weeks. I have a 10 gallon tank ($20), 2 underwater filters ($40) and a heat lamp ($5 for the fixture at a hardware store, but $10 or more for the UV bulb) and then food ($5-10/jar) - oh and an island ($15, but if they turts are small, you can make an island (that gives them a dry spot to bask) out of rocks/gravel). I personally don't use gravel in my tank because it is too hard/gross to clean.

The main thing with these aquatic turtles is that they carry salmonella (since they swim and poop in thier water) I have never had a problem with the salmonella because we are vigilant about washing our hands with soap after contacting them or the water.

The outdoors ones are a little more work, but since you probably won't be doing that, it doesn't matter.

just make sure to keep the aquarium clean .. salmonella can develop from their feces and the rotten vegetables you feed them.. that is with any reptile.

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Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like. - Will Rogers

For islands,I buy stones in the craft dept.They come in a mesh bag,and I leave them in the bag.

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People that hate cats will come back as mice in their next life. - Faith Resnick

and remember these little guys , if well cared for, live forever!!!!!!!!! I had a client who was going to a assisted living and could not take their red earred slider with them. They had had that little guy ( and no he wasnt little anymore ) for 40+ yrs. got him for their son when he was little and he since moved off and left it with his parents. anyways, I agreed to take him since I had raised them when I was a kid and this fellow was huge! His shell was bigger than a dinner plate and he lived in a plastic kiddie pool in thei basement. make a long story short, he now lives at a local pet parlor that has alot of classes for handicapped kids and this fellow is the hit of the clan. he is very very gentle and dont seem to mind the kids playing with him. hes spoiled rotton. I said something to the owner of the place about it being a retirement home for the turtle and the guy said he could live to bee close to 100.

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My son when he was growing up had lizards (little ones). We'd buy crickets for them to eat. We bought a used aquarium and bought a heated rock and fixed them a little pond to swim in and planted real plants in it for them to hide in. I felt it was better health-wise for little lizards than turtles. And they were lots of fun to watch!!

I have to agree with the others about the turtle lasting a long time and growing quite large.

Whatever you decide on, please consider adopting a homeless reptile. You can see if there's one in your area here:

Petfinder.com

Don't some universities or even high schools have pet reptiles that may need to be looked after during the summer months. Maybe he could volunteer his services as a "reptile sitter". Also, our humane society takes in all kinds of pets -- they may have one that needs a foster home for a while.

thanks for all the great ideas and suggestions!