Having pets is proven to help a person’s mental health as it reduces the chance of having depression, anxiety, or even stress. It can also be seen as a means of eliminating loneliness for pets are great companions.

People often start with having dogs or cats as pets. But eventually, some venture more to a more diverse choice; like reptiles. Reptiles are great pets in general. They seem to be stoic or like they don’t have anything better to do, but they are cute, responsive, and reliable at times.

Reptiles are excellent pets. But being an inexperienced pet parent may seem overwhelming as it requires not only the effort of learning the know-how of raising a reptile pet but may require a great deal of financial expense. Raising a pet is surely not a joke and must be taken seriously.

There is a wide variety of choices when it comes to reptile pets; this may include cool lizards, bearded dragons, geckos, snakes, tortoises, turtles, and more.

Some might say raising turtles is best as it is often known as low-maintenance pets. That train of thought is false as turtles need special care like any other pet and they also need a sufficient amount of space for them to grow.

1. Living Space or Tank Size

Make sure that your turtle is satisfied with its tank size or its living space.  Turtles need space; as was mentioned before, they grow into large adult sizes as time passes by. If you are planning to raise one indoors, aside from it needing clean deep water (depending on what species) for it to be able to swim around, they also need a dry basking area. You need to make sure that the basking area has the necessary temperature for the specific species for it to maintain good health.

2. Turtle Diet

Do not overfeed your turtle. Just like any other living thing, it needs a proper diet to ensure proper growth. You can find turtle food in pet stores or you can ask your local veterinary as to what you should feed your pet turtle.

3. Hygiene

Like any other pets, turtles require proper and clean surroundings. For turtles raised inside an aquarium, you might need to clean out and change their water every other day or when needed.

These are just some of the things a pet parent should know and prepare for when it comes to raising a turtle as a pet. 

There is a variety of species of turtle you can choose from but for anyone interested in raising a turtle as a pet, these are commonly accepted as the best turtles for beginners:

• Razor-backed Musk Turtle
• African Sideneck Turtle
• Western Painted Turtle
• Red Eared Slider
• Eastern Box Turtle

You can choose any of these which are best for novice turtle parents.

Here is a short introduction to these species.

1. Razor-backed Musk Turtle

Considered as the biggest type among all the musk turtles, the Razor-backed Musk Turtle is more on the aquatic type. They will usually spend more time in the water and occasionally come out of the water to bask in the sun.

2. African Sideneck Turtle

Compared to other species of turtles, the African Sideneck Turtle has a longer neck. Also, it got its name as they can only tuck their necks sideways and not entirely inside its shell.

3. Western Painted Turtle

You can easily differentiate the western painted turtle among all the other turtles as it has its unique and bright shades of the color yellow, olive, and red along its neckline, tail, head, and lower shell.

4. Red Eared Slider

A semi-aquatic turtle, the Red Eared Sliders are often seen residing in areas that are fresh, calm, and clean warm water like ponds and lakes.

5. Eastern Box Turtle

Lastly is the Eastern Box Turtle. It has a vivid mark of color orange and yellow on its dark brown shells which distinguish them from the other box turtles.