If you own a turtle, you may have some pressing questions about creating the proper environment for it, and that extends to more than just the enclosure that you’re keeping it in.
For example, many turtle owners wonder whether it’s safe to let their turtle wander around the house, and that’s the question that we will be addressing today.
Should I Let My Turtle Walk Around?
Yes, you should let your turtle walk around. It helps them get excerices, sense of freedom and keeps them both mentiall and physically fit. Just make sure the area is safe and secure.
The thing about turtles is that their living conditions can often be difficult for us to understand as people.
Unlike people,
who are purely comfortable living their lives on terra firma, most turtles like to live an amphibious lifestyle.
This means that they’ll be just as at home on solid ground as they will be in the water, and when you’re designing your turtle’s habitat, you’ll want to make sure that you have both available to them.
While most turtle tanks will feature at least a basking area for your turtle, you may wish to expand this area so that your turtle has enough space to move around, as well.
This will allow your turtle to get the exercise that it needs, keeping it healthier for a longer time and ensuring that it doesn’t grow bored.
Of course, you’ll also want to maintain a large enough space for your turtle to swim comfortably in its enclosure.
It’s important to strike the right balance between space to swim and space for your turtle to walk around.
However, you may also wish to let your turtle out of its tank, so let’s take a look at that possibility.
Here is video clip of red eared slider walking around house.
Should I Let My Turtle Out of its Tank?
A lot of owners wonder whether it’s a good idea to let their turtle out of its enclosure in the first place, and this highly depends on the turtle itself as well as the surroundings.
For example, if you have a relatively small turtle that may end up getting itself lost, it may not be a good idea to let it out.
However, if you have a relatively safe home that’s free of other pets that may harass your turtle, then it could be a good idea to let your turtle roam around.
It’s definitely not inherently bad to let your turtle walk around the house from time to time, if only just to satisfy its curiosity and give it a feeling of freedom.
That being said, be sure to keep an eye on your turtle as it moves around, since this will ensure that it’s safe as it roams around the house.
Failing to do so may end up in your turtle getting lost or it getting itself into a sticky situation that could have been avoided if the turtle had just stayed in its tank.
Also, you won’t want to turn your turtle into an outside turtle permanently because it’s pretty unlikely that it will live in the water that it needs unless you live in a swamp.
Be sure to regularly put your turtle back in its enclosure so it can go for a swim and soak itself to help regulate its body temperature.
Can I Let My Turtle Outside?
You may also take your turtle outside with you if you’d like to, and there’s once again nothing inherently wrong with letting a turtle walk around outside of your home.
However, keep in mind that any risks that exist while your turtle is walking around in your house will be doubled outside.
There’s no guarantee that your turtle won’t come across any wild animals while it’s walking around outside, and many animals treat turtles as prey.
While their shells allow turtles to defend themselves against threats, some animals may have absolutely no problems getting through your turtle’s shell.
Another threat of letting your turtle go outside is that it will be much easier to lose it, unlike if your turtle were to get lost in your house.
In some cases, your turtle may even end up running away from home, and it will be a lot harder to find than a lost dog because of how small it is.
If you want to avoid this possibility while still letting your turtle go outside,
you can devise some kind of pen or enclosure for it that you can put it in while it’s spending its time outside.
Keep in mind that some turtles are persistent,
so you’ll have to be sure that your enclosure is secure before you use it.
Can You Walk Your Turtle?
Taking your turtle on walks may sound like a relaxing way to get both yourself and your pet out of the house, and this is certainly true, but there are some things to account for.
First of all, you typically won’t want to take your turtle out of the house unless you have a way to restrain it.
While turtles may be slow, a moment of inattention with an unleashed turtle means that you may end up losing it.
This is similar to letting your turtle spend time in your backyard without supervision, because turtles don’t know well enough that they shouldn’t run away from home, they just wander until they’re lost.
This means that you’ll want to get a special harness or leash for your turtle to ensure that you can walk it around safely.
You’ll also have to be prepared to spend some time walking your turtle because they’re a lot slower than your average cat or dog that you can take on walks at nearly the same pace.
Also Read -> Do Turtles Get Along With Cats?
As long as you keep this in mind and ensure that your turtle is safe from the hazards that you can expect to run into outside of the house, then there’s nothing wrong with taking a turtle on walks.
Be sure to watch out for cars, other people, and other people’s pets are particular dangers to your turtle.
What is a Turtle’s Natural Environment?
Turtles are amphibious creatures that typically live in areas where you can expect water and land to overlap, such as in swamps or marshland.
This means that turtles need to be good at moving between wet and dry areas, and they blend the skills of swimming and walking almost seamlessly, especially if the species has webbed feet.
This means that you’ll want to create a home environment in which your turtle has the freedom to move around as it pleases.
You shouldn’t restrict your turtle to a place where it either has to walk or swim but you should rather make it possible for your turtle to do both of them when it pleases.
Another thing to consider is that turtles often need water so that they can digest their food properly.
After a turtle has a meal, it will often head into the water so that it can soak for a little while, and this will make it easier for the food to make its way through your turtle’s system. Failing to do so may result in your turtle experiencing sudden indigestion.
Keep in mind that the habitat of a turtle can vary significantly depending on the kind of species that it is.
For example, box turtles tend to prefer a habitat around shallow water because they tend to be weaker swimmers than other turtle species.
On the other hand, red-eared sliders tend to be much better swimmers who can spend an extended amount of time in the water.
Improving Your Turtle’s Habitat in its Tank
If you have a turtle living in a tank and you want to see how you can make it feel more comfortable as you take care of it, you should focus on where it spends time throughout the day.
Take some time to observe your turtle as it goes about its daily activities and see if it has any troubles with the tank.
In some cases, turtles can run into relatively mundane issues in their tanks such as having to expend too much energy to get up to the basking platform.
It’s usually a good idea to have a gradual slope in your turtle tank that brings it to shallow water before it makes its way to the basking area.
Can Multiple Turtles Live in the Same Tank?
Whether or not a tank can easily accommodate several turtles depends on the turtles themselves and their temperaments.
For example, an enclosure with a larger and smaller turtle will likely cause issues because the larger turtle will often bully the smaller one, flipping it over on its back as a show of aggression.
On the other hand, if you have two turtles that are well-behaved and of similar size, you typically shouldn’t have any trouble getting them to work with each other without any form of harassment taking place.
Also Read
Why Do Barnacles Attached to my Turtles?
What To Do if You Find a Turtle in Your Yard?
Sources
The Dos and Don’ts of Turtle Care – pethelpful.com