Pet turtles bring a certain level of intrigue and entertainment into our lives, not only with their appearance but with their personality as well. So, you’d understandably be worried about something harming the little animal
This article looks into what kills pet turtles and how to avoid this.
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What kills pet turtles?
Understanding the possible dangers that may affect your pet turtle will help you keep these little animals safe. Many things can kill pet turtles.
Here are a few things that can harm and even kill your pet turtle.
Incorrect environment:
Pet turtles are advertised as easy animals to keep but they need to be housed in the correct conditions for them to maintain good health.
An incorrect environment for your pet turtle may cause illnesses which can lead to the death of the animal.
Incorrect Temperatures can lead to overheating, respiratory infections, and burns, issues with the water quality can harbor harmful bacteria which can lead to death, an incorrect diet can lead to nutritional deficiencies, obesity, or liver problems, toxins in the environment can cause poisoning and death.
What to do:
Maintaining an appropriate environment for your turtles will ensure that they stay healthy and that they live a long life.
Make sure that you feed your pets a balanced diet that is as close to what they would eat in the wild.
Feed the animals enough food for their age and weight, make sure that your pets are getting UV exposure and are kept warm, and make sure the animal’s water is kept clean via a filter in the water.
Other turtles:
Another thing that can kill a pet turtle is other turles, these animals may seem pretty relaxed and docile but they can become very aggressive and kill each other.
They fight over space in the tank, mates, food, basking areas, and hiding areas. Turle fighting involves biting which can in some cases greatly harm a turle or cause an infection leading to death.
Adult pet turtles can also kill younger pet turtles.
What to do:
Giving the animals enough resources will keep fighting at bay, if your pets are fighting because there is a lack of space then you may have to get them separate enclosures if putting them in a bigger enclosure does not work.
Releasing it into the wild:
While turtles come from the wild it would not be a good idea to release turtles into the wild.
The natural instincts of a turtle released to the wild will kick in once released but if there are turtle predators in the area, who have been hunting turtles for a while, they can kill your turtle.
Your pet turtle will not have the keen hunting skills of other turtles in the area and may suffer because of this. Your turtle may also bring disease into the wild.
What to do:
If you don’t want to keep your turtle anymore then rather hand it over to a wildlife rehabilitation center.
They will be able to take care of it till the animal passes on. You can also rehome the animal to someone who wants it.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other turtle/tortoise related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Do Turtles Eat Their Babies?, Male Turtle Biting Female Neck, Why Is My Turtle Attacking My Other Turtle?, Why Is My Turtle Biting The Other One?, Turtle Biting Other Turtles Head Off, Why Does My Turtle Try To Bite Me?, Do Male Turtles Eat The Eggs, Turtle Scratching Shell On Toothbrush, Why Do Turtles Put Their Feet Up At Night?