In this page I will provide my views on some of the questions I am often asked about turtles and tortoises (hereafter referred to as turtles). If you have a question about shipping or my guarantee then please look at the Shipping and Terms of Sale pages.
NOTE: One thing I have learnt over the years is that there is more than one way to setup and care for a species of turtle. You will have to become aware of the various options you have available and pick what will work well for you and your turtle but make sure you are aware of the specific needs of the species you have selected.
New to the world of turtles? Welcome! I am excited that you are considering caring for a turtle. I find it to be a very rewarding hobby and they help calm me down, although sometimes they do drive me nuts but not too often :) I am happy to share what I have learnt over the years and also share some of the sources that I consider to be reliable sources of information. Please read the note above, it will help keep you sane as you go through the various sources of information available out there :) See if there is a local turtle club and join them and check out the Turtle and Tortoise Preservation Group (www.ttpg.org).
Turtles and Children
I firmly believe that turtles can help children learn to care about the world around them. If you are an involved parent who can supervise and guide your children in caring for a turtle then please do so, these gentle creatures can use more heroes who will fight for their future. Remind the children to wash their hands properly after handling the turtle or equipment used with the turtle. Please do remember that turtles are not like cats and dogs and therefore expectations will need to be managed accordingly.
Turtles and health risks
If you follow good hygiene practices then your risks of getting sick are not any different than your risks of getting sick from eating underprepared meats or sushi or even handling other pets. Salmonella can affect young children and older adults or those with compromised immune system but with awareness and good personal hygiene you can protect yourself and your loved ones.
The perfect species (for you)
If you select a species that will do well outdoors year round in your region then you will find that the amount of care involved is usually pretty low when compared to setting up a turtle indoors. In either case the species you choose will depend on how much space you can provide, your seasonal weather, what food items you have access to and what you are comfortable with (aquatic turtles versus tortoises). Check out the following two links for a very informative article on selecting your first turtle
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Articles/firstturtle.htm and http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Articles/firstlandturtle.htm
Sex of the turtles
Most of the animals available on this site are hatchlings or juveniles and are too young for me to reliably tell you if they are male or female. While the sex of most species is determined by the temperature at which I incubate the eggs I cannot guarantee their sex so I post them as unsexed.
Pictures of individual turtles
If I have only a couple of turtles of a species left then I will be able to post pictures of the individual animals available but in other cases the pictures posted are representative of the animals being offered. Sorry but we cannot take pictures of all the animals that are available.
See general species photos in the gallery.