Do you remember how in the book about Prostokvashino the mother of uncle Feodor, who wasn't much fond of animals, was willing to adopt nothing but a "turtle in a box"? Truly, at first glance turtles seem like unpretentious pets: there's no need to take them for a walk, they don't require much space, they don't meow or chirp and even sleep for half a year. In reality land turtles are much more interesting creatures, but taking care of them also requires some attention and knowledge.
First of all, a "box" won't be enough for keeping a turtle. It needs some space to move around. A glass terrarium with sides five times higher than the shell of the animal would be a perfect option. Second, just like any other reptile, a land turtle are highly affected by the temperature of the premise, therefore during the period of activity (from mid spring to mid fall) it's best to keep them warm. If it's cold at your place, place an electric lamp above the terrarium. By the way, the light is also very important for the correct bone and shell development of the turtle. If you don't have a terrarium, a big enough bot (a plastic one is best) will do, but don't forget about the light.
It's best to feed a turtle with fresh vegetables: cabbage, salad leaves, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes and also with various herbs: rib grass, dandelion, foalfoot, saltbush. Sometimes you can give them sweet fruit (apples, for example) and berries, but not too much. If you adopted a turtle not that long ago, try feeding it with various types of food from time to time to find out which one it prefers. You don't need to give them anything to drink, as turtles receive water from juicy plants.
The lower part of the shell and the paws of the turtles tend to get dirty quite fast, therefore you need to bath them once a week in 25-30 degrees water. It's comfortable to use a soft toothbrush for cleaning, but do not press it to hard, because you might damage the shell.
In mid fall land turtles become less active and eat less too. The reason is that they are getting prepared to go into hibernation. Stop enlighting the terrarium and place your pet into a cooler place if you have such opportunity (the perfect air temperature for a turtle during winter season varies from 0 to 12C). Somewhere in the mid-April you'll have to wake up your turtle: place it back into the warm terrarium and warm it up with a lamp.
As you can see, there are some twists and turns when it comes to keeping a turtle. However, sticking to those rules is not that hard and believe me when I say that it's worth it. It's incredibly interesting and sometimes even hilarious to observe a turtle. Many children like turtles and with some help from the adults a child can easily manage taking care of such pet. Besides, turtles aren't allergenic and get along well with other domestic animals. And what's most important, if it's taken care of right, the turtle will cheer its owners for many years as we all know that animals can live for more than a hundred years.
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