Anyone here have/had a pet turtle?

[Fusion1]

Great pets! I had one when I was a kid but that was short lived before it escaped back into the wild.

[Gamera]

I am waiting for a Gamera post!!

Ask and ye shall receive.

First it's important to understand that not all turtles are water turtles. Some species of turtles are land turtles and need a terrarium and a water dish large enough to bathe in. These turtles tend to be a little larger than water turtles, are less work since there's no aquarium to clean, are less stinky (no fishy smell) and live longer. These are the turtles I've had experience with. I had two turtles that were about 5" - 6" in length living in a 40 gallon terrarium. One was a 3-toed box turtle and the other is an ornate box turtle. I've read that some turtles actually prefer an environment that's not too large as they do very little roaming and tend to feel safer in a smaller environment. That's not to say they like it cramped though.

My wife has owned water turtles and didn't have good experience with them. They were stinky, more prone to diseases, and were much higher maintenance due to having to constantly clean the water.

[jeremy]

I want one. That'd be badass. No one f's with a snapping turtle.

unless they make soup out of them

[ratherdashing]

Thanks everyone.

How quickly do these little turtles grow? Will I need to be replacing my tank in a year, six months ... ?