In general, the tortoise's lifespan is over 20 years, also the tortoise is a type of reptiles pets that is easy to take care of for beginners, so hopefully, this article is helpful for you when you are preparing the reptile products shopping lists for your pet.
Housing
A large and open-top reptile terrarium is suitable for adult tortoises because they need a large space to swim around the enclosure. Additionally, there should be a basking area in the habitat for lighting if your tortoise has limited access outdoor to get natural sunlight.
Reptile Tank Size
Shell size＜6cm, 30x30x20cm Turtle Tank
Shell size around 10 cm, 50x30x25cm Turtle Tank
Shell size around 15cm, 90x45x45cm Turtle Tank
Shell size around 20cm, 120x60x60cm Turtle Tank
Substrates
Clean basalt and pebble are a good choice for pet tortoises. Besides, the sand is also good for making the tank more aesthetic and better for the turtles to swim around the tank.
Water
Although the tortoise do not have high requirements on the water quality, providing a quiet and powerful filter is useful and convenient for the turtle's health, just need to remember to clean the filter and change the water on time every month.
Decoration
The tortoise basking platform is essential for any aquarium because usually the tortoise only spend parts of the time in the water and they need a basking area to dry up and warm-up, which is important for their health.
Temperature and Humidity
Turtles need a comfortable living habitat with a stable temperature, 28℃ is the best water temperature. Besides, to warm up the water temperature continually, a turtle tank heater is needed, especially at night when the room becomes cooler. The turtle will meet the danger of dehydration if you keep them too dry or hot, so a thermometer and hygrometer are also preferable for monitoring the temperature in the tank all the time. The reference value chart in the tank shows below:
Reference value in the tank
Water area: 60-80%
Moderate humidity: 40-75%
Daytime temperature: 26-30℃
Nighttime temperature: 22-25℃
Heating and Lighting
You might ask ‘Do I need to use lights on my tortoise pets?’ as a breeder beginner. The answer is definitely ‘Yes’, The lighting is a necessitate for the turtle, but the important thing to notice is that you should never use the lamps that produce UV because they are dangerous and bright which could cause blindness and might overheat the turtle. The lights that the tortoise keepers need to buy for tortoises are UVA & UVB light, which approximates normal light and the UVB light is important for turtles to produce Vitamin D3 to strengthen the bones and shells.
Food
Tortoise are aquatic animals, so when they live in the place of origin their main food is the aquatic living creatures such as fish and shrimps, and sometimes they catch small insects to eat in the mudflat, so grasses, leaves, fish, shrimps, and the special feed for turtles could be their main food. Moreover, tortoises need moving water to help them get the food, so you can leave the food on the water directly, but please do not leave too much food on the water because it could turn the water quality dirty, and clean the leftover after 3 hours since you had fed them.
Feeding equipment lists
Step 1: Reptile aquatic tank, choose by the suitable size
Step 2: Decoration
Cobblestone
Sand
Decoration aquatic plants
Basking platform
Step3: Heating, lighting, and accessories
Reptile thermometer and hygrometer
Reptile aquatic tank/terrarium/enclosure waste cleaner
Reptile aquatic tank/terrarium/enclosure heater
Reptile aquatic tank/terrarium/enclosure water filter
UVB & UVA lamps
Lamps fixtures
Tortoise food & supplement