Animal World > Herptiles > Turtles

Turtles

Spiny Softshell Turtle Apalone Spinifera Photo © Animal-World

   The first turtles are believed to have lived over 200 million years ago!... and their fossils are almost identical to turtles that are alive today!

Click on a Category (or scroll down) to acess each type of Turtle.

   There are many good beginner turtles that are generally available and fairly inexpensive. You can buy beginner turtles at reptile shows, from a breeder, at a pet store, or on the internet.

   Turtles are attractive interesting animals that have been kept as common household pets for many years.

   Turtles are quiet, calm, and slow-moving. Consequently they don't instill the cautious concerns that some folks have when dealing with other types of reptiles. They can be quite hardy when provided with the right environment, have fairly modest requirements, and live a long time.
   Turtles that spend a good deal of time in the water usually have webbed feet for swimming. They are aquatic turtles (water turtles) or semi-aquatic (marsh and swamp type) turtles. There are also turtles that are semi-terrestrial, spending time both in the water and on the land. These 'land' turtles are also known as terrapins (the term terrapin is derived from the word terrapene, which means 'land turtle'). In the United States however, the term turtle is usually used to describe all of these, and includes approximately 200 species.

For more Information see:
Turtle and Tortoise Care, Selection, Care, Maintenance

Box Turtles    (also see "Box Turtle Care")
Florida Box Turtle	Eastern Box Turtle
Terrapene carolina bauri	Terrapene carolina carolina
Three-toed Box Turtle	Ornate Box Turtle
Terrapene carolina triunguis	Terrapene ornata ornata

Wood Turtles
Black Wood Turtle	Ornate Wood Turtle
Rhinoclemmys funerea	Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima manni

Popular Water Turtles
Red Eared Slider	Western Painted Turtle
Trachemys Scripta Elegans	Chrysemys picta
African Side-necked Turtle	Spiny Soft-shell Turtle
Pelusios sinuatus	Apalone spinifera
Spotted Turtle	Chicken Turtle
Clemmys guttata	Chicken Turtle Gotta Picture? Feature it Here! Deirochelys reticularia

Map Turtles
Cagle's Map Turtle	Yellow-blotched Map Turtle
Graptemys caglei	Graptemys flavimaculata
Ringed Map Turtle
Graptemys oculifera

Unusual Water Turtles
Pig-nosed Turtle ~ Fly River Turtle	Matamata Turtle
Carettochelys insculpta	Chelus fimbriatus
Snapping Turtle	Argentine Snake-necked Turtle
Chelydra serpentina	Hydromedusa tectifera

Don't see your favorite Turtle here?
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