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Turtles and Tortoises: 5 You Should Never Keep as Pets





Fly River Turtle

Uploaded to Wikipedia Commons by Junkyardsparkle

Fly River Turtle (Carettochelys insculpta)





Nile Softshells

Uploaded to Wikipedia Commons by Lena Levin

Nile Softshell Turtle (Trionx triunguis)







Spurred Tortoise

Uploaded to Wikipedia Commons by Baseballchck02

African Spurred Tortoise (Geochelone sulcata)





Malayan Snail-Eating Turtle (Malayemys subtrijuga)







Alligator snapping turtle


Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macroclemmys temminckii)






Further Reading

Are You Ready for an African Spurred Tortoise?

Working with the World’s Largest Freshwater Turtles




  1. avatar

    This si a very interesting list of turtles to “avoid” unless you have proper environments.

    I have two unrelated questions I would appreciate your thoughts on.

    1. I have been using ZooMed UVB light bulbs for my box turtle. (She also goes out during the day when it is warm, but I have to bring her in at night because of raccoons and other night predators.)I do change the bulb every year as recommneded. Is this the best option to provide UVB for my box turlte? How can you tell if the bulb really needs to be changed? Are the UVB dectection devices effective and worth the cost? What other information should I consider regarding UVB bulbs? I know not to block UVB light with screens, plastic or glass. And what sources are available to people in India, China and South America for reliable UVB bulbs? (Sometimes we get readers from these areas.) What is a mercury vapor bulb? Does it deliver UVB rays?

    2. How are the wild populations of turtles and other reptiles faring in this terribly cold winter? Will we see large die offs, or are these animals safe in their hibernation places?

    Thanks for your thoughts. Best wishes.

    • avatar

      Hello Karen,

      Thanks for the kind words.

      Zoo Med’s recommendations re bulb life can be relied upon, company is very dependable. A very short exposure to natural sunlight even on an overcast day usually supplies infinitely more UVB than any bulb, but glass and plastic filters out UVB. Distance from bulb is important…standard UVB bulbs (original style) are most effective at 6-12 inches, newer florescent models from Z Med and others may broadcast further. Mercury vapor also have a greater effective distance. See here for mercury vapor. Most reputable manufacturer’s include distance info but let me know if you need more info.

      ThatPetPlace ships overseas, but costs would be a factor. I haven’t looked into availability on other continents, but have learned in passing, from readers, that UVB bulbs are available locally in parts of China, Europe and elsewhere.

      There are always losses during hibernation during any year (depressed immune system, predation; temperature is less of a factor, as millions of years of evolution have provided an ample safety net. Temp or season length becomes more critical, perhaps, at the extremes of a species’ range (i.e. wood frogs within Arctic Circle) , where species are expanding range, and for feral populations in non-native regions…i.e. several years ago there were huge die-offs of introduced green iguanas, Burmese pythons, many tropical fishes in Florida. Best regards, Frank

  2. avatar

    Hello, interesting article. You mention field studies reffering to Malayemys subtrijuga. Could you give me further information in this case? (See my mail address above)

    • avatar


      Thanks for the kind words. The diet info is from a phD dissertation..it is available as a file online..search under malayemys diet snails on Google (it is 173 pages, and I do not have it downloaded); first reference will be to a PDF of the article; I’ve come across other articles in Herpetologica, Copeia etc. over the years, but do not have a list at hand, unfortunately. Best, Frank

  3. avatar

    Owner of a male Hermann Tortoise. Owned him for 6 years but believe he is lonely. He gets lots of love, attention and is well cared for. I am hoping someone has a Hermann tortoise that they need a home for because I would like to adopt so my tortoise has a companion.

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