How much does it cost to keep a pet turtle per month?

Question

My dad is a real cheapo, and he said if I wanted a turtle, I'd have to pay the bills. LOL. I want a pet turtle or tortoise, and I've done hours of research on them, doesn't seem to convince him. Anyways, I just wanted to know how much the bills would cost to keep one, they live for many, many years, and if I'm going to be paying for it, I gotta know.

How much is it for-
- Heating
- UV lights
- Food

Thanks, :D

Answer 1

Initial Costs for a complete setup 1000$ give or take a few hundred.



Cost to run per month, 50-100 a month, plus yearly vet visits at around 100$.



food and light bulbs, plus filter media^



Do some quick research and you will see it is not cheap to care for a turtle.



Turtles are not cheap, dogs and cats are.

Answer 2

It depends on the turtle/tortoise

honestly, don't get one because if it gets sick or hurt how the hell are you supposed to pay the vet bills? You have to think of all of the costs of a pet when getting it, not just food, lighting and heating.



If you still are going to get one, get leopard tortoise BUT PLEASE do NOT put it in a tank, turtles and tortoises never realize there is a wall there and it's just a miserable life scratching at the glass.



Why a tortoise, well because for a turtle, you're going to need a pond, and with a pond you're going to need a constant water flow/water changes, water filters and heaters.

Plus it's a huge pain.

Most turtles you buy in pet stores start off small but get large fast and cannot be kept in a tank, bowl, or whatever.



You're looking to pay thousands as the turtles reaches adulthood.



Both turtles and tortoises are lifetime pets, they can possibly outlive you, so owning one should not be taken lightly.



For a tortoise, you can go fancy, or you can go cheap.

Depending on where you live, you can have an indoor or outdoor enclosure.

For an outdoor tortoise you don't need a UV light, but keeping the tortoise warm, which is just as important can be difficult.



Enclosure (once again please do not keep it in a tank) can be cheap or fancy, many keep their tortoises in kiddy pools which run around $20 - $30



Their diet is veggie based, so you can expect $10- $30 a week on food, depending on what you feed it



Don't forget the $3 - $5 calcium supplements (they last a while, though)



UV lights are important, too many owners don't think this is necessary.



$20 for the fixture

$30 - $40 for the bulb which has to be replaced every 6 months whether or not it's working or not.



Basking fixture $7

Basking light $7 (will probably go out every few months)



under enclosure heating pad $15 - $30



If your leopard tortoise is only housed indoors at night or during brief winter periods, newspaper works as a substrate. For a permanent indoor enclosure, substrates such as grass clippings, peat moss or potting soil work well. Also include different microclimates, including a warm, moist hide box and dry area with a basking light.



So the minimum to get started would be around $100 just for supplies but once again you're taking on a pet that you will have for a long time and will cost you A LOT of money.



Please take this seriously, as you do not want your new friend to suffer from giving him away or surrendering him to a shelter, or possibly neglecting him.



You can read more below



http://www.reptilechannel.com/care-sheets/leopard-tortoise.aspx

Answer 3

Talking about turtles, there are many types of turtles that you can keep as a pet. I would recommend getting a red-ear slider if it's your first experience about turtles. Keeping red-ear slider is low in cost and doesn't require anything more than reading a few articles online. It will depend on where you live, if you have a garden in front of your house, what i would do is create a fence and make a pool for it. Right now, I can guarantee that this would work. In this case, you wouldn't need basking lamp because it gets its best light from the sun. But if you are thinking of keeping it indoor, you would need a tank, basking lamp/ UV-B Lamp, maybe a heater, depending on where you live. It eats nearly every thing. I've fed them from Japanese Crab Sticks to cat foods. You can also get some turtle food. I started off with about US$35.

Answer 4

Only get one if you can invest $200 for setup and $20-$50 a month after Do not get a turtle If you cannot clean its cage daily or watch it daily it requires lots of care especially when you leave for vacation. You need someone to watch it.

Answer 5

I suggest that you should get a yellow belly slider, I got mine for 20 dollars. I got all the stuff and the turtle under 100 dollars. But it may be a little more expensive at your pet store. I hope you will take good care of it.

Answer 6

Well, your going to have to pay out at least £200 for the actual pet, viv/table, lights, starter stuff & starter food/ECT



But the good thing is, they are actually quite cheap to look after you buy them/ect, I'd say, £20(even, well probably less) a month?



Good luck!

Answer 7

If your going to get a turtle you should get one of those little chinese jade back water turtles. they cost about 12 dollars to feed for like two months