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.

Box TurtlesSemi-terrestrial turtles
Wood TurtlesSemi-terrestrial turtles
Water Turtles – PopularAquatic/Semi-aquatic turtles
Map TurtlesAquatic/Semi-aquatic turtles
Water Turtles – Unusual Aquatic/Semi-aquatic turtles

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. Some turtles 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.

Box Turtles

Eastern Box Turtle

Eastern Box Turtle
Image Credit: Lisa Holder, Shutterstock

Terrapene carolina
 

Florida Box Turtle

Two Florida Box Turtles on the rocks
Image Credit: Candy Plus, Shutterstock

Terrapene carolina
 

Ornate Box Turtle

Ornate Box Turtle
Image Credit: Martha Marks, Shutterstock

Terrapene ornata ornata
 

Three-toed Box Turtle

orange Three-toed box turtle
Image Credit: Mike Wilhelm, Shutterstock

Terrapene carolina
 

Map Turtles

Cagle’s Map Turtle

Cagle’s Map Turtle
Cagle’s map turtle (Graptemys caglei) hatching | Image Credit: Mokele, Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported

Graptemys caglei
 

Ringed Map Turtle

Ringed map turtle
Image Credit: Gabbie Berry, Shutterstock

Graptemys oculifera
 

Yellow-blotched Map Turtle

Yellow-blotched map turtle
Image Credit: reptiles4all, Shutterstock

Graptemys flavimaculata

Popular Water Turtles

African Side-necked Turtle

African Side-necked Turtle
Image Credit: yhelfman, Shutterstock

Pelusios sinuatus
 

Chicken Turtle

Wild Florida chicken turtle
Image Credit: Chase Danimulls, Shutterstock

Deirochelys reticularia
 

Painted Turtle

Midland Painted Turtle on the rock_Brian Lasenby
Image Credit: Brian Lasenby, Shutterstock

Chrysemys picta
 

Red-eared Slider

red eared slider
Image Credit: Sergii Votit, Shutterstock

Trachemys scripta
 

Spiny Soft-shelled Turtle

Spiny Softshell Turtle
Image Credit: damann, Shutterstock

Apalone spinifera
 

Spotted Turtle

Spotted Turtle
Image credit: Jay Ondreicka, Shutterstock

Clemmys guttata

Unusual Water Turtles

Argentine Snake-necked Turtle

Argentine snake-necked turtle
Image Credit: Samib123, Shutterstock

Hydromedusa tectifera
 

Matamata Turtle

Matamata Turtle
Image Credit: mikeledray, Shutterstock

Chelus fimbriatus
 

Pig-nosed Turtle

pig-nosed turtle is swimming in an aquarium
Image Credit: daniilphotos, Shutterstock

Carettochelys insculpta
 

Snapping Turtle

Alligator snapping turtle on the road
Image Credit: Sista Vongjintanaruks, Shutterstock

Chelydra serpentina

Wood Turtles

Black Wood Turtle

black wood turtle
Image Credit: Kirandeep Walia, Shutterstock

Rhinoclemmys funerea
 

Ornate Wood Turtle

central american ornate wood turtle
Image Credit: Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH, Shutterstock

Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima

Featured Image Credit: matos11, Pixabay