Turtles
The shell is part of the skeleton rather than a house it carries, with the ribs built into it. Most kept turtles are aquatic and split the day between water and a lamp.
Overview
Turtles kept as pets are mostly aquatic or semi aquatic, they grow considerably larger than the tanks they are sold with, and they live for decades. A red-eared slider has reached 41 years in captivity and a box turtle can pass a century.
They are also work. A turtle eats messily, produces a great deal of waste and needs both warm water and a dry, hot, well lit place to sit, which makes the setup closer to a filtered pond than to an aquarium.
Temperament
Alert, food driven and not affectionate. Turtles learn who feeds them and come to the glass for it, and that is the extent of the relationship on offer.
Basking is the behaviour to watch. A turtle that has stopped hauling out and drying off is usually unwell, and shell problems follow quickly from being permanently wet. Most species do not want to be handled and several will bite when they decide a finger is food.
Care and grooming
By species, and most are omnivores that shift with age, taking more animal protein when young and more plant matter as adults. A quality pellet plus greens and occasional protein is the usual base.
Water quality carries the whole thing. Filtration is sized well above the water volume, water changes are frequent, and feeding in a separate container keeps the main body of water cleaner than anything else does.
Living and exercise
Ten gallons of water for every inch of shell, water at 75 to 80 F, and a dry basking platform at around 90 F under UVB. Both halves are required: warm water without a basking site, or a basking site without UVB, produces the same slow shell and bone problems.
Reptiles carry Salmonella in their digestive tracts even when they look healthy, and it is present in the tank water as well as on the animal. Hands are washed with soap and running water afterwards, and the CDC recommends that households with children under five do not keep turtles or other reptiles.
Something here wrong or out of date?