Aquatic Turtle: Any turtle (most common is the Red Eared Slider) that spends most of its life in water.
Basking: Time spent when an aquatic turtle is in an area out of the water for the purpose of absorbing heat and drying off. This helps to prevent shellrot.
Basking Area: Area completly out of the water, providing a place for basking.
Bridge: Area where the plastron and carapace connect.
Breeding: The art of reproduction.
Carapace: Top portion of the shell of a turtle or tortouse. Covered with scutes.
Carnivore: Animal consuming only meat for food.
Cloaca: The common chamber into which the intestinal, urinary, and generative canals discharge especially in monotreme mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and elasmobranch fishes.
Clutch: The complete set of eggs produced or incubated at one time.
Dime Store Turtle: Common name used to label Red Eared Sliders.
Ectothermic: Of or relating to an organism that regulates its body temperature largely by exchanging heat with its surrounding environment. (This is why your turtle has to have a basking area with a heat lamp!)
Ecosystem: An ecological community together with its environment, functioning as a unit.
Filter: A porous material through which a liquid or gas is passed in order to separate the fluid from suspended particulate matter. A filter helps to keep the turtle water clean by removing food and waste particles.
Habitat: Your turtle's home. Where it normally lives.
Hatchling: A newborn turtle. A turtle infant.
Hebavore: An animal consuming only plant material for food.
Herpetologist: A zoologist (sometimes a vet) who studies reptiles and amphibians
