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How to Keep a Pet Turtle in Minecraft Download Article Author Info
Last Updated: February 19, 2026
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Catching turtles
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Breeding turtles
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Video
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Q&A
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Tips
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Warnings
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Things You'll Need
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wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 52,138 times. Learn more...
Turtles are one of three aquatic mobs in Minecraft (the others being guardians & elder guardians) that can survive indefinitely outside water without suffocating. They're also the only passive mob out of the three, making them ideal to keep as pets.
Steps
Part 1 Part 1 of 2:
Catching turtles
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1 Gather some seagrass. Seagrass grows on the bottom of oceans and rivers. Like grass on land, it must either be broken with shears or a Silk Touch tool to drop itself.
You can grow seagrass by using bonemeal on any non-transparent blocks (Java Edition only), or on any dirt/sand variant, clay, or gravel blocks that're under at least two (non-flowing) blocks of water.[1]XResearch source
For a more... psychopathic, option, turtles can drop 0-2 seagrass when killed (it's not worth it, just cut some from the river/sea beds, ya maniac).
2 Find some turtles. Turtles can spawn on top of sand blocks on most (with the exception of stony and snowy) beaches, and can usually be found either on land, or swimming in the water nearby.
In Java Edition, turtles spawn on sand blocks up to three blocks above sea-level (Y=60 to Y=63) at light levels 9 and above, while on Bedrock Edition they spawn up to 7 blocks above sea-level at light levels 7 and above.[2]XResearch source
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3 Move them into an pen/habitat. You can lure them by holding some seagrass in front of their face, or pick them up with a boat (Java Edition only) or minecart.
Dirt pens (like the one above) can be used to temporarily hold mobs until you're ready to move them into a proper habitat.
Turtles can't be attached to leads.
If you use sand for the floor, eggs can be placed/laid inside the habitat.
Add some water to create an artificial beach if you want to breed them.
Advertisement Part 2 Part 2 of 2:
Breeding turtles
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1 Find at least one pair of turtles. Two turtles are the minimum needed to breed, however more pairs will allow you get more eggs much faster.
2 Feed both of them a piece of seagrass. This'll send them both into "love-mode" (hearts will appear around them). After mating, one of the turtles will appear bloated with eggs.
Turtles have a 90-second mating cooldown on Bedrock Edition; this cooldown doesn't exist on Java Edition though.
3 Follow the pregnant turtle back to her home beach. Unlike all other breedable mobs, breeding turtles does not immediately result in a baby turtle. Rather, much like real turtles, the mother will first travel to her home beach before laying her eggs.
4 Wait for the mother to lay her eggs. Once she gets to her home beach, she'll look for a suitable spot before digging for a few seconds (she'll start flailing her flippers and throwing sandy particles into the air). Once done, 1-4 eggs will appear on the ground underneath her.
Note that it sometimes takes a little bit for her to start digging.
Turtle eggs can only be laid on sand and red sand.
5 Relocate the egg with a Silk Touch tool (optional). A turtle's home beach is the block that they spawned on. Because turtles will always attempt to return there to lay their eggs, it's best to let the egg hatch on a beach closer to your base (especially if the parent's home beach is far away).
Turtle eggs must be broken with a Silk Touch tool to be obtained, or else they'll drop nothing.
6 Guard the eggs for the next few nights. Turtle eggs hatch in stages over a few in-game nights (hatching is significantly slower during the day), during which time they're vulnerable to getting trampled and broken. It's a good idea to light up the area around the eggs.
All zombie variants, including zombified piglins (but not zoglins; those count as a hoglin variant), along with blazes, will actively trample nearby turtle eggs.
Eggs can't be trampled by turtles, bats or crouching players.
7 Protect the babies. Once the eggs hatch, the babies will also need to be protected from zombies and skeletons (and their variants), ocelots, foxes, stray cats, and wild wolves until they grow up.
Note that Zoglins are the only naturally spawning mob that attack both baby and adult turtles.
Turtle Predators
Mob
Attacks Baby Turtles
Attacks Adult Turtles
Zombies, Zombie Villagers, Husks, & Drowned
Yes
No
Zombified Piglins & Blazes
No
No
Skeletons, Strays, & Wither Skeletons
Yes
No
Ocelots, Stray Cats, Foxes, & Wolves (wild only)
Yes
No
Zoglins
Yes
Yes
"Johnny" Vindicators & Withers
Yes, but unlike the other mobs, they don't target them specifically
Yes, but unlike the other mobs, they don't target them specifically
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Community Q&A
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Question Can baby turtles go through iron bars? WikiTigerWatcher681 Community Answer No, baby turtles cannot go through iron bars. Although iron bars appear to have gaps, their collision acts as if they are one solid block in Minecraft. The only way a baby turtle could get past an iron bar is if it's not connected to a solid block, allowing the turtle to go around it. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0
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Video
Tips
It's a good idea to make a pen for the turtles before you go out to catch them. Thanks Helpful 16 Not Helpful 2
Unlike real turtles, Minecraft turtles can't drown. Thanks Helpful 13 Not Helpful 3
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Warnings
With the exception of blazes and zombie variants (including zombified piglins), no mobs will intentionally seek out turtle eggs, however they can still accidentally trample over them. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 0
Vindicators don't normally target turtles (adults nor babies), however they will if named "Johnny" with a nametag (although technically, Johnny vindicators will attack almost all mobs).[3]XResearch source
Likewise, while withers don't specifically target turtles, they'll still attack them since they're not undead mobs.[4]XResearch source
Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
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Things You'll Need
A Silk Touch tool to harvest seagrass
Seagrass to breed/lure the turtles
Some kind of enclosure/habitat to keep the turtles in
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wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 52,138 times. 15 votes - 85% Co-authors: 8Updated: February 19, 2026 Views: 52,138 Categories: Minecraft Animals In other languagesJapanese
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Anon Amous
Jul 16, 2022
"I had no clue what to do with the turtles until I saw this, thanks."
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About This Article
Co-authors: 8Updated: February 19, 2026 Views: 52,13885% of readers found this article helpful. 15 votes - 85% Click a star to add your vote
Anon Amous
Jul 16, 2022
"I had no clue what to do with the turtles until I saw this, thanks." Share yours!
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1 Gather some seagrass. Seagrass grows on the bottom of oceans and rivers. Like grass on land, it must either be broken with shears or a Silk Touch tool to drop itself. 
2 Find some turtles. Turtles can spawn on top of sand blocks on most (with the exception of stony and snowy) beaches, and can usually be found either on land, or swimming in the water nearby. 
3 Move them into an pen/habitat. You can lure them by holding some seagrass in front of their face, or pick them up with a boat (Java Edition only) or minecart. 
1 Find at least one pair of turtles. Two turtles are the minimum needed to breed, however more pairs will allow you get more eggs much faster. 
2 Feed both of them a piece of seagrass. This'll send them both into "love-mode" (hearts will appear around them). After mating, one of the turtles will appear bloated with eggs. 
3 Follow the pregnant turtle back to her home beach. Unlike all other breedable mobs, breeding turtles does not immediately result in a baby turtle. Rather, much like real turtles, the mother will first travel to her home beach before laying her eggs. 
4 Wait for the mother to lay her eggs. Once she gets to her home beach, she'll look for a suitable spot before digging for a few seconds (she'll start flailing her flippers and throwing sandy particles into the air). Once done, 1-4 eggs will appear on the ground underneath her. 
5 Relocate the egg with a Silk Touch tool (optional). A turtle's home beach is the block that they spawned on. Because turtles will always attempt to return there to lay their eggs, it's best to let the egg hatch on a beach closer to your base (especially if the parent's home beach is far away). 
6 Guard the eggs for the next few nights. Turtle eggs hatch in stages over a few in-game nights (hatching is significantly slower during the day), during which time they're vulnerable to getting trampled and broken. It's a good idea to light up the area around the eggs. 
7 Protect the babies. Once the eggs hatch, the babies will also need to be protected from zombies and skeletons (and their variants), ocelots, foxes, stray cats, and wild wolves until they grow up. 
WikiTigerWatcher681 Community Answer No, baby turtles cannot go through iron bars. Although iron bars appear to have gaps, their collision acts as if they are one solid block in Minecraft. The only way a baby turtle could get past an iron bar is if it's not connected to a solid block, allowing the turtle to go around it. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0 
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