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Turtles are a passive mob in Minecraft that will often spawn along beaches. They tend to mind their own business and keep out of the way of the player, although they won’t flee unless attacked.
Their main use is to provide the player with Scute, which is used to craft Turtle Shells. You can read more about Scute below. In this guide, we’ll show you where you can find turtles, how to breed them, take care of the eggs and transport them around the map.
This guide is appropriate for all versions of Minecraft, whether it be on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch or Pocket Edition. For more Minecraft Guides, make sure to check out our dedicated Minecraft Guides section.
Where to Find Turtles in Minecraft
Turtles will always spawn in the Overworld, specifically on beaches. Your best chances of finding them are simply patrolling coastlines, looking for some that have spawned. However they won’t spawn on beaches that are in snowy biomes, or ones that are made of Stone.
The Turtles will spawn in groups, with each group having at least 2 Turtles, to a maximum of 6. For every Turtle that spawns, there is a 10% chance that one will be a baby.
If you are playing on Minecraft Bedrock Edition, the spawns are a little different. To spawn, Turtles will need a light level of at least 7, and be between the height levels 60 and 67.
How to Tame Turtles in Minecraft
Unlike some other mobs in Minecraft, you can’t actually tame Turtles. However that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way to have them live in your home.
Turtles have a ‘home beach’ which they will remember, and this is the beach that they either spawn on, or the one they hatched on. When having a baby, Turtles will always attempt to return to their home beach and lay their eggs there, as well as live and roam in the general area.
By having a Silk Touch pickaxe, you can collect the eggs and move them to an area near your own base that has a source of sand and water. Placing the Turtle Eggs will then set that area as the home beach for the eventual Turtles which hatch, essentially making these Turtles yours.
How to Transport Turtles in Minecraft
If instead, you want to bring Turtles back to your base in Minecraft that already have a home beach, then you’ll need to transport them. Unfortunately, you can’t use a Lead on Turtles like you can with other mobs.
Not to worry, as there are two other ways. Firstly, you can hold Seagrass in your hand. All Turtles within a 10 block radius will follow you as long as you’re holding it.
Secondly, you can actually place Turtles inside of boats with you, and sail them home. The easiest way to do this would simply be by driving your boat into the Turtle, making it hop inside. Otherwise, you can try and push it in by repeatedly walking into it.
How to Breed Turtles in Minecraft
In Minecraft, you can breed Turtles multiple times. By doing so, Turtles will lay eggs which will eventually turn into Baby Turtles. Eggs will be placed in clusters.
To breed Turtles, you will need at least 2 Seagrass, which can be found in Ocean Biomes. With the Seagrass in your hand, interact with each Turtle. Hearts will radiate from them, meaning they have entered love mode. Seagrass is the only item that Turtles eat in Minecraft.
The Turtles will get together and breed. If a Turtle is not at their home beach, they will attempt to go there to lay eggs. Before laying eggs, the Turtle will dig into the sand for a few seconds and lays between 1 and 4 eggs. As soon as this process is complete, the Turtles can breed again.
Turtle Eggs
After breeding, a Turtle will lay eggs in the sand. You can also place eggs yourself if you have collected any using a Silk Touch Pickaxe. Once placed, Turtle Eggs will slowly hatch into Baby Turtles. The amount of time it takes for the eggs to hatch is completely random, but it often takes a while.
Due to the high amount of time it takes for eggs to hatch in Minecraft, it’s a good idea to protect them. If the player or mobs other than the Turtle walks over an egg, it will be destroyed. Therefor, it’s a good idea to surround the area in fences and torches to ensure hostile mobs don’t spawn.
Unfortunately, some mobs will go out of their way to attack Turtle Eggs, including Zombies, Husks, Drowned, Zombie Villagers, Skeletons, Strays, Wither Skeletons, Ocelots, Wolves, Cats, Foxes, Withers and Zombie Pigmen. Once a Baby Turtle matures and becomes a Turtle, it will drop Scute.
Collecting Scute in Minecraft
Scute is a material in Minecraft, and the only way to obtain it is by having Baby Turtles grow up into Turtles. When this happens, a single piece of Scute will be dropped. Currently, Scute has very few uses.
The first use for Scute is to craft a Turtle Shell, which is a type of helmet. They can be crafted in a Crafting Table with the same layout as other helmets. When wearing a Turtle Shell, it gives the player an extra 10 seconds of breathing time when underwater.
Turtle Shells than can then also be used in a Potion Recipe. With Turtle Shells, the player can craft ‘Potion of the Turtle Master’, which has 3 tiers. When drinking this potion, the player will receive Slowness and Resistance status effects.
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