Sea turtles were added to Minecraft in the Update Aquatic (Java Edition 1.13 and Bedrock Edition 1.4). They spawn naturally near beaches in ocean biomes and can be bred to produce baby turtles. Farming sea turtles provides a renewable source of scutes, which are used to craft turtle shells.
Table of Contents
Finding and Breeding Sea Turtles
To breed sea turtles, you first need to find two adult turtles to produce eggs:
- Sea turtles spawn on the beaches of ocean and deep ocean biomes. Look for them wandering around sandy areas during the day.
- They will return to the beach at night to lay eggs in the sand if the beach is safe. Light up nearby areas or make an enclosure to protect them.
- Feed each turtle 5-10 seagrass to encourage breeding and egg laying. Seagrass can be found in ocean biomes.
Once two turtles have bred, they will dig in the sand and lay 1-4 turtle eggs:
- Turtle eggs hatch into baby turtles after 1-3 in-game days.
- Baby turtles grow into adults after 20 minutes. Feed them seagrass to speed up growth.
- The babies will instinctively move towards the nearest water source once hatched. Make sure they don’t get stuck or killed along the way.
Building a Sea Turtle Farm
An efficient turtle farm has a few key components:
- Enclosed Beach Area: Build a safe, well-lit beach area for the turtles to wander, breed, and lay eggs. Make sure no hostile mobs can spawn.
- Water Channels: Construct a path of water leading from the eggs to a larger pool. This allows the babies to safely swim out once hatched.
- Growing Pens: Separate pools where the babies can grow, with seagrass planted for faster growth rates.
- Collection System: Funnel the adult turtles into a chamber for easy scute harvesting.
Tips for managing the farm:
- Feed adult turtles regularly to encourage breeding. Excess eggs can be collected and hatched separately.
- Cull excess adult turtles to keep populations manageable.
- Make water channels at least 2 blocks deep so turtles don’t get stuck.
- Cover the beach area with slabs to prevent hostile mob spawns at night.
Harvesting Scutes and Turtle Shells
Scutes and turtle shells are obtained by harvesting adult sea turtles:
- Sea turtles will drop 0-2 scutes each time they are killed. They will not drop shells.
- A turtle shell is crafted using 5 scutes surrounding a helmet in a crafting table.
- Turtle shells provide 10 seconds of water breathing and slightly faster swimming speed when equipped.
- Turtles will naturally grow back 1-2 scutes over time after being harvested.
- Set up a chamber to trap turtles for easy harvesting. Funnel them with water streams and bubble columns.
Tips for effective harvesting:
- Harvest turtles in batches whenever scute supplies run low.
- Let populations regenerate scutes before harvesting again.
- Cull older turtles that are no longer breeding.
- Automate harvesting and movement with pistons and traps.
