How to Breed Turtles in Minecraft

Last Updated: July 16, 2020

Turtles are a passive mob introduced in the 1.13 Aquatic Update. They can be found on beaches or swimming around in the ocean. This mob has very unique breeding mechanics—here’s how it works.

Steps

1
Craft a pair of shears. You need to smelt two blocks of iron ore in a furnace to get the required iron ingots. Arrange them in a diagonal formation as shown.
2
Collect seagrass. It grows in oceans, rivers, and lakes where it can be picked up if you break it using shears. Using bonemeal underwater will generate seagrass if you can’t find it otherwise. You need at least two pieces.

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3
Breed two turtles. You can find them on a beach in the Overworld. While holding the seagrass, right-click or click Feed on Pocket Edition. After the heart animation, one of the turtles will dig in the sand and lay 1-4 eggs. Turtles always lay their eggs on the block where they hatched (their home beach), which should be nearby if you find them spawned naturally.
4
Pick up the eggs using a tool enchanted with Silk Touch. This is optional but allows you to move the eggs wherever you would like. Be careful not to stomp on the eggs because they can break.
- The eggs can be placed on sand or red sand in clusters of up to 4.
5
Build an enclosure for the eggs. Foxes, stray cats, and all zombie variants try to attack either the eggs or the baby turtles, so you have to protect them. Fence an area off or build a two-block tall wall and light up the inside with torches. Place an iron door or fence gate so that you can come and go as you please.
- Include some water for the baby turtles to swim in and grow.
6
Wait for the eggs to hatch. This happens faster at night and goes through three stages as the eggshells gradually crack open. It usually takes several in-game days.
- You need to be within about 50 blocks or the hatching will pause.
7
Feed the baby turtle seagrass to speed up its growth. Upon turning into an adult, it will drop a scute that can be used to make a turtle shell helmet or to brew the potion of the Turtle Master. You can also sell them to some cleric villagers.

Community Q&A

Question

I had turtle eggs in a village, the next day they were gone were those the stray cats, if so how can I protect them (it's an open enclosure and I don't want to keep it closed)?

Seasalt25

Top Answerer

It could have been the stray cats. If a living entity stands on top of turtle eggs for too long they will be trampled, meaning they will be gone and they won't hatch. It could've also been zombies or a zombie variant, as they seek out turtle eggs and destroy them.
Question

My turtle won't take any food after I bred them together and one of them won't eat or lay eggs, what do I do?

Seasalt25

Top Answerer

There is a period of time after breeding turtles or other mobs where you cannot feed them or breed them again. When you breed turtles, only 1 will lag eggs. They will go back to where they first spawned and dig around in the sand until they lay eggs. Make sure they are able to return to their spawn blocks.
Question

How do you get an iron nugget?

Seasalt25

Top Answerer

Iron nuggets can be obtained by placing an iron ingot into a crafting table, smelting iron armor or tools, bartering with Piglins, or by looting chests in bastions, ruined portals, shipwrecks, and villages.