Turtle Shell – Wiki Guide

This Minecraft tutorial explains how to craft a turtle shell with screenshots and step-by-step instructions.

In Minecraft, a turtle shell is a new armor item that will be available in the Aquatic Update (Java Edition 1.13). It is worn on your head like a helmet and gives +2 armor.

Wear the turtle shell outside of the water or in a bubble column to add the Water Breathing effect to the turtle shell for 10 seconds.

This Water Breathing effect will start once you go underwater (this means that the air bubbles in your status bar will not start popping until after the Water Breathing effect has worn off).

TIP: Go back up above the water or into a bubble column to keep adding back 10 seconds of Water Breathing to the turtle shell you’re wearing.

Let’s explore how to make a turtle shell.

Where to find a Turtle Shell in Creative Mode

Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac)

Here is where you can find a turtle shell in the Creative Inventory menu:

Platform	Version(s)	Creative Menu Location
Java Edition (PC/Mac)	1.13 – 1.19.4	Combat
Java Edition (PC/Mac)	1.19.3 – 1.19.4	Ingredients

• Platform is the platform that applies.
• Version(s) is the Minecraft version numbers where the item can be found in the menu location listed (we have tested and confirmed this version number).
• Creative Menu Location is the location of the item in the Creative Inventory menu.

Required Materials to make a Turtle Shell

In Minecraft, these are the materials you can use to craft a turtle shell:

5 Scutes

How to craft a Turtle Shell in Survival Mode

1. Open the Crafting Menu

First, open your crafting table so that you have the 3×3 crafting grid that looks like this:

2. Add Items to make a Turtle Shell

In the crafting menu, you should see a crafting area that is made up of a 3×3 crafting grid. To make a turtle shell, place 5 scutes in the 3×3 crafting grid.

When making a turtle shell, it is important that the scutes are placed in the exact pattern as the image below. There should be 3 scutes in the first row and 2 scutes in the second row at either sides (the middle box should be left empty). This is the Minecraft crafting recipe for a turtle shell.

Now that you have filled the crafting area with the correct pattern, the turtle shell will appear in the box to the right.

3. Move the Turtle Shell to Inventory

Once you have crafted a turtle shell, you need to move the new item to your inventory.

Congratulations, you have made a turtle shell in Minecraft!

Item ID and Name

Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac)

In Minecraft, a turtle shell has the following Name, ID and DataValue:

Item	Description (Minecraft ID Name)	Minecraft ID	Data Value	Stack Size	Platform	Version(s)
	Turtle Shell (minecraft:turtle_helmet)			1	Java	1.13 – 1.19.4

• Description is what the item is called and (Minecraft ID Name) is the string value that is used in game commands.
• Minecraft ID is the Internal number for the item.
• Data Value (or damage value) identifies the variation of the block if more than one type exists for the Minecraft ID.
• Stack Size is the maximum stack size for this item. While some items in Minecraft are stackable up to 64, other items can only be stacked up to 16 or 1. (NOTE: These stack sizes are for vanilla Minecraft only. If you are running a mod, some mods may change the stack size for an item.)
• Platform is the platform that applies.
• Version(s) is the Minecraft version numbers that the Minecraft ID and Name are valid for.

Give Command for Turtle Shell

Give Command in Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac)

In Minecraft Java Edition (PC/Mac) 1.13, 1.14, 1.15, 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19 and 1.19.4, the /give command for Turtle Shell is:

/give @p turtle_helmet 1

Durability

Durability represents how long the item will last. For tools, weapons and transportation, durability is the number of useful actions before the item is destroyed. For armor items, durability is the number of hits (that can be blocked by armor) before the item is destroyed. So the higher the durability number, the longer the item will last.

The following table shows the durability for each helmet/cap in Minecraft:

Item	Name	Durability
	Netherite Helmet	407
	Diamond Helmet	363
	Turtle Shell	275
	Chain Helmet	165
	Iron Helmet	165
	Golden Helmet	77
	Dyed Leather Cap	55
	Leather Cap	55

Enchantments for Turtle Shell

In Minecraft, you can enchant a turtle shell with the following enchantments:

• Enchantment is what the enchantment is called.
• Description is the description of what the enchantment does.

See a complete list of Minecraft Enchantments that is interactive and searchable.

Things to Make with Turtle Shell

You can use turtle shells to make items in Minecraft such as:

How to make an Enchanted Turtle Shell
How to make a Potion of the Turtle Master (0:20 – Slowness IV, Resistance III)

Things to Do with Turtle Shell

Here are some activities that you can do with turtle shells in Minecraft:

How to Put on Armor
How to Use an Armor Stand

Other Armor

You can make other armor in Minecraft such as:

How to make a Diamond Helmet
How to make a Diamond Chestplates
How to make a Diamond Leggings
How to make a Diamond Boots
How to make a Golden Helmet
How to make a Golden Chestplates
How to make a Golden Leggings
How to make a Golden Boots
How to make an Iron Helmet
How to make an Iron Chestplates
How to make an Iron Leggings
How to make an Iron Boots
How to make a Leather Cap
How to make a Leather Tunic
How to make a Leather Pants
How to make a Leather Boots
How to make a Chain Helmet
How to make a Chain Chestplates
How to make a Chain Leggings
How to make a Chain Boots
How to make a Netherite Helmet
How to make a Netherite Chestplates
How to make a Netherite Leggings
How to make a Netherite Boots
How to make a Shield
How to make a Custom Shield
How to make a Totem of Undying
How to make the Elytra