Red Eared Slider Pet Care

Red eared sliders in pet stores are most often hatchlings so are small but they grow to be 12 inches over the course of a few years. They also live for a long time. The average life span of a red eared slider is 40 years. Red eared sliders require large tanks. The general rule of thumb is at least 10 gallons per inch in length of turtle. Therefore, if an adult turtle is 12 inches it would need a 120 gallon tank. It is possible for turtles to carry salmonella. This is why turtles less then 4 inches are prohibited for sale in the United States and also why proper precautions should be taken and turtles should not be kept in homes with small children or anyone who is immunocompromised. Red eared sliders are very messy and the tank will need to be cleaned often. These turtles will beg for food. They will become frantic and swim back and forth if you come to the tank without food. This does not necessarily mean the are hungry. Do not feed them more simply because they beg.

Tanks

For hatchlings a 20 gallon tank will suffice but as they get bigger a much larger tank will be needed. At least 100 gallons for a full grown red eared slider. There are alternatives to buying a big and often expensive aquarium. Large plastic containers or storage tubs, as long as they are large enough and the turtle can't crawl out are suitable homes for red eared sliders. Adequate room to swim is necessary. The minimum amount of water needed can be calculated using the length of the turtle. The depth of the water should be at least 1.5 to 2 times, the length of the water area should be at least 5 times and the width should be at least 3 times the length of the turtle. This means for a 5 inch red eared slider the water are would need to be at least 7.5 inches deep, 25 inches long and 15 inches wide.

Although turtles are strong swimmers they do need a spot to be able to climb out of the water and bask. The basking area can be made in a variety of different ways as long as the red eared slider is easily able to climb completely out of the water and dry off totally. You can use a plastic "turtle dock", stack smooth rocks on top of each other, using wood or sloping smooth large gravel to one side.

Decorations are not needed and will often merely make the tank more difficult to clean.

A filter is very important. It's recommended to purchase one meant for twice the water that you are actually filtering because red eared sliders are so messy. At least once a week a 25% water change is required. This means you remove at least 25% of the water and replace it with fresh. At least once a month the entire tank should be emptied and cleaned out.

The water in the red eared slider's tank should be kept at 75-78 F, and 78-80 F for hatchlings. The air in the tank should be around 75-80 F, with the basking area at 90-95 F. A submersible heater can be used if necessary but it is important to place it in such a way that the turtle can not reach it. A heat lamp should be used over the basking area to keep it warm. A full spectrum reptile UVA/UVB is also necessary.

Turtle Diet

Red eared sliders need a mixture of both meat and plant food. Younger sliders eat more meat then plant while older sliders need more plant then meat. Turtle pellet food is a nice option because it contains both plant and meat material. However, it is recommended that only 25% of red eared slider's diet consist of pellets. For the other 75% a red eared slider may be fed feeder items such as earthworms, crickets, waxworms, earthworms, silkworms, aquatic snails, blood worms, daphnia, shrimp, krill, meal worms or feeder fish for larger turtles. Also leafy greens such as collard, mustard and dandelion greens, kale, bok choy but never iceberg lettuce. Aquatic plants and carrots, squash and green beans may also be fed to red eared sliders.

Hatchlings and juveniles should be fed every day while adult red eared sliders should be fed every other day. The general rule is to feed your turtle as much as he will eat in a 15 minute span.

Source:

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/aquaticturtles/tp/resguide.htm