HOW TO CARE  FOR YOUR RED-EARED SLIDER TURTLE

HOW TO CARE  FOR YOUR RED-EARED SLIDER TURTLE

 

Red-Eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Red Ear Slider Care and maintenance

Red-eared sliders (also called red-eared terrapins) have been the most popular and commonly kept pet turtle for decades.

Red-eared sliders are very popular aquatic turtles that require special lighting, an animal and plant based diet, and continuous cleaning and maintenance. Red-eared sliders are a serious commitment because they can live up to 20 years in captivity and needs proper upkeeping to stay happy and healthy. If you get one of these quarter-sized babies, it may look easy at first, but as they grow, they will need a bigger tank and a lot of constant care.

Red-eared sliders are large, semi-aquatic turtles native to the southern and southern central regions of the United States. They prefer aquatic habitats such as ponds, lakes, swamps, and slow-flowing rivers.

Like other turtles, red-eared sliders are diurnal, which means that they are most active during the day. As omnivores, they use much of this time to hunt small animal prey and forage for edible plants.

As one of the largest turtles available in the pet trade, red-eared sliders average 10-12” in shell length, although females are generally larger than males. With good care, they generally live 20-30+ years.

Although red-eared sliders are the most popular type of pet turtle, and they are incredibly hardy and adaptable, they are far from easy to care for. Seriously consider your choice before taking on this species as a pet. There are many unwanted red-eared sliders in the hobby, so if you have decided that this is the pet for you, please strongly consider adoption over buying “new”.

Red-eared sliders require more work than many people think. They also get much larger and need more room than is often implied by pet stores and other vendors. A large tank, special reptile lighting, and an appropriate diet are just a few things you’ll want to make sure you provide to your red-eared slider.

Choosing a Healthy Red-Eared Slider

Before you bring home a red-eared slider, there are a few things to check out to increase the odds that you are bringing home a healthy turtle. Learn where to get a red-eared slider (including possibly rescuing one) and how to tell whether or not your turtle of choice is healthy.

Look at its eyes, shell, how it swims, and whether or not it seems very active. There are some key indicators to help you determine whether or not a red-eared slider is healthy.

Red-Eared Slider Appearance

Red-eared sliders are quite attractive and rather flat turtles, with disc-shaped round carapaces (shells) in bright greens with thin yellow striping or blotches. They have yellowish underbellies and green skin, with yellow stripes or dots on their legs and faces.

Red-eared sliders get their name from the red spot or wide red stripe that’s found behind each eye. There are other types of turtles that look similar to the red-eared slider but which are lacking the red “ear.” The patterning of red-eared sliders begins a bright green but can stretch, darken, and fade as the animal grows and ages.

Another interesting fact about red-eared sliders is that, unlike other turtles, when they withdraw into their shells they are unable to seal off their shell entirely, leaving them vulnerable. So, in order to avoid predators they rely more on diving into deep water.

 

Housing Your Red-Eared Slider

Small aquariums are good for young turtles but as red-eared sliders mature they will require a tank that can hold well over 100 gallons of water. Creative turtle owners use all sorts of novel housing ideas to meet the roomy requirements of their red-eared sliders using things like pre-formed plastic pond liners to make homes more like indoor ponds. And, if you have an outdoor pond, and a securely fenced yard to keep your turtle in and predators out, you might consider putting your turtle outdoors for at least part of the year.

Water quality must be maintained no matter where you house your turtle and both supplemental heat and UVB lighting should be provided. Setting all of this up is the hardest part but once your tank or pond is established the maintenance isn’t all that bad.

Feeding Your Red-Eared Slider

Although red-eared sliders’ tastes tend to change as they mature, (shifting to a more herbivorous diet as they get older) turtles of all ages should be offered a wide variety of both animal and plant based items. Commercial turtle pellets can make up a good base for the diet but they should be supplemented with a variety of other items.

There are a few basic things you can do to ensure easy ​cleanup and a healthy turtle. Feeding your turtle outside of its home is a bit more work for you at feeding time but it will make it easier to keep the tank clean and the overall water quality good in the long run (which is best for your turtle to avoid ear infections, shell problems, etc.). Also, avoid overfeeding your turtle to prevent obesity and excessive waste matter.

Red-Eared Slider Health

Improper environmental conditions and diet are among the most common culprits when it comes to health problems in red-eared sliders. Diseases such as metabolic bone disease (MBD) and vitamin A deficiency are seen in many kinds of reptiles including red-eared sliders.

Sexing Red-Eared Sliders and Reproduction

Red-eared sliders are not easy to sex until they reach sexual maturity. Adult male turtles will have a long tail and long front claws while adult female turtles will have short front claws and short tails.

Some people don’t find out they have a female until she starts laying eggs (females will lay infertile eggs without a male present). Casual breeding of ​red-eared sliders isn’t recommended but it is important to provide a nesting area for egg-laying females. Although they will drop them in the water, this is not a red-eared slider’s preferred way to lay eggs. Some females will retain their eggs rather than dropping them in water if they do not have a nest and will become egg bound (a serious problem).

Slider Turtle Tank

A 55-gallon glass tank is the minimum size you should consider to house a single young slider, but a 75 or even a 125-gallon tank provides a much better fit as that turtle becomes an adult. It should be filled with just enough clean water to cover the turtle when it’s turned sideways. It’s not necessary to add gravel in the bottom. Gravel may look attractive, but it holds a lot of bacteria, and it makes it more difficult to clean the tank. Some turtles have even been known to become impacted from eating the gravel, so that’s another reason to leave the bottom bare. If you must add gravel, use large gravel that isn’t swallowed so easily.

Aquarium Tank or Terrarium Setup

Bigger is always better when it comes to the size of your turtle tank, as many turtles will grow if given a larger habitat. Generally, you’ll want to provide a water area that’s at least 4-to 5-times longer than the size of the turtle, 3-4 times wider than the turtle, and at least 1.5 times deeper than the longest dimension of the turtle. If keeping multiple turtles, increase the dimensions by 25% for each additional turtle.

While plastic tanks work well, glass tanks will allow you to enjoy the appearance and mannerisms of your pet turtle(s). For one turtle, a 20-gallon glass aquarium is the absolute minimum size you can use. As far as decorations and furnishings for your red-eared slider’s new home, you really only have to provide an area where the turtle can get completely out of the water to dry off from time to time. Cork wood, driftwood, and smooth flat rocks all work well for this.

You don’t have to worry about substrate or gravel on the bottom of the aquarium, but you may want to include some sort of natural-looking decorations. Just make sure that whatever you put in the tank will not cause your turtle to become trapped underwater, and keep in mind that you’ll have to regularly remove and clean whatever you put in the tank. Rocks and gravel can easily be ingested so they are not usually recommended.

Aquatic plants like water hyacinth or duckweed can also add a nice touch to your red-eared slider habitat, and if they float they can create a cool little underwater cave for your turtle to hang out in! With proper care and a little love, you’ll be able to enjoy the company of your red-eared slider for years to come.

Heat and Light

When considering where to place your turtle tank, don’t put it in direct sunlight or you may accidentally bake your pet. Also, unless you put the tank in a room with lots of natural light, make sure to provide your turtle with plenty of light if it is kept indoors.

If you have to purchase lighting for your new pet, choose incandescent bulbs and/or fluorescent bulbs, setting one incandescent up over a spot where the turtle can bask on a rock or log. Fluorescent lights are better for overall light, not for basking spots. Full-spectrum ultraviolet lighting should also be provided;make sure to get bulbs that produce UVB.

UVB cannot pass through glass, so when setting up your full-spectrum light, make sure it isn’t blocked by glass, plexi-glass, or plastic. However, make sure the light is high enough that the turtle can’t burn itself on any parts of the setup.

Aside from the lighting requirements, heat is an important part of a good turtle habitat. Most indoor tanks will require supplemental heating to remain within the acceptable range of around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Another good option for heating your turtle tank is using a “pig blanket,” an undertank heater often used for reptiles and amphibians that can be purchased online or at a specialty reptile shop.

Water Temperature

Sliders need an average water temperature of 75 to 80 degrees F for adults and about 80 to 85 degrees F for hatchlings and youngsters. You’ll need a submersible heater to hold the water at the correct temperature and a digital thermometer to display the temperature.

Filtration

Turtles soil their water quite easily, so you’ll need to equip your tank with a submersible filter made especially for turtle tanks. Make sure the water line is always above the filter, and keep it running constantly, so your pet’s water remains as clean as possible between water changes.

Basking Area and Lighting

Sliders need an area they can leave the water and bask in the light because the additional warmth aids digestion and the production of vitamin D3. You can stack some aquarium rocks to create this space, but only raise it just slightly above the water line so your turtle can climb up easily. You could also use a floating dock which rises and falls with the water level in the tank, and it weighs very little compared to the weight of the rocks. Just attach the dock’s frame to the side of the tank with the suction cups.

You’ll need a screen for the top of your tank, and this screen will hold the lighting for the tank.

• Place a heat lamp with a 100-watt basking bulb in it on the screen directly over the basking rock about 18 inches above it. You could choose to use a 100-watt ceramic heat emitter instead of a heat lamp if you prefer. Keep the heat on during the daytime, but turn it off at night. The daytime temperature in the basking area should be approximately 85 to 90 degrees F.
• You’ll need to place a hood equipped with a 10.0 UVB light over the rest of the tank. The spectrum this light provides will help keep your slider healthy.

Cleaning the Tank

Cleaning your slider’s tank is the least pleasant part of sharing your life with these turtles, but it’s completely necessary for your pet’s health. However, you need to protect your own health as turtles and other reptiles can carry salmonella, so wear a pair of rubber gloves while you’re doing it. It’s also a good idea to use paper towels to wipe down the tank so you can just dispose them as you finish with them.

Once a week:

• Place your turtle in a shallow tub of water so you can work on the tank.
• Unplug the heater and filter.
• Replace all the water in the tank. Adjust your tap so the water feels about room temperature. This will make it easier for the submersible heater to warm the water back up to the right temperature.
• Treat the water with a water conditionerto remove chlorine and other harmful chemicals.
• Rinse the filter to remove excess debris each time you clean, and replace the filter pad completely as recommended by the manufacturer.
• Wipe down each panel in the tank, as well as the rocks.
• Replace the water, filter, heater and rocks.

Once the water reaches the correct temperature, you’re ready to put your pet back into his home.

Feeding Your Red Eared Slider Turtle

According to Austen’s Turtles, hatchlings and young sliders require more protein in their diet to help them grow, but these turtles gradually switch over to a more plant-based diet as they reach adulthood. They still require some protein, just not as much.

Commercial Diets

To ensure your slider gets complete nutrition and an adequate supply of vitamin D, it’s usually wisest to feed commercially-prepared turtle pellets for the mainstay of his diet. Ask the breeder or shop where you purchase your turtle from to recommend a brand.

Fresh Foods for Your Slider

• Protein sources – Good choices include crickets, krill and feeder guppies, as well as cooked chicken and chopped, raw beef.
• Veggies – Shredded romaine lettuce, collards, mustard greens, carrots and sweet potatoes are all good sources of vitamins and fiber. Avoid feeding iceberg lettuce because it’s lower in fiber and has little nutritional value.
• Fruits – Sliders rarely encounter fruits in their wild habitat, so these foods should be fed sparingly. If you really feel a need to treat your pet, offer him a little bit of banana.

Dust the fresh foods with  Commercial food to ensure your pet gets enough calcium and vitamin D-3.

Red Eared Slider Turtle Feeding Schedule

Turtles love to eat and will easily become overweight

• Juveniles(Up to six months old) – These turtles need to be fed daily to help them grow. They are mainly carnivorous at this point, so feed them a mini-pellet diet, and supplement them occasionally with baby guppies, crickets, or even earthworms. Offer them only as much food as they can eat within a couple of minutes, and then remove any leftovers. Over feeding turtles can cause shell deformities and other health problems. If your turtle’s shell begins to take on a pyramid shape, you need to cut back on the amount of protein you feed.
• Adults(Over six months old) – As your turtle nears six months old, he’ll become more omnivorous. Gradually begin offering more leafy vegetables and less insects and feeder fish. You should still feed pellets as the staple of your pet’s diet, but you should now only feed your pet every other day. Again, only offer as many pellets as your slider can consume in a few minutes, and then remove the uneaten portion.

Additional Slider Turtle Feeding Tips

• Water softens the pellets and makes them easier for your turtle to swallow, so it’s better to drop them in the water rather than feed directly from your fingers.
• To keep your tank cleaner, you can try feeding your turtle in a separate, shallow basin of water.
• To avoid waste, only add three to five pellets initially and see how many your pet consumes in the first five minutes. You can always offer a few more at a time if he eats them quickly and still seems hungry.
• If your turtle eats steadily when you feed him, limit feeding time to about five minutes or he’ll glut himself. If he’s a slower eater, you can allow him to feed for up to ten minutes.

Signs of Illness in Red Eared Sliders

A slider’s environment naturally puts him at risk for bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections. According to the Tortoise Trust, here are the signs of illness to watch for.

Signs of Illness
Symptoms	Possible Cause
Swollen eyes with possible discharge	Eye infection
Swelling on the side of the head	Ear abscess
Buildup of matter in the mouth	Bacterial or fungal infection
Skin sores/lesions	Injury, infection or possibly both
Weakness/sluggishness	Infection or malnutrition
Breathing produces a wheezing sound	Respiratory tract infection
Soft spots, deteriorated areas in the turtle’s top (carapace) and bottom (plastron) shells	Infection or calcium deficiency
Red flush to the turtle’s skin and bottom shell	Blood poisoning

Seek help from a vet experienced in treating aquatic turtles if you notice any of these signs of illness in your pet. Only your vet can make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the proper treatment for your pet.

Know How to Take Care of a Red Eared Slider Turtle

It’s important that you stick to a regular schedule for caring for your slider. Allowing his tank to become foul only makes the job more difficult and letting the bacteria build up endangers his health. Likewise, forgetting to feed your pet will make him weak and susceptible to illness and might even cause his death. Your slider totally depends on you to take care of him, so take that responsibility very seriously.

 

How to Determine if a Turtle is Male or Female

Male turtles have a longer, thicker tail, and females have a rounder, stubbier tail.

Male turtles typically have a concave or flat-bottom shell, while female shells are more curved.

In general females have a lighter shell color than males.

How to Tell the Age of a Red-Eared Slider Turtle

Turtles are considered full-grown when they reach 12 inches in shell length.

As the turtle ages, the scutes on its shell become darker and more dimpled.

The plastron of the turtle is also affected by age, and the seams will become visible.

If your turtle is a baby red-eared slider or was recently purchased from a pet store or a breeder, you can determine its age by when it was born.

• 3-5 months old: white stripes will be visible on the plastron.
• 6-12 months old: white bars will be visible on the plastron.
• 12+ months old: white spots will be visible on the plastron.

Enclosure Size

The minimum enclosure size recommended for housing a single red-eared slider depends on the size of the turtle itself. The general rule is to offer at least 10 gallons of water per inch of shell length. It’s best to buy an enclosure that is large enough for your turtle as an adult, rather than using several different enclosures as your turtle grows, so you will need an enclosure that offers at least 100-120 gallons of water.

Remember that red-eared sliders are primarily aquatic, so this enclosure must be able to hold lots of water without leaking. You can use an aquarium, stock tank, or pond for this purpose, and each will need varying degrees of modification to house a red-eared slider appropriately. One of the simplest solutions is to use a large Waterland tub, which is built specifically for housing turtles.

Multiple red-eared sliders can potentially be housed together in the same enclosure, but it isn’t a requirement. In fact, cohabitation requires a much larger enclosure, and often leads to bullying between the turtles in one form or another. So it’s best to only keep one turtle in your enclosure.

Lighting & UVB

Red-eared sliders are diurnal, so they require UVB lighting to stay healthy. They are also likely to benefit from a bright ~6500K daylight lamp, which adds extra illumination to the enclosure and encourages better activity, appetite, and mental health. The extra light is also required to help keep your plants healthy and growing!

For UVB, we recommend installing a Zoo Med T5 HO ReptiSun 5.0 or Arcadia Forest 6% in a reflective T5 HO fluorescent fixture, long enough to span the land area plus some of the water area. So for a large Waterland tub, you will want a bulb about 34-36” long. Do not use other brands — when it comes to UVB, brand matters!

The UVB lamp should be hung from the ceiling to be 13-14” above the basking spot to achieve a UVI of approximately 3.0-4.0 in the basking area. UVI can be measured with a Solarmeter 6.5.

For daylight lighting, we recommend installing The Bio Dude Glow & Grow LED lamps or similar, spanning the length of the enclosure. This helps make sure that your plants get enough light to stay healthy!

Both lighting and heating should be on for 12 hours/day.

Heating

Because red-eared sliders are reptiles, they are cold-blooded, and that means that they need a range of temperatures within their enclosure so they can regulate their own body temperature as needed. Areas of heat (ex: the basking area) speed up their metabolism and promote activities like digestion and healing. Cool areas (ex: the water) slow the metabolism and promote activities like rest and energy conservation.

To promote optimum health and metabolism, your red-eared slider will need the following temperatures within its enclosure:

• Basking surface temperature: 95-104°F
• Basking air temperature: 85-90°F
• Water temperature: 74-76°F

Both land and water heat sources should be turned off at night to create a natural drop in temperature.

Heating the land:

To heat the basking area, you will need two 90-100w halogen flood heat bulbs and two narrow dome lamp fixtures rated for at least 100w. Hang the fixtures from the ceiling so it is the same distance from the basking area as the UVB lamp. If the bulbs get a little too warm, you can plug the lamps into lamp dimmers and reduce the heat that way. If the bulbs are a little too cool, you will need higher-wattage bulbs.

Keep track of your basking surface temperature is to use a temperature gun like the Etekcity 774.

Heating the water:

Although turtles younger than 1 year prefer warmer temperatures and fully-grown turtles can tolerate lower temperatures, 74-76°F is a good starting point for water temperature for an average pet red-eared slider.

Heat the water with an aquarium water heater that is rated for the amount of water in the enclosure, such as the 600w Bulk Reef Supply Titanium Heater System. Water heaters which don’t come with their own protective plastic cover must be installed with one to prevent accidental burns.

Keep track of water temperature with a digital probe aquarium thermometer like the  LCD Digital Aquarium Thermometer.

Water Maintenance

Aside from keeping the water at the right temperature, you also need to keep it clean. This involves 1) excellent filtration and 2) regular water changes.

Choose a canister-style filter capable of handling at least 2-3x the amount of water present in the enclosure, because most filters are made for fish, and turtles are MUCH messier than fish. So if you have a large Waterland tub with 200 gallons of water, you will need a filter than can handle at least 400 gallons of water, like the Fluval FX6 High Performance Aquarium Canister Filter.

But a great filter alone isn’t enough. You also need to replace the 30% of the water once every 1-2 weeks, depending on your enclosure’s needs. This helps keep the water clear, and more importantly prevents certain waste products from building up to toxic levels. Use a siphon or water pump to facilitate the process. If you drain the water into a bathtub or sink, don’t forget to thoroughly disinfect it afterward!

Basking Platform

Red-eared sliders are only semi-aquatic, not fully aquatic, so they need land as part of their enclosure. They use this area to warm up, dry out, and soak up UVB. One of the reasons a Waterland tub is recommended in this guide is because it was designed for turtles, and already has a built-in land area for basking and walking around as desired. Layer the “land” portion of the tub with drainage material and bioactive-ready substrate (such as the Bio Dude Terra Fauna kit), inlay a large piece of flagstone or stone paver for the basking spot, and add edible live plants and CUC.

It’s best not to use floating turtle basking platforms as your only basking area. Although convenient, they do not allow turtles adequate opportunity to express the natural behavior of walking.

Decorating the Enclosure

Enclosure décor is more than just making your setup look good. It’s also an important part of providing environmental enrichment to your red-eared slider, which enhances your pet’s quality of life by providing opportunities to express natural behaviors. Aside from swimming, walking, and basking, red-eared sliders also like to dig underwater, hide in plants, nibble on underwater plants, and chase fish.

Fine-particle aquatic substrates, pieces of wood, rocks, underwater hideouts, edible live plants, and even (compatible) live fish can be a good way to decorate and enhance your enclosure’s enrichment value. Avoid using gravel or pebbles, as pet turtles are known to occasionally ingest them.

Food

Red-eared sliders are omnivorous, which means that they require a balanced diet of both plant- and animal-based foods. How often they need to eat, and how much of each food type, depends on the turtle’s age:

Red-eared sliders younger than 1 year:

• 50% protein / 50% vegetables
• protein food daily
• vegetable food daily
• turtle pellets every other day

Red-eared sliders older than 1 year:

• 25% protein / 75% vegetables
• protein food 1-2x/week
• vegetable food daily
• turtle pellets 2-3x/week

A portion of protein should be as much as your turtle can eat in 5-10 minutes, a portion of vegetables should be the same size as the turtle’s shell, and a portion of pellets should be about the same size as your turtle’s head.

Variety is the key to balanced nutrition, so here’s a quick list of options for your slider’s diet:

Protein foods: crickets, earthworms, dubia roaches, freeze-dried shrimp/krill, frozen bloodworms, silkworms, snails, guppies, mollies, platies, mosquito fish

Vegetable foods: collard greens, dandelion greens + flowers, endive, green leaf lettuce, kale, red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, raw grated squash, carrots, green beans, raw grated sweet potato

Turtle pellets: Omega One Juvenile Turtle Pellets, Omega One Adult Turtle Sticks, Tetra ReptoMin, Zoo Med Natural Aquatic Turtle Food, Mazuri Aquatic Turtle Diet

Chopped fruit like skinned apple, berries, melon, and papaya can be used as occasional treats.

Supplements

Turtle pellets cover most of the supplement role in a red-eared slider’s diet, but you still need extra calcium. Because calcium powder dissolves in water, use a cuttlebone instead. Cuttlebones provide extra dietary calcium and also help keep your turtle’s beak well-trimmed.

Depending on the size of your turtle, it may be best to put the cuttlebone into your turtle’s tank whole or to chop it into chunks. However, don’t toss the cuttlebone into your red-eared slider’s enclosure without removing the hard plastic backing first! Expect to replace your turtle’s cuttlebone every 1-2 months.

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