A Basic Care Guide by Peyton W. (Shadow Blazer XZ on Amino)

Red-Eared Slider Care

Red-Eared Sliders

Well, since this is a popular turtle and probably to most poorly cared for, I figured it's time for me to do a care sheet on them. So without further ado, here we go!

1. Overview

Difficulty: Upper beginner (due to the size they can attain and their diets).

Length: Males are 6-9 inches, while females can get 10-16 inches; as big as a dinner plate!

Weight: Around 1-4 pounds, though they can get bigger.

Air temperature: Room temperature (in the 70s° F or 20s°C)

Basking temperature: 85-90°F (29-32°C)

Water temperature: 75-85°F (24-29°C)

Food: Sliders are feisty eaters and will eat just about anything including fish, invertebrates, and plants.

Habitat: Southern U.S. and Northern Mexico, but are invasive around the world and illegal in some countries.

2. Housing and Heating

Tanks and Setup

While you may have a small turtle now, remember that all things grow. Turtles up to 5 inches can be kept in an appropriate sized plastic tub (10 gallons, or 37 liters per inch of shell) which will actually make cleaning easier. Once up to 5 inches they should be kept in ponds or large tanks for a full grown slider. Nothing below a 60 gallon (227 liters) is acceptable, so it's preferable to follow the gallon per inch rule.

Try to add plants, driftwood, hides, and other spots to mess with as sliders enjoy interacting with their environment just make sure they are all sanatized and your turtle is able to escape all of them, so they don't get trapped. If your slider seems stressed, try covering 3/4 of the tank with something so they feel more secure.

Heating

Sliders are avid baskers and love to soak up heat and UVB, both of which are necessary for good health. I recommend getting water-resistant heat bulbs and strip-light UVBs. If you use a water heater make sure to get a reinforced one as turtles are rough, and if broken, your turtle will be electrocuted to death.

Housing Multiple Red-Eared Sliders

Turtles, just like most other reptiles, should NEVER be kept together. They do not enjoy company and don't need "friends". Signs of aggression are:

Laying on top of each other = trying to hog all the sun.
Chasing each other = trying to chase each other out of the others territory.
"Cuddling" = trying to stress each other out.

No matter how friendly your turtles seem, it will never end well unless housed in a large pond, at minimum 8x8 foot, and even that can be tricky. Therefore, I strongly urge you not to keep turtles together. They will never enjoy it. It causes stress, crowding, and even death. I've seem some "friend" turtles decapitate each other. Once again, turtles don't need or enjoy friends.

3. Food

Young turtles can be fed everyday and adults every day or every other day. Foods to avoid are goldfish, shrimp, iceberg lettuce, and cheap turtle pellets. For more details, please refer to my feeding guide.

Hatchlings (0-1 years):

45% pellets - to help get lots of nutrients that young ones need.
45% meat - as babies tend to eat a lot of protein to be able to grow fast.
10% greens, if they even eat it. Most young turtles tend to avoid it.

Juveniles (1-4 years):

35% pellets - time to lower the percentages to bring in more natural foods
35% meat - as they will still eat a good bit of it, but they are growing older and therefore need more greens.
30% greens - now they should be eating their greens, and this is about a good starting percentage.

Adults (once reached sexual maturity, varies):

pellets - this is close to the minimum amount pellets should be, and for good reason: they aren't as nutritious anymore and are more to compensate for things you don't provide normally.
25% meat - this is still their favorite, but as adults they are far more prone to pyramiding, so I like to keep it at
25-50% greens - as adults these turtles need tons of greens, and a good staple green with supporting greens

(ex. my staple is green leaf lettuce, and my supporters are carrots and zucchini).

4. Substrates

Substrate on the bottom of the tank gives your turtle an opportunity to forage. There are a few suitable substrates, some of which include:

Fine grain
Washed play sand (never calci sand)
Large river rocks and even
No substrate

NEVER USE GRAVEL! It can cause impaction and kill your turtle. I've noticed they tend to like crawling on land and on the bottom of the tank, so provide a land area with place to walk around and bask. This land area can be filled with sand and plants (if using sand it can double as a lay box).

Well anyways I hope this care sheet is well made and helps someone out. Until next time, have a good one and happy herping!