My kids received two red eared sliders for their birthdays. The shell of one of them is about the size of a half dollar and the other one is just a little bit bigger. When I went to the pet shop to find out how to take care of them they told me to just keep them in a plastic tank (no heat or anything). I found out that they needed heat so that has been fixed. They are so much happerier now. My question is how old are they and how much should they be fed. Thanks
first of all, WELCOME!!! as for your turts, they probably aren't older than a couple months. just so you know, adult female res can get up to a foot in length and even a small adult male (maximum of 8 inches i believe) will need a 75 gallon tank all to himself. a small adult female will need at least a 90 gallon to herself. they also need (as babies AND adults) a basking area where they can get completely out of the water and lay under a heat lamp *and* a fluorescent uv bulb. without a fluorescent uv bulb (3 TO 5% OUTPUT) and a place to get completely out of the water they will develop shell rot and metabolic bone disorder. as for food, they are omnivores and generally aren't that picky and should be fed a variety of food. they should eat crickets, earthworms, apple, romaine lettuce, ReptoMin sticks OR Mazuri sticks (your choice), banana, feeder fish, and grapes. they will beg for food all the time - i promise you that! but you can not over feed them or their shells will begin to pyramid - *very* dangerous! the rule of thumb is that they should each get the amount of food that will fit in their head and neck once a day. also, ReptoMin and Mazuri are *very* high in protein and even though they are young, too much protein leads to pyramidding! they each should only get one ReptoMin OR Mazuri (whichever brand you choose) stick every 4 or 5 days. until they are about a year old they should eat crickets, earthworms, and feeder fish. at about a year old you should start introducing them to fruits and veggies. here's one of the few care sheets i trust: http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/reptilestur...eslidercare.htm anymore questions, just let us know! :wink:
thanks for the info Hummingbird! to whistler--the article I just read said that they can live 75 years or longer if taken care of properly!!
they can live a very long time if they have the correct diet and good lighting. good luck with taking care of them and we're always here if you have questions! another great place to go online is www.TurtleTimes.com it is a message board just like this one except it's almost exclusively turtle-related. i post there as well and they are just as great a forum as Reptile Rooms. also, Melissa Kaplan is THE online source of info for many many herp species. i can't believe i forgot to find her red eared slider care sheet last night. but here it is now: http://www.anapsid.org/reslider.html i strongly urge you to read it. also, if you have any pictures of your RES (red eared slider) babies we'd love to see them! we're picture freaks around here!
males get up to 9 inches while females can get up to a foot in shell length. an adult male *requires* at LEAST a 75 gallon tank while an adult female *requires* at LEAST a 90 gallon tank.
Thanks Hummingbird,thats a worry!im 65 ive had the three red eared for about 8 years so it dont take a lot of working out who will kick the bucket first eh? i keep them out side in a 16ft aviary with 2 Diamond Pythons bout 8.5 ft long. they eat anything that aint nailed down! the sliders that is.
speaking of eating anything that isn't nailed down . . . i certainly wouldn't house any different species ofherps together - much less 2 pythons and three res. very dangerous combination for many reasons. plus, is there at least a 300 gallon pond in this aviary? res are aquatic turtles, after all.
well its quite a large aviary Hummingbird, and yes the res have 2 ponds ,the pythons quite often get in the water with the sliders and know probs!! YET!!!But as u say it probably aint the greatest idea about.Pythons are about 8.5 ft long and the turts are around 10 inches.Ive heard that there are res in the Parramatta river now as well.
i'd get them their own cages - quick. and, yes, due to people releasing their res pets into the wild, they are *everywhere* now. people affect the environment more than they think.
im just wondering on where i could get a red eared slider..whister has 3 of them, i dont know where i can get any whistler.. Please point me in direction or if u have any, thanks.
Also, i heard there are many red eared slider and corn snake populations in Sydney, since people have let them go. Where are the populations? I heard they inhabit Parramatta River as well..
what does pyramid mean on the shell of a turtle? I got a res a month and half ago and the shell from one side is a little higher than the other side. is that pyramid that my turtle has and if it is what can I do to make it better for the res. also someone I had told this to told me to give the res more calcium and that the name is reptocal but I live in a small town and i didn't find it what else can i give my res so the turtle can start healing. how many times should a baby res get feed a day. like you said on another article that the res will beg for food my res does that at all time of the day and sometimes i can resist. but i guess it's better to resist of feeding the turtle more than once. the lady i got the res from gave me some food for the turtle and she told me not to feed it any thing else can I feed the res othe food and if i can what can i feed the res. thanks for your time
hello and welcome, cher! your turtle might have the beginnings of what is called 'pyramidding'. it is usually caused by the diet - too much protein. he needs ot be eating about 75% meat (crickets, earthworms, snails, feeder fish, bloodworms, brineshrimp, etc) and about 25% fruits and veggies (squash, mango, apple, banana, berries, dandelion greens, kale, etc). they can also have a couple (no more than 3 or 4) commercial turtle sticks per week (the most popular brands are mazuri and reptomin although there are other brands). if you are ONLY feeding him the commercial turtle foods, then he is getting way too much protein. also, turtles beg all the time! they are great at making us turtle parents feel bad! lol! you must not give in! a baby aquatic turtle should not have more than the amount of food that will fit into its head, once per day! an aquatic turtle over the age of about 18 months should only have the amount of food that will fit into its head, every other day or so. you'll also need a fluorescent tube-type uv bulb less than a foot above a completely dry basking area. if you do not have a completely dry basking area, the turtle will develop fungus problems and/or shell rot. if you don't have a uv light, the turtle's shell will get very soft and it could develop a very serious disease called metabolic bone disorder. as for extra clacium - they don't need whole lot. just get some powdered reptile vitamins from any petstore. one little jar should last a long time for you. sprinkly one food item per week with a little of the vitamin powder before feeding it to him and that should be plenty. also, in caes you didn't know, res get pretty big. an adult female will need at *least* a 90 gallon tank and an adult male will ned at *least* a 75 gallon tank. i recommend the fluval 404 or rena filstar xp3 filters. best of luck!
