Average Size: 6-12 inches

Lifespan: 20-50 years

Hygiene and Health: Water temperature should be somewhere between 75-80 degrees. A submersible water heater can be used to attain this. Also you can invest in an underwater thermometer. Don't count on your underwater heater's temperature regulator to be accurate.

Diet: Adults eat less animal protein and more vegetable matter. Juveniles must be fed every day; adults can be fed once every two to three days. Do not feed more than they can eat; the left over food will go to waste and foul the water.

Plant Matter (50% or more of total diet) - dark leafy greens such as romaine lettuce, spinach, collard, mustard, kale and dandelion greens. Shredded carrots and carrot tops, squash and green beans. Water plants like anacharis, water hyacinth, water lettuce, frogbit, hornwort, and duckweed. Thawed frozen mixed vegetables, grapes, berries and shredded apples and melons.

Animal Protein (No more than 25% of total diet) - Live feeder fish such as guppies, minnows and goldfish. Insects, mealworms and earthworms from a petstore not the backyard as they may contain bacteria, parasites and pesticides. Raw meat such as beef and liver may also be fed, but very little as it has very low calcium. High quality dog and cat food may also be fed as treats.

Commercial diets (No more than 25% of total diet) - Trout Chow, commercial floating fish, reptile or turtle food (pellets, sticks or tablets). The pellets and sticks have the advantage of being formulated specifically for reptiles and don't decompose in the water as fast as other foods.

Vitamin Supplements should be added twice a week. Use a good reptile or turtle multivitamin. Turtles must also be supplied with additional calcium; they often enjoy taking bites out of calcium blocks and gnawing on cuttlebone, so always have some available to them.

Habitat: A reparium size of at least 20 gallons is recommended for hatchlings and small RES.

Larger turtles will need larger setups. It is recommended that you buy the biggest setup that you can afford at the time: you will save money in the long run by not having to upgrade in the near future.

Full grown turtles housed indoors should be housed in large tank that is about 100gallons.

The water depth for hatchlings should never be more than double the length of their shell: they are not great swimmers and can, on occasion, drown. For older turtles, it is generally accepted that the water should be deep enough so that the turtle should not be able stand on the bottom of its tank and reach the surface. There are many specialized turtle tanks available that you can setup to be half water and half land like a beach. If your tank is not setup for half land then you will need a floating perch for them.

A basking rock is necessary. This area should be completely dry and underneath the basking lamp. This is important because your turtle needs to dry off completely to prevent bacterial and fungal infections. Basking temperatures underneath the lamp should be between 80-85 degrees. Make sure there is enough variation between the water temperature and the basking temperature to promote them using the basking rock.

A UVB source is extremely important for your turtle. Without UVB, your turtle will develop Metabolic Bone Disease because they won't be able to properly synthesize their vitamin D3 intake. A florescent UVB light or natural sunlight are your choices. Note that UVB lights tubes are only effective for 6 months to a year -- after that they may continue to put out light but the UVB wave will not be strong enough to help your turtle so you'll have to replace that.

An aquarium filter should be used to improve water quality and cut down on maintenance and cleaning.

Even with a filter, a 30% water change should be done weekly. Filters may cut down on solid waste in the tank but it can do nothing for turtle urine. Water will still be dirty even if the filter makes it look clean.

Taming, Training and Handling: Remember that newly acquired turtles are often going to be extremely stressed after being introduced to a new home. It is not recommended that you handle your turtle within the first week of bringing it home.

At first, your turtle will probably be afraid of you if you approach its tank. It will take time for them to get used to you. Eventually, they will probably start to associate you with food and will bob up and down and beg for food when you approach.

It is okay for you to handle your turtle daily to keep it used to you. But handling excessively may cause your turtle to become overly stressed. The older the turtle, the nicer and less vulnerable it will become

Loner or Groupies: Turtles can be together in the same tank provided the tank is large enough to handle them both.

Additional Info: Over their incredibly large range in nature, Red-eared Sliders are quite variable in patterning and color. They can be grayish green, bright lime green with wonderful yellow spots and squiggles, or dark green with dark markings. They all have the typical red “ear” coloration that runs from the eyes to the back of the head. This coloration can have a variety of shapes and a range of color, but all true Red-ears have this characteristic. Males of all populations of Red-ears become darker as they age. Some become an entirely black turtle with the pattern and even the red “ear” difficult to see. Males are usually smaller than females and with larger front claws and longer tails.

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