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Description:
Red-eared sliders are aquatic turtles found in the wild
throughout most of the U.S. A very popular turtle for pet
owners. However, lack of basic knowledge of their care ends
with dead and/or sick turtles. Sliders are found in the wild
in ponds, swamps & marshes. They do hibernate in the wild in
Northern areas. Hatchlings are about 1 inch in diameter and
as adults; they can grow to 12 inches in diameter.
Red-eared sliders can practically live in any wetland area
as long as there is something there for them to eat. |
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Sex:
Sex is easily determined in spotted turtle adults;
males have a dark (black) pigmented chin, whereas the female
will have a much brighter orange or reddish-pigmented chin.
The males also have a longer thicker tail and the females
have a shorter thin tail. If you look on the plastron
(bottom) of the turtle's shell you will see a flatter smooth
surface if its a female and a concave or slight indentation
if its a male. The males tend to have this indentation to
help breeding, allowing the male to cling to the female as
she moves rapidly through the water trying to escape the
male. In most adults, males will appear to have darker
looking eyes, like a brownish color. And the females will
have an orangish colored eye. |
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Distribution:
Spotted turtles are found in two regions, one being along
the whole Atlantic coastal plain which includes, northern
Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia,
Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts,
Connecticut, Rhode Island, southern New Hampshire, southern
Vermont and Southern Maine. The other region being
Pennsylvania, northern Ohio, Indiana, southern Quebec,
southern Ontario through to northeastern Illinois and
western Michigan. |
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Lighting/ Filtration:
Sliders are cold blooded, so they need a source of heat and
light to maintain their body temperatures and to aid in
their digestion. A UVB bulb is a must, in my opinion. This
type of light mimics sunlight, which is needed for the
manufacturing of vitamin D. Vitamin D helps the body to
absorb calcium. These bulbs should be replaced every 5-6
months. Sliders do spend a lot of time basking on rocks and
wood in the wild, and will do so in captivity. A heat bulb
is also needed. The temperature within the basking site
should be 85-90 degrees. Some owners keep their sliders
outdoors in tubs, providing natural lighting. NEVER put your
sliders in direct sunlight in a glass tank. The temperature
inside will get too hot!!! Slider enclosures will also need
to be cleaned on a regular basis. Waste and uneaten food
particles will dirty tank water and it does smell bad. You
can add filters, such as an internal filter to keep the
water clean. These will also need to be cleaned on a regular
basis as well. Water changes are recommended. Place your
slider in a different enclosure and change out the dirty
water with clean, dechlorinated water. The rocks might also
need to be cleaned and scrubbed. |
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Housing: A
tank that mimics their natural environment is best suited
for sliders. I have found that shorter aquariums (stock
tanks) are easier to maintain than a standard fish tank
aquarium, if you can find them. Glass or acrylic tanks are
best. Do NOT rely on the cheap little plastic enclosures
most pet stores sell. They will outgrow it and it is not
safe for the turtle. Buy the largest tank you can, to avoid
having to upgrade the tanks later on. Good money saver!!
Large, smooth aquarium gravel seems to be the easiest and
most common form of substrate for sliders. If you want to
add live plants, you may do so, however, your slider may
decide to eat them, causing dirty messy water. Sliders will
need a basking site in the tank. This is usually a larger
rock(s) that sticks out of the water, floating cork bark, or
driftwood. Rocks are best, since they don’t tend to float in
the water, making it difficult for the sliders to climb on
them. The water temperature should be kept between 75-86
degrees. This can be accomplished with a submersible heater.
A screen top is needed to keep the turtles from escaping and
for the lighting requirements. You can use a timer on the
lighting. |
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Diet:
Sliders are omnivores. As babies and juveniles, they will
eat more protein than adults. Feed juveniles daily. Adults
can be fed every other day. They should get a balanced diet.
Vegetation can include collard greens, carrots, mustard
greens, green beans & sweet potatoes. Do NOT offer iceberg
lettuce, beacuse it has very little nutritional value. Cut
them to size depending on the age of your slider. For
protein you can feed frozen beef heart pieces, earthworms &
feeder goldfish. Live fish will stimulate your slider to
“chase” its food, which can be good exercise. Commercial
turtle food can be offered as well. These are floating
pellets that have a ratio of protein, vegetables and
vitamins. Hikari makes a good aquatic turtle pellet food. A
wide variety in their diet is better than feeding the same
old thing every time. For calcium, I’ve added broken pieces
of cuttlefish bone for them to eat.
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Breeding:
Breeding your red eared sliders is very easy. They dont
need to hibernate in order to do so, however hibernation
creates a more aggressive male. So a cooling period of
temps down around 35-45 degrees. You want to cool them down
gradually, not immediately so it shocks your turtle. Its a
good idea to stop feeding your turtles about 2-3 weeks
before hibernation and over that time you should start to
slowly cool down your turtles. Drop the temp 10 degrees
around every 4 days until desired temperature is reached. A
hibernation can be maintained for 3-5 months, just make sure
your turtle is not sick or thin before placing it in
hibernation. Prior to hibernation you should feed your
turtle twice as much for about 3-4 weeks. When you decide
you want to warm your turtles back up, start to slowly warm
the temperature back up about 10 degrees warmer every few
days. After they start eating once again, place the male
and female together in their enclosure with no food and
watch the magic happen.
About 2-4 weeks after breeding, your female will start
climbing non stop to get out of the enclosure in search for
an egg laying site. At that time, provide a nice egg laying
site. The best thing to do is find a pen or something to
place your turtle in outside so the female can lay her eggs
in the ground naturally. Once the eggs are deposited,
carefully dig them up and keep them right side up. Mark an
"x" on there with a pencil very lightly so you dont crack
the egg. You do this to generally make sure the egg is
always right side up.
Then carefully place your eggs in your incubator to incubate
at temps from 75-90. 75 through about 80 will be mostly
males, temps from 81-83 will produce a mix of sexes and
temps 84 and higher usually always produce females.
The hatching process can take a couple days. Once the
turtle pokes through the egg, it will usually sit in the egg
for a few days or until the egg sac is absorbed on its
stomach which is its source of food while being in the egg.
Within a couple days being out of the egg, the turtle should
start to eat right away either on reptomin, krill, freeze
dried shrimp, aquamax, or any live food you offer. |
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Illnesses:
Red-eared sliders can suffer from many ailments. Usually
these will happen if your slider is kept in a dirty
enclosure, has an improper diet or is kept in a tank with
cold water & improper temperatures. Bacterial infections can
cause swollen and puffy eyes, lack of appetite, respiratory
infections and plaque-like growth on the mouth. If you
notice anything out of the ordinary, call a herp vet ASAP.
You can also try raising the temperature or placing cleaner
water in the enclosure to allieve some symptoms until you
can get your slider to a vet. Lack of calcium and other
vitamins and minerals can cause the sliders’ shell to become
soft, which is a VERY bad thing. Keeping a clean, warm
environment & a proper diet is your best chance on having a
hearty and healthy turtle. |
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Hatchlings:
Baby red-eared sliders need warmth. This means water temps
around 75-85 degrees with a basking or sunning spot around
85-93 degrees. Most people forget about the warmth part as
hatchlings require more heat than adults. A lot of people
have hatchling turtles die due to lack of warmth. Filtered
water is a must as well to help keep them from getting
sick. Oxygen is the key. Try to simulate a waterfall as
oxygen flow places good bacteria in the water which is known
to fight the bad bacteria and help keep your turtle healthy. |
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Stephanie Winters & Al
Roach |
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