Red Ear Slider

what do you recommend I feed it, how many times a weeks should it be fed, and proper lighting of it

Babies should be fed every day, give them pellets for baby turtles (shells 4" and under) every day and let them eat for a minimum of 15 mins.

Juvies can be fed juvie pellets, same amount of time, but every other day, be introduced to greens (let them float around in water, he may or may not eat them) and you can start introducing fish.

Adults can eat greens every day, adult pellets every 2-3 days, and feeder fish.

You'll need a big tank and powerful filter. Turtles are dirty, trust me! You'll need a basking platform so he can completly come out of the water, and the basking temp there should be about 95*. You will also need a water heater, they are tropical turtles so the water needs to be about 78-80*. They need a good UVB that needs to be changed every 6 months, just like with beardies.

thank you
you have been really helpful

and my sister's turtle has a filter in which it also uses as a basking spot, since its a waterfall filter and he can climb on it without disturbing the filtering of his water

Oh that sounds cool. What brand is it, do you know?

Its just impotant for them to be able to completly dry off while basking. I use one of these:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/sale-items/11442-505183/zoo-med-turtle-dock.html

They are cheap so you can replace them if needed, last a while though, and the turtle can pick how much he wants to be out of the water

idk but its a filter and everything it cost 42.99 at my local petstore

dragonjim":1tjexxxx said:

idk but its a filter and everything it cost 42.99 at my local petstore

Click to expand...

If it's anything like this... http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2755393

It's completely useless. They only allow around 6-7 inches of water depth to work, and are very small filters. Red Ear Slider turtles need DEEP water, and very powerful filtration. They grow large, and are very messy. A canister filter such as a Rena Filstar XP2 or XP3 is best, depending on the size of the tank. The general rule of thumb for water turtles is 10 gallon of water per inch of turtle. They are EXTRMELY active, and their natural habitat from large ponds with hundreds of gallons of water, to lakes and rivers with thousands of gallons.

This is the setup for one of my Red Ear Sliders:


Squirt's Tank by Dog Gone Awesome, on Flickr


Squirt's Tank by Dog Gone Awesome, on Flickr

His diet consists of dark leafy greens such as mustards, collars, dandelion greens, romaine lettuce, and summer squash as staples. Alternated I include zhuccini, grated carrot, bok choy leaves, cilantro, parsley, and small amounts of fruit. He also receives Reptomin Pellets, he has some comet goldfish swimming in his tank but only catches around 1 per week, sometimes less. For feeders, I give rosy reds, they are not nearly as high in fat content as comets. He also receives a cube of frozen bloodworms once a week.

They need a basking area to come out of the water to completely dry off. I use the magnetic dock by Exo Terra. Their basking temp should be around 90F, and they should also have a UVB light over the basking area. UVB lights cannot penetrate water. I use a Reptisun 5.0 for his UVB, and a 75 watt basking bulb for his heat. His filter is a Rena Filstar XP2 canister filter. His tank is planted with an assortment of silk plants, sand substrate, and two large pieces of natural mopani wood, to make his enclosure as natural as possible.

These guys are wonderful to own, but are a huge commitment, and really need specialized care. If properly cared for, they can live 30 years or more. UVB, proper heat, a VERY LARGE enclosure, a proper diet, and clean water are all essential to their health. Otherwise they will begin to suffer from shell deformities and other medical problems.