Red Eared Slider Turtles

Description:

The Red-eared Slider is a medium-to-large sized turtle capable of reaching straight carapace lengths of 7 to 9" in males & 10 to 12" in females. The RES is only one of the 4 subspecies (the others are the Yellow-bellied, Cumberland & Big Bend sliders) making up the single species we call the Slider. The body form is ‘classic basking turtle’ style, with an oval body form (circular in hatchlings), mildly domed on top & flat-bottomed, blunt head with peripherally-placed eyes & a blunt snout, feet with webbed (& clawed) toes & a small tail. The shell has an internal bony foundation on which are overlaid keratin (like your fingernails are made of) plates called scutes. The shell includes a mildly to moderately domed carapace (upper shell) & a hingeless plastron (lower shell); the turtle can withdraw into the shell but the shell cannot close at all (RES rely on deep water for protection; on land they're vulnerable to predators like raccoons). The carapace is smooth (note: captives reared too fast with excess dietary protein may have raised scutes (a 'bumpy' carapace) with concentric rings. This is termed pyramiding). In hatchlings the carapace & skin start out a bright green; the lateral carapace scute pattern is similar to a green fingerprint with lined whorls, & the skin is striped. Behind the eyes are the classic jelly bean-shaped patches from which this subspecies takes its name (but they aren't the ears). The plastron is a bland yellow with black spots or smudges. As RES mature & age they typically develop darker, duller carapace & skin coloration with more subdued/obscured patterns. A minority progress to a condition called melanism where excess dark pigment turns the turtle abnormally dark (some are solid black!). Some adults retain juvenile coloration but most are duller colored. Red-eared Sliders are thought to be far & away the highest volume pet turtle produced world-wide & are often sold to people who believe they get little larger than hatchlings. Therefore they're probably the most widely & often dumped into the wild (both inside & outside their native range) of any turtle species on earth. Therefore the RES is an invasive species in parts of the U.S. (such as Florida) & foreign countries such as Spain (where it's theorized they pose a threat to the native European Pond Turtle) & Australia (where they've been outlawed from the pet trade). Red-eared Sliders are hardy & encounter a range of temperate climates across their range, making them excellent specimens for a year-round outside enclosure (if it's deep enough) in most of the southern & central United States & other countries with comparable climate. Since local populations over long time periods may be shaped via natural selection to their local environment, in theory RES descended from populations in the southern part of their range (i.e. Louisiana) may not be well-adapted for winters in the northern part of their range (i.e. northern Illinois). Be mindful of this if outdoor hibernation in the northern U.S. is planned. If you need a similar turtle for year round outdoor keeping further north, consider the Western, Eastern & Midland (but not Southern) Painted Turtles. CARE DIFFICULTY Red-eared Sliders are decent beginner turtles for people with large aquariums or outdoor garden ponds (if deep enough) to house them year round. They are hardy, tolerate a range of conditions (not picky about water temp., pH or hardness), are comfortable around people & vigorously beg for food (some are at ease to handle, some aren't), & take readily to both commercial & natural foods. Males get fairly large & females quite large and put a strain on housing. They may out-compete other species in the tank, are larger & stronger than painted turtles & are more active & driven than cooters. Males are prone to harass females so incessantly permanent separation is often necessary. As with any turtle species, an individual may be naturally aggressive or a pair incompatible. Clutch size for Red-eared Sliders ranges between 2 and 23 eggs7,8,9,10,11,12, & a single female can produce up to 5 clutches per year13. Sexual maturity is mainly size-dependent; in Oklahoma wild males matured at plastron lengths of 9-10 cm (~ 3 years old) & wild females at 17 cm (~ 4 years old)16. RES typically grow a good deal faster in captivity (often too fast) & may reach sexual maturity earlier. Activity Cycle: Red-eared Sliders are a diurnal species and their activity varies by climate. In nature during cooler seasons they spend more time basking to warm up than during the heat of summer. In captive enclosures some juveniles seldom bask if the water is quite warm (i.e.: 80-82º). Captives often bask underwater but some captive turtles may sleep on the basking platform. They wander on land occasionally looking for new habitat, mates, nesting sites or migrating from inhospitable conditions (i.e. drying lakes or marshes). Due to their inability to close the shell like a box turtle they are vulnerable to raccoons & other predators. Dogs can chew through turtle shell fairly quickly. Hibernation occurs throughout much of their range but RES may be seen basking off & on through the winter. Personability & Issues Interacting with Humans: Red-eared Sliders make great pets if you can meet their care needs. The need for a large enclosure is the main hurdle many keepers face. Most juveniles acclimate shortly to a human presence, associate the human with food & vigorously beg for food (which can get annoying). Like most turtles they are prone to bite fingers & hands in their tank due to associating humans with food. Long term captives are often first at the glass of the tank, begging for food. They are behaviorally similar to painted turtles, lack the reputation for skittishness of some map turtles & are less 'laid back' than cooters. Wild Red-eared Sliders are frightened of humans & dive in from basking sites quickly (the more accustomed they are to seeing humans, the closer you can get). If handled they withdraw into the shell, may hiss &/or void the bladder, & offer to bite. Most won't lash out (as common snappers do) but a finger put closely in front of the face may be bitten hard.

Habitat:

The Red-eared slider has a large natural range Red-eared sliders occur in diverse habitat (in size, content & location) from 'mud holes' of a few hundred gallons in grassy drainage ditches in suburban Arkansas to rather barren-looking farm ponds (where several bask on shore) to streams, lakes & large rivers. Sliders prefer quiet waters with soft bottoms, abundant aquatic vegetation & good basking sites. CAPTIVE HABITAT Red-eared Sliders are avid baskers, so a basking platform with a heat lamp to maintain daytime temp.s around 85-90°F is needed (platform should dry completely for plastron health). Note: Small enclosures (i.e.: 10 to 20 gallon tanks) are easily overheated by basking bulbs, so monitor temp.s closely. We recommend also using UV-B lighting since UV-B provides the means to convert a precursor to Vitamin D3 in the skin, used to process calcium (& lets them auto-regulate Vit. D3 levels, which dietary Vit. D3 doesn't enable), & recommend ReptiSun 5.0 or 10.0 tube fluorescents for the beginner. A submersible heater is recommended to keep water temp.s in the proper range (turtles are rough & at risk to get burned; use a Tronic heater guard or a home-made version on glass heaters, or a steel heater to prevent breakage). Note: Always unplug the heater before lowering the water level; they get dangerously hot very fast in air. Red-eared Sliders are excellent swimmers and should have water as deep as possible without permitting escape (at least equal to SCL). Aquatic substrates are optional, ranging from a bare bottom (easiest to clean during water changes) to sand, river rock or any size gravel. There are reports of rare cases of G.I. obstruction or intestinal prolapse due to ingesting gravel, so some keepers use River Rock too large to swallow. We recommend you provide submerged driftwood or other means for the turtle to rest near the surface, especially juveniles. It's hotly debated whether leaving the tank lights on 24/7 is problematic vs. turning them off at night. Some other animals have internal circadian rhythms influenced by 'photo-period' (day length), & in nature they experience day & night, so we recommend using a timer for a consistent day/night cycle with 'lights on' ~ 12 hours/day (the convenience of a timer will surprise you). Aquatic turtles excrete nitrogen-containing wastes including ammonia, & a powerful filter is needed to convert ammonia to nitrite to nitrate (called 'biofiltration,' which isn't in effect until the filter 'cycles' over ~ 4 to 6 weeks. Add some old biomedia from an established filter to your new one to speed the process). The impact of ammonia & nitrite on turtles aren't yet clear but they can kill fish so we recommend a filter rated for at least double the enclosure size (i.e.: a FilStar XP3 rated for a 175 gallon tank does well on a 75 gallon) to ensure rapid breakdown. Nitrates & other dissolved wastes are kept dilute via water changes; you've got a lot of choice here. A 25% water change weekly in a sparsely populated tank may be okay. A large (50 - 90%) water change every 2 to 3 weeks using a Python system to gravel vacuum, remove old water & replace with new is easier - the sudden shift in water temp. & pH shouldn't hurt the turtle but may kill delicate fish. We've had reports of turtles acting like chlorine irritated their eyes, & chlorine could damage your filter's beneficial biomedia bacteria, so we recommend you use a dechlorinator (that also handles chloramines, since they're much more stable over time & some cities are switching to them). WATER DEPTH Red-eared Sliders are fine swimmers. In the wild, hatchlings tend toward warmer, well-vegetated, invertebrate-rich shallow water habitat, and adults more to deeper water. For hatchlings, I personally recommend relatively shallow water (4 to 6 inches, you can go deeper after they have gained more strength.) with plenty of structure to rest on should they tire of swimming. Older juveniles and adults can be housed in much deeper water as long as a submerged rest area is provided. They require a haul out area/basking platform, which should be large enough to offer both a warmer end nearer the heat lamp & a cooler end for resting without heating up. COMMUNITY HABITAT RES make decent community inhabitants with other similar-sized species from the same region, provided that adequate space is given. Do not mix with snappers & be careful mixing with softshells (mainly that the softies don't get scratched up or their noses bitten). Males may sexually harass females & thus be incompatible. Sliders are strong, vigorous & may out-compete tank mates so take care to insure everyone eats well & nobody hogs the choice basking areas all the time. Sliders have fairly powerful jaws and can injure smaller turtles (i.e.: biting hunks out of the shells of hatchlings, permanently disfiguring or killing them), so only turtles of comparable size are recommended (exception: adult musk turtles such as stinkpots & razorbacks can be kept with sliders).