The red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), also known as the red-eared terrapin, is a semiaquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae.
This turtle grows 5 to 11 inches long. Because of its size and personality, this has been one of the most popular reptiles when it comes to the pet and food trade.
The practice of keeping these turtles has continued since the 1930s, reaching a peak during
Housing Red-Ear Sliders
The general rule of thumb for housing red-eared sliders is for every inch of shell length, you should provide 10 gallons of water. For example, a red-eared slider with a 5-inch shell length should be provided an enclosure containing 50 gallons of water to allow for adequate swimming space.
Creative turtle owners use all sorts of novel housing ideas to meet the roomy requirements of their red-eared sliders using things like pre-formed plastic pond liners to make homes more like indoor ponds.
And, if you have an outdoor pond, and a securely fenced yard to keep your turtle in and predators out, you might consider putting your turtle outdoors for at least part of the year.
To ensure proper health and growth of red-eared sliders, a basking light that provides UVB and UVA rays, to mimic the sun, is required.
Purchase either a commercial turtle basking dock or create your own basking platform onto which your turtle can emerge from the water to soak up the artificial sunlight and dry off.
This subspecies of the pond slider requires temperatures in the basking area to remain between 85 and 90 degrees.
Red-eared sliders can live for more than 20 years!
Feeding Red-Ear Sliders
Red-eared sliders are omnivores. In the wild, they feed on aquatic vegetation, small fish and decaying material such as dead fish and frogs, etc. Pet red-eared sliders will feed on just about anything you give them.
We recommend feeding them a commercial turtle food or pellet to benefit proper growth and health. We feed Mazuri Brand Products. On occasion, you can offer them leafy greens, freeze-dried shrimp or krill, crickets, super worms, rosy red minnows, and even pinky mice.
It is illegal to sell these turtles if they are under four inches in length.
It has been known for years that reptiles such as turtles (as well as many other animals like hedgehogs) can carry Salmonella and other bacteria.
This shouldn’t necessarily stop you from getting a turtle, but you should be aware of the risks and take proper hygiene measures to prevent infections. Incidentally, the sale of turtles less than four inches long is prohibited in the United States due to the risk of Salmonella infections from children placing small turtles in their mouths.
Sexing Red-Ear Sliders
The male’s plastron is slightly concave, while that of the female is completely flat. The male’s concave plastron also helps to stabilize the male on the female’s carapace during mating. Older males can sometimes have a dark greyish-olive green melanistic coloration, with very subdued markings.
We have four Red-Ear sliders at Crazy Critters Inc. By law, we must destroy all eggs. Even though we have all females, it is important to make sure we are not propagating this invasive species.
Females lay 2-23 eggs per clutch in a cavity dug out of the soil, and as many as five clutches may be oviposited per year. We use the eggs as a food source for other species of animals.
It Is An Actual INVASIVESpecies!…
This reptile has become one of the most commonly traded turtles in the world. Its native range is from New Mexico north to Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and West Virginia, then south through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia, all the way to northern Mexico.,
Despite the vast worldwide occurrence of T. scripta, particularly T. s. elegans, little is known of it impact on indigenous ecosystems. In some countries, Red-eared Sliders compete with indigenous species for food and basking sites. In the U.S. state of Washington, they are a potential threat to Clemmys marmorata, the Pacific pond turtle.
The European Union has banned the import of T. s. elegans because of the negative impact that released pets can have on native European pond turtles
This turtle has become established in other places because of pet releases and has become an invasive species in many areas, where it outcompetes native species. The red-eared slider is included in the list of the world’s 100 most invasive species published by the IUCN.
As recently as 2001, a Dutch animal welfare group attempted to ship unwanted pet T. s. elegans to Italy for eventual nonindigenous release into the wild.
Red-eared sliders are listed as a conditional species in Florida. Anyone that possessed a pet red-eared slider before July 1, 2007, can legally keep their turtle and no permit is required. However, Floridians are not allowed to acquire red-eared sliders as personal pets after that date.
Anyone importing or possessing red-eared sliders for research, exhibition, or out of state sale is required to have a Conditional/Prohibited/Nonnatve Species Permit. Crazy Critters has this conditional species listed on their Class III Permit.
Click here to read more about the Class III Personal Use Permit
Other than checking out your state laws before you bring home a red-eared slider there are a few things to check out to increase the odds that you are bringing home a healthy turtle
Look at their eyes, shell, how they swim, and whether or not they seem very active. There are some key indicators to help you determine whether or not a red eared slider is healthy.
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