Big T's Turtle Tips - Caring for Your Red Eared Slider

My new owner, let's call her Pam, didn't know much about red-eared sliders when she found me at the flea market. There I was, trying desperately to get out of the tiny habitat with frenetic movements. She obviously fell in love with me cuz I heard her say she wanted the "active one." I knew she meant me and that I was off on a new adventure-one I hoped would be better than my life had been until then.

Luckily, Pam was smart enough to realize my tank was ridiculously small for me even though my carapace was only about an inch and a half long. A carapace is the shell I carry on my back, in case you didn't know that already.

Where was I? Oh, yes...so she brings me straight to a pet store and gets me a bigger tank, some food, a dock for me to sun on, and a special lamp with light bulbs to simulate the sun and for letting me see at night. Meanwhile, I'm being rocked back and forth by all this moving about and starting to feel queasy. But finally, thankfully not too much later, I'm ensconced in my new home which is a palace compared to my former home. I am happy now, except that I'm hungry.

I need UVA and UVB light to thrive and to get some Vitamin D. Pam keeps a light right on top of my tank and put a basking dock in the tank so I can get out of the water and do some sunning. I like to drive her crazy by getting under the dock and lifting it or trying to get behind the props that hold it against the side of the tank. I don't know why I do this, I just get bored and there isn't much to do when I'm feeling frisky.

Every day Pam drops these little green things into my water. They smell like food even though they don't look like food. Well, not like REAL food. But they are tasty and fill my belly. I always act like I'm real hungry and beg for food by waving all my legs frantically to let her know. Pam doesn't buy it. Seems someone let the cat out of the bag and told her I might act like I'm still very hungry and that I'm part piggy. I'll gain too much weight if she gives in to me whenever I act like I'm starving.

I don't get to eat all day long. But I get fed a few times a day so I'm not so worried about getting enough to eat. When food drops into my tank, I head straight for it and eat all of it in a matter of minutes. I think I'm lucky in this way because I've heard that some turtles don't need to be fed more than once a day or even every other day. Maybe that day will come for me when I'm a little older.

I get to dine on things I love like shrimp, krill, and meal worms. I still get the tasty pellets too. Pam tried to give me pieces of dried berries but I don't like them. At least not yet-maybe when I get older I will. She does give me real shrimp, uncooked, and that's one of my favorite treats although I don't get that too often. I like small live bugs too but haven't gotten any of them yet...I'm still waiting....ahem.

I also eat dark green leafy vegetables but not iceberg lettuce--this isn't good for me. Romaine is preferred. I also like fruit cut into bite-size pieces. Apples, grapes, bananas, berries, I'll try them all. Experiment with your red-eared slider's fruit treats to see which ones they like.

It's nice of Pammie to make sure the things she feeds me aren't too big for me to fit in my tiny mouth. Even though I know she thinks some of my food is yucky, she goes to the trouble of cutting it into small pieces for me to eat. Meal worms are not her favorite thing to have to do this to.But she cares about me and does it out of the goodness of her heart.

I am spoiled when I'm just handed food. I like to hunt for my food and live bugs and very small fish or tadpoles give me the chance to feel like I'm a wild turtle. I have to work a little harder to catch them and this helps me get a little more exercise as well.

Pam found this cool thermometer that is flat and sticks to the outside of the glass of my tank. It doesn't come off when she cleans my tank even if it gets wet. Now she knows exactly what the temperature of my water is all the time. She maintains the temperatures I need to stay healthy.

In the winter, if the temperature of the water gets too low, I will go into semi-hibernation. Since she likes to keep me active, she got an under-the-tank mat that warms up the water. This heater keeps the temps just the way I like them at 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. There are other types of heaters but this one worked fine for me last winter since the house is pretty warm most of the time anyway.

In addition to everything else, there are a couple more things that will help me stay healthy and happy. Not all of them are absolutely necessary but a few are.

One of the important ones is calcium. I need calcium to keep my shell and bones strong. Pam gives me a chunk of Zoo Med Turtle Bone so I can bite it and get the calcium I need. This chew stick also helps keep my beak filed so it doesn't get too big. I can also get calcium from fish bones if I'm fed little live fishies. I also need protein and these little fishies give me that too. However, I think there is probably enough in those pellets and other things I eat to give me the amount I need.

Pam uses a neutralizer in my water because she uses tap water to fill my tank and that has chlorine, unsafe minerals, and chlorimines in it. She learned that these minerals, like iron and copper, and the chemicals are not good for me so she got some stuff to put in the water to make it safe for me. You can let water sit out in a container for a couple of days to let the chlorine evaporate, but some of the chemicals and minerals don't evaporate, so the neutralizer is a good idea.

Another nice treat is a live plant Pam puts in my tank. I like green leafy things and they are good for me. I can snack on the plant anytime so it comes in handy when there's no other food around. Did I mention I'm always hungry?

There really is no need for decorations in my tank. I do like the turtle hut to hide under when something seems scary to me. I also like the large stones that decorate the bottom of my tank. I like to move them around when I'm bored. I don't like gravel and neither does Pam. She finds it hard to clean and I don't like how small the pebbles are. Sometimes I think they are food and it's nasty to try to bite down on a small stone.