Get the best care and maintenance tips for keeping the most popular semi-aquatic turtle species, the Red-Eared Slider, in your home aquarium. Come find out why these adorable turtles are so popular!
Introduction
Most hobbyists automatically think of fish for home aquariums, but did you know turtles can be equally fascinating? Their care needs vary depending on your experience, so a beginner-friendly pet turtle like the Red-Eared Slider suits first-timers and experienced aquarist equally.
This semi-aquatic turtle thrives in a balanced land/water environment, making it adaptable to indoor and outdoor habitats. It also has distinctive physical features worth observing while it engages with its environment, including people.
These and more unique habits and features make it the world’s most common and widely kept pet turtle species. Keep reading for a detailed review of Red-Eared Slider care and find out why it is so popular!
Author’s Note: Check out our post The 14 Types of Freshwater Turtles for even more great semi-aquatic pets!
Identifying Red-Eared Slider Turtles
You can identify a turtle species by the different patterns on their body and its traits, including its personality and habits.
Color Patterns
Red-eared slider turtles get their name from the distinctive red stripe behind their eyes. They also have yellow-striped olive-green shells with orange-yellow underbellies called Plastron and dark webbed feet matching the patterns on their heads.
Unique Features
This species’ webbed feet help them swim gracefully and latch onto dry platforms when basking, which is when your turtle relaxes on land surfaces and sunbaths(more on this later). Yes, that’s right, your Red-Eared Slider Turtles need unique land/water habitats to enjoy this experience. Here’s how to set them up.
Setting Up the Ideal Habitat for Red-Eared Sliders
(No you do not need a setup this Epic)
Building the perfect Red-Eared Slider tank setup requires carefully combining the right size, water conditions, basking areas, and filtration needs.
Tank Size Requirements
A 75-gallon rectangular tank is a healthy and spacious environment for an adult Red-Eared Slider turtle that’s 10 – 12 inches long. Use a 40-gallon tank for a juvenile or a 20-gallon tank for hatchlings, which are often 1-inch in size.
Water & Land Ratio
They need swimming areas and dry basking spots, but not in equal measure since they spend more time in the water than on land.
Water should account for about 75% of the tank while land accounts for the other 25% of the tank. Then measure the water’s depth to equal about double your turtle’s length so there’ll be enough water space for them when they dive.
There are some creative ways to set your turtle’s tank up, you can even have a floating land area so that your turtle has the entire tank’s water space to enjoy, more on tank set up later! Here are some water parameters to keep in mind:
| Temperature | 75 – 80℉ Water | 85 – 90℉ Basking area |
| pH | 6.0 – 8.0 |
| Hardness | 80 ppm |
Author’s Note: Knowing Why your turtle tank water turns green? (Cause & Fixes) will be useful in the upkeep of your turtle’s enclosure.
Filtration & Maintenance
Your Red-Eared Slider turtles will need strong filters to clean their water because they’re messy eaters and produce a significant amount of waste. For the best result, use a single or double-canister filter. Checkout our post on the 7 Best Filters for Your Turtle Tank & its Gallon Capacity for an in-depth guide on the best turtle tank filtration system.
Basking & Lighting
A proper turtle basking spot includes the right platform and light. A UVB light and heat lamp boosts calcium absorption and aids shell health, while driftwood or smooth rocks are visually stunning and comfy.
The best habitat for pet turtles also requires proper heating as well as a UVB light. If you have a medium sized turtle tank, such as a 40-gallon with a basking area that’s not too big, a 50 Watt heating bulb will likely do a great job.
What I concluded, after having set up a few turtle tanks, is that the Wattage itself is not the most important thing when picking up a heating lamp. What matters the most is the temperature of your turtle’s basking spot.
Regardless of bulb Wattage, your goal should be to bring the temperature of the basking area between 90 and 95 °F. For a more in-depth guide on choosing the right heat and light combo checkout our post below,
Next up, learn how to manage Red-Eared Slider behavior traits like active swimming, curiosity, and interactions.
Activity Levels
Strong webbed feet make Red-Eared Slider Turtles active swimmers who love exploring their environment. So be sure to keep your turtle stimulated in an aquascaped environment and consider some of the 8 Best Toys for Pet Turtles to Play With which will keep you both entertained!
Interaction with Owners
Turtles’ social tendencies vary from recognizing their keepers to begging for food, but that’s where it ends. They don’t enjoy other species’ company and become aggressive when too crowded with their own species but they are social.
Handling Considerations
Red-eared slider turtles are sensitive pets despite being social. Here are some tips for handling pet turtles safely:
- Limit handling to health checkups and cleaning.
- Don’t feed them directly. Instead, leave the food in the tank for them to eat.
- Wash your hands before and after handling.
Now, let’s discuss the kinds of pets that can share a tank with your Red-Eared Slider Turtles without stressing them.
Choosing the Right Tank Mates for Red-Eared Sliders
You must go into this knowing that keeping turtles in a community tank is risky. They don’t play well with others but can tolerate a few species.
Best Companions
Some of the best tank mates for Red-Eared Sliders are either larger or fast fish species and other similar-sized turtles.
They’ll live comfortably with other red-eared sliders, similar species like Yellow-Bellied Sliders, Cooter Turtles, and Painted Turtles, in large tanks without bumping into each other.
It’s best to avoid other species, but if you must build a community, choose fast, hardy fish like large Plecos, guppies, and Red Minnows just keep in mind some of these fish may get caught and eaten from time to time as Red-Eared Sliders will eat fish.
Incompatible Tank Mates
As mentioned, cohabiting turtles and fish is not always a good idea, especially when the fish are small or slow moving, like Koi, Bettas, and Goldfish. Also, avoid species like shrimp or amphibians that can become snacks or triggers.
Solo vs. Community Living
Solo-living is the best option if you want to keep a Red-Eared Slider Turtle as a pet. But if you have a community, constantly monitor their interactions to ensure they’re not hunting the other species or getting hurt.
Also, provide multiple basking spots for each turtle in the tank to prevent competition.
Feeding Guide for a Healthy Red-Eared Slider
In their natural habitat, this species lives on an omnivorous diet. You must make a balanced Red-Eared Slider diet plan to achieve this in a home aquarium.
Dietary Needs
Your pets need a healthy mix of animal protein, vegetables, and commercial turtle pellets for good health. The proteins will build their muscles, plant matter will help their guts, and calcium will strengthen their shells.
Best Foods
(Not A Recommended Staple, But A Rare Treat)
The best foods for pet turtles include insects, crustaceans, leafy greens, feeder fish, commercial turtle pellets, and calcium-rich foods. Leafy greens can be aquatic plants or blanched vegetables.
Feed them 75:25 more protein than veggies while growing, then switch to more veggies when they’re mature, one year old, and above.
Feeding Schedule
The feeding schedule for semi-aquatic turtles differs from fish-feeding routines. Here’s a chart,
| Hatchlings & Juveniles | Once daily |
| Adults | Thrice weekly |
Author’s Note: If you are struggling with a turtle that just won’t eat check out our post on the 8 Reasons Why Your Turtle Won’t Eat (Tips & Fixes) for causes and fixes.
How to Encourage Successful Breeding in Red-Eared Sliders
Breeding Red-Eared Sliders in a home aquarium is challenging, from prepping the tank to the nesting requirements, egg incubation, hatching and baby turtle care.
Mating Behavior
The male Red-Eared Slider turtles court the females by showing them their long front claws in mesmerizing jazz hands fashion. The female will accept by allowing the male to mate with her or reject him by swimming away or getting aggressive.
You’ll know they breed when the male mounts the female’s shell, sometimes even underwater.
Nesting Requirements
Give the female Red-eared Slider a nesting box with damp sandy soil mix for safe egg-laying. If she gets uncomfortable, she won’t lay her eggs, leading to what’s called “egg-bound”, a sickness. But she’ll lay her eggs in the nest under the right conditions.
Hatching & Care
This Turtle egg incubation guide ensures the eggs hatch, stay alive and fertile and grow into healthy baby turtles.
Remove the eggs from the tank and put them in an incubator at 80 – 86℉. Then, you must wait 60 – 90 days for them to hatch.
When caring for baby turtles, you must know the difference between the sexes. Both sexes grow in warm water, but the females need more heat 86℉ than the males 80℉.
Common Health Issues & Preventative Care for Red-Eared Sliders
Common health problems in turtles result from poor management and genetic defects. With proper care, turtles can avoid most illnesses, but sometimes, their genes may leave them vulnerable.
Read through for common issues, their symptoms, prevention, and treatment up next.
Shell Health Problems
Poor water quality, untreated injuries, poor diet, and lack of a proper UVB exposure can cause shell health problems such as shell rot, pyramiding, and fungal infections.
- Shell rot: Improve the tank conditions using an alcohol-free antibiotic to heal the wound.
- Pyramiding: a metabolic bone disease causing malformed shells due to lack of UVB light, Vitamin D3, and calcium. Ensure intense UVB lighting at least 10 – 12 hours daily, and improve their diet with calcium-rich foods.
- Fungal infections: Poor water quality encourages fungal growth, which harms your Red-Eared Slider turtle. If left untreated, it causes shell deterioration and will get stinky. Isolate your pet and use an anti-fungal cream on the affected area.
Learn how to keep a turtle’s shell healthy and practice techniques like feeding them calcium-rich foods, maintaining a perfect pH balance, using safe tank decor, and following the basking alongside the other information provided in this guide.
Respiratory Infections
They may catch pneumonia or cold from freezing water, bacterial infections from poor water quality, or Vitamin A deficiency from poor diet.
Improve diet, ensure proper UVB lighting, and stabilize the water temperature between 80 and 85℉ to treat these illnesses.
Parasites & Infections
You can also explore a range of treatment options depending on the cause. If it’s environmental, improving their water quality and surroundings while having better diets can solve these and nutritional problems.
The tips in this guide aid in Red-Eared Slider disease prevention, so follow them, but if symptoms persist, visit a turtle compatible vet for solutions.
Author’s Note: Check out our post on How to keep A Turtle Tank Hygienic & Clean for maintenance tips that can also keep your turtle happy and healthy!
Lifespan & Long-Term Care: Ensuring a Healthy Turtle for Decades
Owning a Red-Eared Slider Turtle is a long-term commitment because, with proper care, they can live for at least 20 to 30 years.
Maximizing their lifespan depends on how well you adapt to caring for turtles as they age because their needs evolve as they grow.
Tank Upgrades
A 1-inch-large juvenile Red-Eared Slider Turtle can start in small 20-gallon tanks but will need larger enclosures of 75 to 100 gallons as it grows to 10 – 12 inches.
Long-Term Diet Adjustments
When growing, your turtle will mostly eat protein-heavy food to grow muscle and repair from heavy activity. However, activity and protein intake reduce as Red-eared Slider turtles mature.
Older Red-Eared Slider Turtles eat plant-based foods to accommodate their new habits.
Routine Care & Vet Checkups
Schedule regular visits to the vet for comprehensive checkups to guarantee a long Red-Eared Slider lifespan. Follow the instructions in this guide for the best tips on long-term turtle care.
Conclusion
You’ll enjoy every minute of owning a Red-Eared Slider turtle if you follow the rules in this guide, regardless of your experience level. It’s playful, adaptable, and has simple care requirements, making it the best pet turtle for beginners.
However, you shouldn’t go into turtle ownership blindly. Research each species before committing to owning one so you know your capacity to give your new pet a healthy life.
Luckily, this overview contains every secret you need for a long-term commitment to turtle care. So, read it, and let’s hear your thoughts in the comment box below.
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