Red-Eared Slider

Scientific Name:Trachemys scripta elegans

Family: Emydidae

Species type: Semi-Aquatic Turtle

Size: Adult males average between 7-9 inches. Adult females on average end up between 10-12 inches. However at the time of writing I have one 14 inch female.

Life span: 40 years or more in captivity. 20+ in the wild if they survive the first year.

Native Range: Originally native to the area around the Mississippi River down to the Gulf of Mexico. Due to their common use as pets, they are now found worldwide. Red Ear Sliders are extremely hardy and adaptable and will take over nearly any remotely acceptable area.

Minimum tank size: Males - A 55g tank is bare minimum, 75 is better, with dry basking area. 50g Rubbermaid tote (Rubbermaid currently calls them the xl), larger preformed pond liners or livestock tubs also work fine.

Females - 75g tank is a bare minimum due to their larger size however the other options above all will usually work fine.

They are outstanding climbers, their enclosure either needs a lid, or the waterline and tank items to be low enough to not allow them to climb out. I find males try to escape more than females, but both are prone to do it.

Tank region: All over. Will dig up things, will beg at the top to be fed, they like to stick their heads out and check out what's going on. They also need a spot to be able to get out to dry off.

Temperature:
Air Temperature: High 60's up to the 80's
Basking Temperature: High 80's to low 90's
Water Temperature: Around 70 to 76 degrees for sub-adults & adults, 78 to 80 degrees for hatchlings & smaller juveniles.

Ph:
Doesn't care. Water just needs to be changed often and heavily filtered. If the water is hard, they may get mineral deposits on their shells. A quick scrubbing with a toothbrush usually solves that problem.

Diet:
Red-eared Sliders are omnivores. Hatchlings and juveniles are more carnivorous than adults. The will happily eat pellet food, snails, worms, fish, frogs, birds, plants and anything else it thinks is edible. Not picky is a major understatement.

Tank Mates:
Big and sassy fish usually make out okay. Channel Cats, American Eels, Oscars and juvenile snakeheads all have done well. I'm Unsure how an adult Snakehead would deal with the turtle. I've kept a Three Striped Snakehead (Channa Micropeltes) until it was around 14 inches with a 5 inch slider with no problems. Unless it's a snack, do not put anything slow moving, (fancy goldfish) or small with them, eventually they will catch it and eat it. I usually keep comets and crayfish in with the Sliders as an ongoing buffet that runs away. On the plus side, if there are just turtles in the tank or pond, comets and other feeder fish do not need to be quarantined as thoroughly as for feeding other fish. Worms are the most common thing to keep an eye out for before letting them in with the turtle.

Temperament:
Not shy. Very outgoing turtles. Very quickly learn who feeds them and will beg when you approach. Can bite if you get your fingers too close to their mouths, though usually not from being mean, but thinking your fingers are tasty wiggly worms. Some do not like being held, and will hiss (like a cat) and will scratch and try to bite to get away. Regular interaction will make them fairly tame and some even enjoy having the underside of their necks and top of their heads rubbed.

Description:
Red Ear Sliders are fairly easily recognizable. They have a red (sometimes orange/yellowish) stripe that starts at the end of their eyes and extends back to their ear area. Their carapace (the top part of the shell) is smooth and rounded and usually has a black and yellow pattern on it. Their plastron (the bottom part of the shell) is also smooth and is mostly yellow with some black markings. Hatchlings start out a very bright green and the shells are flexible, almost like a stiff piece of plastic. As they grow the carapace gets a dark green color. Also as Sliders age, the patterns become less visible and the red ear area sometimes fades away as well.

Sexing:
Males have significantly longer front claws than females. Tails on the male are much thicker and longer. Also the cloaca (a pronounced line on the tail that is the only opening for excretion and reproduction) on the males are much further away from the shell on the tail, and usually smaller in appearance.

Breeding:
The magic happens underwater. The male swims toward the female and shimmy/shakes the back side of his long claws on and around her face and head. It looks like an elaborate game of I'm not touching you. The female will swim toward the male and, if she is interested, will sink to the bottom. If she is not interested, there is a very good chance that the male will be bitten on the face or in the claws. Males denied, will at times attack females and try to force the issue, and usually results in one or both being injured.

After mating, the female will spend a lot more time basking to keep the eggs warm. Her diet may also change, wanting only a certain food, or not wanting to eat at all.

In the wild, ovulation begins usually in May and egg-laying happens in May through early July. A female can lay from two to thirty eggs, depending on the size of the female. Usually a female can lay up to five clutches a year and the clutches are usually spaced fifteen to thirty days apart. The egg is fertilized as it is laid. The eggs are buried in sand or soil. The time between mating and egg laying can be a few days or a few months depending on the female finding favorable conditions. After a successful mating the female can be fertile for up to two years, one is usually more common though.

Eggs and Hatchlings:
Turtle eggs are half yolk, half turtle, which is why the eggs can not be rotated (unlike bird eggs) the yolk will smother the turtle. If eggs need to be moved, mark the top (I use soft wax crayons) and make sure they stay in the same position.

Eggs will hatch usually around ninety days after they have been laid, sometimes faster, I've heard of some hatching in 60 days in certain types of incubators. Hatchlings laid outside closer to winter sometimes will spend the winter in the nest and emerge when the weather warms up in spring. New hatchlings will cut open their egg with an egg tooth, which falls out in a few hours after hatching. Usually the hatchlings will stay inside their shell a day or two after hatching, partially since breaking the egg is a lot of work and partially to absorb some of it's egg sac. If you must handle them at this stage, it's important to be very careful of the sac. It will be attached to the bottom of the shell, and if punctured, may cause the turtle to bleed out and die, get air inside the body cavity and die or get infected and die. Also swimming in water can cause water to get in the body cavity and I'm sure you should know what will happen by now.

The yolk sac is quite important however and provides nourishment while visible and even for a number of days after it has been absorbed. The sac will never fall off by itself, it must be absorbed, and the split in the plastron must heal on it's own before letting the turtle swim. I wait around 25 to 30 days from hatching until the first time they get to go into the water. They still need water however. Hatchlings can do just fine on moist paper towels. They can get the water they need off the towels by sucking on them. The sac will keep them fed for the first week or two after which I give them moistened tiny dried krill, small wiggly worms and moistened koi pellets.

So long as you account for their adult size, Red Eared Sliders make for a decent first turtle.