Thus, it is crucial that you try to stack the deck in your odds as much as possible, by making sure that your red-eared slider baby is already healthy, to begin with. The key to caring for a baby red eared slider turtle is to provide a balanced diet, proper lighting, adequate basking spot, and a high power filter to maintain clean and healthy water.
I will cover each of these topics in the sections below. The absolute best way to make sure your baby red-eared slider gets enough nutrition is by using a good turtle pellet as its staple food.
I recommend either Mazuri or Tetra for pellet food. For more information on both as well as why I recommend these two brands, check out my article on the best turtle food brands.
You can also use other meat and insect sources to supplement the pellets. Baby red eared sliders should be fed every day. After reaching 6 months switch to every other day feedings. You can estimate the approximate age of your baby red-eared slider by measuring its outer shell vertically straight down the middle. If it is under 2 inches in length, feed it every day.
If it is anywhere from 2 inches to 3. Feed them enough food that would be roughly the size of their head. So, if you are giving them mealworms, or small fish, use however much would be about the size of their head. This is about a level tablespoon. Another common strategy is to feed them as much as they can eat in minutes. First things first. Virtually all turtles prefer protein-based foods as these foods are often few and far between in their natural environment. The most common reason a baby red-eared slider refuses to eat is stress.
This stress is almost always the result of being moved into a new aquarium or habitat. What usually happens is your baby turtle will retract into its shell for most of the day.
Or it will just sit somewhere, motionless. Speaking of stress from its aquarium or habitat, what exactly will you need? If you want your baby red-eared slider to grow up healthy, it is crucial that the environment that it is placed in can meet all its needs.
If you want to spice up your tank, you should read my article on plants for turtle tank. There are a few things you will absolutely need for a suitable red-eared slider habitat. I am attaching links to places where you can buy these items for the cheapest price:.
A lot of people simply assume that, since their turtle is a baby, they can simply forego some of these things and deal with them later. In the wild, Red Eared Sliders usually eat aquatic plants, small fish, crawfish, and worms. In the past, I have had turtles that will not eat fresh vegetables. I found the best alternative to fresh vegetables was the Zilla vegetable and fruit mix. I recommend using some type of aquatic pellet as your main protein staple, as this will ensure that your turtle gets an adequate amount of protein and other minerals and vitamins.
A lot of other protein sources are actually devoid of nutritional content. For vegetable sources, a handful of romaine lettuce daily will do. For protein sources, I would advise you to give them enough food that would fit into the size of their head was it empty. Although this is the feeding schedule that I would recommend, there is an alternative, which is to feed them slightly less protein but to feed them daily. You will want to avoid overfeeding your red-eared slider as this can cause a host of health problems, and can also lead to premature death.
As your turtle gets older, I would also recommend you to take a day out of the week usually Sunday for me and not feed them.
This will give whatever is in their stomach some time to digest and give their stomachs a bit of a break. It will not hurt them and in my opinion, it helps prevent overeating.
Closer to 80 for younger turtles and closer to 70 for older turtles. You will have to be careful with this, as red-eared sliders need to be in the water in order to eat they do not produce saliva , and if the water temperature gets too low, such as into the 50s, this can lead to respiratory disease and other illnesses.
If the water gets even lower, the turtle will not be able to properly digest its food. Male red-eared sliders are smaller than females, but they have longer tails. Adults typically range from inches cm in length, although females may reach in cm. Red-eared sliders are omnivores. Juveniles require a higher proportion of animal protein, while adults consume more plant matter.
Generally, young healthy sliders or sick hospitalized sliders do best when fed commercial pelleted foods and then offered snacks for variety. For long-term care of healthy adults, feed more plant material to control calorie intake:. Aquatic turtles are messy eaters and foods can interfere with the filters needed to keep turtle tanks clean.
Pet sliders may be fed in a separate tank in which water can be discarded after each meal. Average lifespan ranges from years although sliders can live much, much longer. The age of sexual maturity depends more on size rather than age. Turtles grow at varied rates depending on the availability and quality of food. Males reach sexual maturity about the time their carapace upper shell length reaches 4 inches 10 cm , which tends to be anywhere from years.
Females become sexually mature about the time the carapace reaches in cm in length, which can take up to years. Normal, smooth plastron or bottom shell in a turtle. The lack of concavity suggests this turtle is female. Photo by Toby Otter. Click image to enlarge. Sliders are easily held by the shell, however some individuals will scratch with their claws or reach their long necks around and bite the handler.
It can be challenging to extend the head and neck even in the weak slider. Always wash your hands after handling turtles due to the risk of salmenollosis. Regular physical examination. Red-eared sliders are very hardy. Problems seen in captivity can include: -Pneumonia -Skin and shell infections. Pollock C.
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