Red eared sliders, Help!

[matthew5971]

I was sold 2 map turtles in May 2011 and found out last week they are actually red eared sliders!! M&F. The pet shop denined selling me them and washed their hands of it.

Iv been reading online that they get up to 14'' but have no idea how im gonna give them enough space!

Any suggestions, Im a tenant so cant start digging a pond in the garden.

Also, any care info please pass on!!

Matt

[jacquisunderland]

Hiya Matthew... welcome to turtle rescues forum..
Although it feels like I'm comparing my children ( if I had any! ), If its any concellation, out of my collection of various types, i must admit I have soft spot for my red ear sliders. I find them much more entertaining characters than my map turtles,not that i don't love each and every one of my turtles and little lodgers.
Two adult sliders will need at least a four foot tank, preferably 5ft or more but map turtles are not far behind, you dont need a pond. I havent got one, I live in a terraced house and only have a yard.
How long have you had them? What size are they now? What set up have you get now? What size is you tank? Have you got a UV light on them and a basking lamp? What are you feeding them?

[matthew5971]

Hello, Thanks for replying.

I got them when they were 2'' shell now they are both 6'' shell, female is getting a bit bigger, they are both in a 4ft tank with uv bulbs and heat lamp, thou I have to turn off sometimes as the room gets so hot its like being in 100c heat!

Iv seen a youtube clip with a guy having his turtle run around the house, follows him everywhere like a puppy haha, so may do that when they get a bit older.

All the reading iv done says their are getting ready to get down to it! with all their fluttering of the claws! what will I do if she wants to start laying eggs!!? oh dear

Thanks Matt

[matthew5971]

Im feeding them food i buy off this site, have been feeding them king fisher also. The other thing is, shops dont sell big turtle docks either!! lol Gonna have to build something

[turtlegirl]

First of all don't worry, you are doing the right thing. A 4ft tank is fine for 2 males and probably OK for a female too unless she grows exceptionally large. They normally max out around 10in female, 7in male NOT 14 in as you feared.

I agree with Jacqui actually. My sliders are much friendlier and more fun than my maps who are still nervous even though I've had them for 1 5months. Sliders normally love to interact with humans, don;t mind being handled and will enjoy a walk outside their tank. Just make sure
1.No potentially harmful stuff on floor(pins and sharp objects, anything small enough for turtle to swallow,electrical items and plugs, poisons etc)
2. Room must be warm or turtle may get nasty respiratory infection
3. No draughts...or dogs!

Yes basking docks are a problem for adult sliders because commercial ones will only take medium turtles at best without additional support.. I put a 14inch fake submerged half log in their tank, with a large turtle dock (the kind that hang from tank sides on suckers) on top of log so the log takes the weight. Someone's husband on this forum built an amazing dock and she gave full DIY instructions if you want to have a go. I will try and find it and email it to you. A real large log also makes a good basking platform.

[jacquisunderland]

Hiya Matt.. all sounds great so far..
is your tank covered or part covered or can it be in some way? I have my heaters set approx 26-28 o C, if they don't get out of the water to bask then turn them down to 24 o C. I only have one Uv strip light on each tank and a basking lamp, the Uv is on 12 hours a day from dawn to dusk and I've set the basking lamp on for 5 hours in the aftn only to replicate the hottest part of the day, all lights go out at dusk to let the natural light dim down to replicate as natural enviroment as poss. It sounds like you might hav them on too long.
I have some full grown red ears and yellow bellies which take two hands to lift up and I have Zoo Med basking platforms which are big enough to bask on, I have put chunks of coral and/or wood to support the end as they go up the ramp and then its fine. You can buy them and they are cheaper online but its disgusting that your supplier is selling turtles and not basking ramps.You could make a terrarium, half water half land ,by adding a piece of glass in the middle secured by aquarium sealant but I woulnt encourage you do this until you got a bigger tank, what you have is best of both worlds at moment. You could also build up like the Tourtle Topper, check it out online.
Its advisable that you get your turtles out as much as poss, for excercise, I put mine in a large indoor guinea pig 'cage' with a opaque plastic bottom and a see through clear plastic top because I have two inquisitive playfull dogs but theres nothing stopping you especially if you have wood floors because they are not toilet trained. What they get upto depends on the character of your turtles, if you read some of the messages on the forum some members turtles get upto alsorts and others dont.
Turtles need some kind of soft substrate to lay eggs but not laying eggs can also lead to problems in the female if she holds on to them. This is something I havnt encountered yet myself but i'll never say never, the best person to ask would be Wayne, I 'll drop him a message to get back to you but I wouldnt worry about it to much, mine are always pestering each other, I love to watch them, time to worry is if you actually see them do more shall we say.. lol. x

[matthew5971]

Hey, thanks for all your help, both of you.

The tank is covered and the female gets out alot and basks where he stays swimming around a lot more, def will look into the turtle topper! building up is always good, and if they grow much bigger then just have to get a bigger tank,

Iv attached a pic of her, its not very clear thou!! haha

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[matthew5971]

Heres some more photos,

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[matthew5971]

and another

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[wayne020668]

hi Mathew, welcome to our not so little family here at turtle rescue, i see your thinking of these breeding and if you wish to keep them please let me know and i will of course help you... we have just completed one on our 6ft tank and it will hold the weight of many turtles while allowing them to use the water underneath so you wont lose any swimming space and making the most of the tank by using the upper level for the basking site, first we got some plastic angle from the d.i.y store and at equal heights stuck in to place in the inside of the tank these will need to be stuck into place on three sides with some aquarium silicone and allowed to dry and set then you will need to measure the width of your tank on the inside of the tank and the length of the plastic angle but you will need to allow for the width of the plastic angle and at the d.i.y store again ask them to cut a piece of perspex at the same measurements, this will just sit on the plastic angle and you can cover and stick this with some astro turf ( this will just sit on the plastic angle and can be removed as and when you need to clean it, we use a power washer ) the ramp is made in the same way and stuck at both ends with the aquarium sealant to hold it in place... we have also used just a floating real log that they seem to love but this will need to be soaked well prior to use and replaced periodically.. around every 6 months..



hope this helps and if its not to clear then please ring me... or e-mail me direct and i can forward some pic's,

regards Wayne..

[matthew5971]

Hey Wayne,

Thanks for writing back, I really hope they don't start breeding!! Info iv read says that they wouldn't reach sexual maturity till 5 yrs so ages away as yet, {time to go slow}.

Im not very good at making things lol would prob all just fall apart!! And dont think they make the turtle topper wide enough.. ..