The Red Eared Sliders Marsh

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The Red-Eared Slider

HOUSING

It is important to try to recreate their natural habitat in captivity. Know where and how to keep your turtle should be your first concern.

Even though you can get an small aquarium starter kit for a very little price, be prepared to spend more time and money, as they grow older… You can have a fish pet and maintain it with little care, but turtles need a lot of care.

The Tank

There is a wide range of containers that you could use to recreate the turtle habitat. Kiddy plastic pools, empty tubs, some would make it out of wood, glass, aluminum, etc. It is the best to have one indoors tank and one outdoors pond with the corresponding filtering device for sunny days.

Standard glass aquariums work the best with sliders, so you can see through it, and it would give you a general idea of when to clean the tank, and the cleaning is easier.
About the size, there is a simple rule with turtle pets "The Bigger The Better".

Remember the things to have in mind: enough room for water, room for basking spots, room for decoration and tank implements. Another consideration is the number of specimens you intend to keep.

Even though you can keep a young turtle in a 20 gallons tank, it is better for an adult chelonian to have a tank of at least 55 gallons (48" x 20" x 12"). But considering that in the adulthood they measure up to 11" long they will have little space to turn about, so best would be to have a 75 gallon tank (48" x 20" x 18") and up.

As a tank top you'll find different alternatives, but the most effective and practical is the one that have a flip-top hood with a light built in.

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The basking spot

You must keep in mind that without a proper basking spot, your slider is prone to develop carapace rot, fungus, respiratory infections, and more. You can build it up out of wood, rocks, plastic or whatever you can buy and make it work. If you have a small tank and you get a big basking area it will take space out the "swimming area". Is difficult to find an appropriate element for basking when the water level is high, but is possible.

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Filtering

Proper filtration is critical. A complete filtration system should neutralize ammonia and nitrites, and remove floating debris and contamination from the water. There are three basic filtration methods; mechanical, biological and chemical. Your filtration system should incorporate all three.

Mechanical Filtration

Mechanical filtration is the means by which large particles of excess food and other debris are removed, screened, or skimmed from the water. This is achieved by flowing water through fiber floss, gravel, foam, or some other screening material.

Chemical Filtration

While mechanical filtration uses filters to remove debris, chemical filtration uses activated carbon and ammonia absorbents, to remove odor, colors and harmful substances, such as ammonia, from the water.

Biological Filtration

Turtle eat and produce ammonia as a waste product. Excess food and plant materials also decay and produce ammonia. Beneficial bacteria neutralize the ammonia and produce nitrites, which in turn are neutralized by other beneficial bacteria that produce nitrates. Nitrates in normal levels are harmless to freshwater fish. Thus the natural system in your aquarium converts toxic ammonia into harmless nitrates all without chemicals or your assistance.

You can choose from a wide range of filters like corner box filters, under gravel filters, power filters, or canister filters. You should always get the best filter, do not get cheap on this or you'll end up realizing that the filter you bought is not good enough, and so your water changes will need to be made more often.

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Lightning

Herptiles are in need of the called "full spectrum lightning". This is a form of artificial light that emulates the work of the sun, giving your pets energy, and helping them collect their much-needed vitamins.

Without proper lightning your pet is condemned to premature death.

Black lights are not recommended because they might damage your pet's eyes.

Along with the quality of the light goes the photoperiod, or the duration of the light.

The duration of the light should vary accordingly with the season you are living, that means that should shine longer in the summer, and shorter in the winter. By doing this you will give your turtle the general idea of what part of the year is approaching, so will know things like when to prepare for hibernation or when is the breeding time.

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Heating

As you already might know, reptiles are cold-blooded, and sliders, as any other reptile must be kept warm at all times during their active seasons.

The water and the basking area should have an average temperature of 75° Fahrenheit or 24° Celsius. Is advised to have a thermometer handy.

You can get a small external heater for the room itself and for the water you have two options: Submersible aquarium heater or under-tank heating pad.

Submersible aquarium heaters: which are nice because they have a built in thermostat and keep the temperature steady. The only consideration with is that you would have to protect the electrical cord because some adult turtles might want to take a bite out of it.

The heating pads are also good, but they are generally more expensive than the others and they don't have a built in thermostat, so you'll have to buy some sort of device to do the job of turning on and off the heater to keep the temperature constant.

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Cleaning

This is probably the most hated part for every hobbyist. But you should know that even with a good filtration system the tank would have to be cleaned frequently to keep your pet happy and healthy.

Most of turtle illnesses are due to bad hygiene in their habitats.

Sliders are particularly messy they will soil the water more than any other reptile. Their organic waste, pieces of food or any other junk settled under-gravel, must be taken out of the tank in order to create an attractive, clean body of water.

Partial water changes are an essential part of maintaining good water chemistry. Nitrates are the natural result of the "Nitrogen Cycle" which occurs in your aquarium. While nitrates are normally harmless, they can be detrimental if allowed to build up. Partial water changes are the best way to ensure you don't have a build up of nitrates. During the period that your beneficial bacteria are developing, I suggest that you test the water frequently to insure that the ammonia and nitrites levels are not too high.

An efficient way of maintaining your aquarium is to vacuum the gravel. While doing a partial water change you can eliminate any decaying food or other debris that builds up in the gravel while assuring that you control the nitrite levels in your aquarium. There are several types of gravel vacuums that make this process fast and easy. The most common and simple is the one that siphons the water out to a bucket, but being this is a tedious task full of spills, you'll probably end up using one of those cleaning systems that are connected directly to your faucet, they are a little expensive, but worth it.

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Personal Experience

Tank:

I Started with a 20-Gall glass tank for 2 red-eared sliders, when they were merely babies. They shared their tank with fish. But soon I realized one thing, fish and turtle were growing pretty fast so was time to move. Now they have a 55 gallons tank (I hope I don't have to change any time soon).

Basking:

The basking spot always was kind of a challenge. The question was: How to have a basking without taking out much of the water space?. I first tried actual rocks, but once they got bigger the rocks started being unstable, and they would get filled out with algae easily.

Afterwards I switched to a plastic shelving system I found at the pet store. With a few modifications I made it work. It's a basking and hiding spot.

The secret behind my basking spot

My basking spot is made out of a shelving system I found at a retail pet store. They are triangle shaped with suction cups on the edges to be attached to the corner of the tank.

I stacked three of those shelves to create little steps or levels and to give the turtles more room. I tied them with cable ties (plastic strap used by electricians to tie wires together) (Tried with glue but turtles would think is food).

I bought one of those plastic bonsai trees. I used the “leaves” for bedding of the shelf to give it a grassy look. The stem is good as a stirrup to help the turtles during the climbing.

To hold the weight I used a couple of 1” plastic tubes (found at any aquarium supplies store) they fit perfectly underneath the shelf. If you are trying to make one similar don’t forget to drill holes all over the tubes to allow the flow of water through it (if not the water inside will rot).

Good luck with the craft project!

Filter:

When I had the 20-gallon tank, my first filter was a small power filter (the waterfall one) but soon I discovered that it wasn't enough, then I changed for a bigger tank, hence a bigger power filter. But since I got a third turtle the water changes would have to be made pretty often; so tried combining with other filters. But they crowded the tank, they were noisy, and I got endless splatters of water on the glass making the aquarium look ugly. So I finally switched to a canister filter rated for a 175-gall tank (I decided to get the best) that I'm really happy with.

Lightning:

When my experience with turtles was little, I only relied on the built in aquarium light. Afterwards I added a full spectrum spot light to the basking area.

Heating:

I started with a submersible heater, when I moved to the bigger tank I just got a bigger one. My turtles didn't get crazy with the heater just yet.

Cleaning:

My tank cleaning is a "must" since I have fish with the turtles. Though all the fish in my tank is used to living with turtles I keep the water clean at all times. With the old filters I had to do water changes almost constantly, with the new canister filter I can take a longer breather.

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