kissmeimdutch asked:
I was thinking of purchasing a red ear slider turtle but I have a few questions:
When a turtle is bought, how long is okay for it to go without water? (by travel, etc.)
Also, is it absolutely necessary to keep it in a glass terrarium with a water filter? Or can I make a little terrarium out of a plastic one, making a realistic habitat, and changing the water frequently?
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:40 pm
The Red ear slider turtle is so cute! I’m not in the USA, so i probably won’t be getting one ever. They’re declared as a class 1 pest in Queensland. (i didn’t know that before i answered this!)
I have a maquarie short neck turtle, and an Eastern Long neck turtle. They’re in separate glass tanks , as we’ve had one longer, and it’d eat the long neck.
Turtles usually live in ponds that have little to no aeration, there’s not a great need for a filter. Our long neck has been in the tank with no filter for 3 weeks, and it’s ok, and still eating its food.
Since they’re different types of turtles, i figured these links should prove interesting for you:
Hope you have some luck in finding what you’re looking for.
The average life span of a red eared slider is around 40 years.
I personally would stick to glass, as if you use the wrong type of plastic, it may contaminate the water. To find out more about appropriate plastic to use, you should talk to someone at the pet store, or a turtle breeder.
March 6th, 2010 at 9:52 am
Well, if you are NOT ready for the expense involved in taking care of an aquatic turtle, then DON’T buy one because they can live for a very long time!
My daughter bought a female RES five years ago and she’s grown so big that we have her in a 55-gallon tank and will need to get a bigger one because she’s grown so big. As she’s grown, we’ve had to buy tanks to accommodate her size. Had I known then what I know now, I would have started out with a bigger tank and a bigger filter.
A set up for a baby should be at least a 10-20 gallon tank. You will also need a quality filter, submersible heater, basking area or platform, and a basking light. Some people also use night lights (I don’t). You don’t have to fill up the tank all the way with water. As your turtle grows, you will change the water level accordingly.
It is imperative to keep the water temp consistent. My other daughter bought a turtle and didn’t keep the heat constant and her turtle died as a baby as a result. A great link to visit for all of the turtle info you need is as follows:
This is a great resource and I suggest you read up on everything before deciding on whether or not you want to spend the time and money it takes to raise an RES. My daughter had no idea what it would take and when she left home to go to college, we ended up taking care of the turtle. If you get one, then change your mind, you can’t just set it free – it will die because it’s not used to being out on it’s own. I’m not trying to discourage you – just giving you the facts. Good luck!
March 7th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
aquarium is needed because they need to be in around a 75 gallon aquarium almost full to the to with water. they can get shipped without water they would be find they easily last over 20 years some last 40 years. but for their habitate they will need a 75 gallo naquariuma heater so the water stays at 80 degrees an good filter because there dirty a basking dock wit ha basking light ( uva/uvb rays) they need protein rich diet for the first si months then they switch to protein and vveggiesthen after 1 year they stick to mostly vveggies
March 10th, 2010 at 10:18 am
Well, honestly it all depends on the turtle’s health when you get it. It could have a sickness you don’t know about, or it could just die and it’s just nature taking it’s course. I bought one and it died randomly out of no where a year later. I’ve bought one, had to take it to the vet, it died a couple weeks later (though that was a soft shell this time, not a RES)
Either way, most RES live to be about 30-50+ years later.
It can go for a month or a little longer without water and food.
Yes, it needs a glass aquarium, or a thick plexiglas aquarium with a filter. It needs a filter, a heater, a place for it to be able to get out of the water to sunbathe, and it needs a UVB light above the area where it’s sunbathing area is.
These are necessary.
Ten gallons of water for every inch of turtle.
How would you like to feel in a small plastic home? It won’t be happy, which could stress him out, which could shorten it’s lifespan.
March 10th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
The turtles most often sold as pets probably won’t live longer than 40 years or so.
They can survive out of water for a few days, if necessary.
For a tank, get an aquarium. You want 10 gallons per inch of shell. Remember that these turtles grow rapidly at first and can reach 11″. If a large aquarium is out of the question financially, try a wading pool, plastic tote, stock tank, bathtub . . . .