How big do Red Ear Slider Turtles get?

Question

I want to get a turtle but one that doesn't get bigger than 5 or 6 inches.

Answer 1

Adult Males get 7-9 inches (17.8 cm - 22.8 cm) while adult females fall between 10-12 inches (25 cm - 30.5 cm).

Answer 2

Sliders are cheap and common. They get very big, males get around 7-8" SCL and female get 10-13" SCL. Turtles keep growing until the day they die, so you'll keep hearing larger and larger turtles.

Turtles should get at least 10 gallons of water for each inch of shell they have. This is especially true for larger turtles over 6". Smaller turtles can take relatively smaller tanks.

I sugges you keep a southern painted turtle, which is readily available in the pet trade, which stays under 5" when full grown. That will take a good 6-7 years. You can also look at mud or musk turtles, no they not smell, and they too stay under 5-6". You can also consider the spotted turtle, but certain states have restrictions for keeping them though.

Here is an article for chosing your first turtle:
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Articles/firstturtle.htm

Here is one of the best turtle classifieds on the web:
http://market.kingsnake.com/index.php?cat=39

Painted caresheet:
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-spaint.htm

Other turtle caresheets with pics, scroll to see choices:
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/1caresheets.htm

Answer 3

Another good small pond turtle if you can find it is the Reeve's turtle- a smaller Oriental species that used to be common as a pet.

Understand, however, that even a small turtle needs a rather big pool. A 6" turtle would need at least 30 gallons of water, be happy in 60 gallons of water, and prefer even more.

Answer 4

They get a little bigger than that, about 8 inches across the shell. Look at the Russian Tortus (no, sorry I can't spell it), and the Chinese Box Turtle they both stay small. Also, make sure you get a book for whatever turtle you get so you know exactly how to take care of them. Good Luck.