Water for a Red Ear Slider?

Question

My brother, who is only 7, just got a big turtle thing, and I've been left to care for it. I wasn't there when he got it, so I didn't get to see where it was being kept. I know I'm supposed to put water in the tank and a place for him to get out. I only put enough water in to barely cover his shell. So..does this thing like to swim or something? I'm afraid of drowning him if I put too much water in without knowing. Oh, and how often should he be fed? We bought some feeder fish and these little turtle pellet things. I left a fish in the tank, but he hasn't eaten it yet..

Answer 1

We have three sliders as well. Yes, they like to swim, but they are air breathers and need areas where they can get out of the water and dry off. The guide for water depth is the diameter of their shell, although slightly deeper than that is fine. Don't feed the turtle in the enclosure, though, as it can make things really nasty and you'll have to clean it way more often. Feed them once or twice a day in a separate place. We use an old metal biscuit pan, and add about an inch of water. They don't make spit, so they have to eat in water. A pinch is plenty for them, and they will eat until they are full, though sometimes they will overeat and spit some out. As young turtles they are primarily carnivores, but the turtle pellets work just fine. Whether they will eat the feeder fish depends on their size, and dietary preferences . Some turtles are big vegetarians, and don't seem to care for the fish, so love to eat them- they just have to be big enough to do it.
You can't just plop them in tap water. The chlorine will kill them. Get some of the treatment drops sold for aquariums and use that to treat the water they will be in for living and feeding. Also, they are very suseptible to catching colds, and colds are often fatal to small turtles. You should have some means to keep the tank warm, either an undertank heater or a bulb. They also need sunlight to manufacture vitamin D, same as you, and should spend an hour or so each day dry and in the sunlight.
Turtles can drownd, though usually it's due to being trapped and unable to rise for a breath. Be careful not to leave tight hidey holes in the tank, they get in and can't get out.
Don't feed your turtle hamburger, under any circumstances. You can offer tiny bits of carrot, tomato, apple, mango, lettuce, and the like. They will develop a taste for their favorite things, and you'll be able to tell what they like and don't like.
Although turtles have a bad rep for salmonella, unless you put them in your mouth it's not much risk. The turtle is far more likely to catch something from you that will be detrimental to their health. Handle them with clean hands, and afterwards wash your hands well with soap and water. Clean the tank well at least once a week, and rinse it well to remove the detergeant. You shouldn't see much mess unless you feed them in the tank, if you do that you will need to clean about every other day because turtles are really messy eaters. A bit of trivia- turtles eat their own poop, so you won't see any unless your turtle is really ill. Gross bit of info, but something to keep in mind.
They benefit from exercise, which can come from chasing after the feeder fish, or actually having short turtle races on the floor. They don't mind being stroked gently, and will learn your voice. To hold the turtle, put it flat on your palm. Don't hold it with a finger on top and bottom of the shell, the turtle can't breathe that way. You can grip it from the sides, but make sure it has a surface of some kind under it's feet. It looks funny to see them swim in the air, but it's stressful for the turtle.
Turtle death rates are quite high, so don't be surprised if one day, in spite of everything, you find your little friend with swollen eyes and gasping for breathe. You can put it in a warm dry place for a bit, and it may survive and recover- but it may just as well die. Most vets have very little experience with turtles, so if you can find one familiar with reptiles, that is your best bet for medical care. If you want to learn more about the care of turtles, do a web search on water turtles. There are several really good sites with loads of information. These are just the basics to get you going. Good luck, turtles actually make pretty good pets. They are quiet, they don't need long walks, and you don't need a pooper scooper to clean up behind them.

Answer 2

They do love to swim, they also like to get out of the water. Depending on the size of tank you have you could fill it half way with water and make sure you put like a floating island in there. They will eat when they are hungry so just put a couple of feeder fish in the tank and just let him eat when he is ready, you may want to put a couple of the pellets in there as well to see which one he will prefer. If you have a pretty decent size tank you could build up half the tank as a dry land area and then fill the other half of the tank with water so that he can come and go as he pleases.

The asker did say that they got stuck taking care of it for their brother it is not theirs.

Answer 3

Ok, no offense though about everyone is wrong and I can tell you that for sure because i have 3 red-ear sliders, 1 painted turte, 5 Mata-Mata turtles and 4 soft shell. There enclosure should have water two times deeper then the size of its shell. You need a florecsen strip light, a black light, and a heat emmiter bulb. You also need a filter (I prefer penguin 900 filters), rocks as substrate and a land spot. If you don't want your tank to smell, I'd get a 40 gallon Aquarium. Make sure its an Aquarium because if its not it could leak and it will be a mess. Heres a care sheet I created on my forum. Hope it helps! Nick http://repticzone.com/caresheets/1466.html

Answer 4

Your first job is to identify the turtle. Each kind of turtle wants differnet cares, from tortoises that only live on land and eat veggies to aquatic turtles that almost never leave the water and eat mostly meat.

You can try the 'World of Turtle' gallery at http://www.austinsturtlepage.com to try to help.

Now- having said that, I'm going to guess that it is a Red-ear slider or a Painted turtle because they are the most common pet turtles in the US.

Some good info on those species can be found at the care pages of Austins Turtle Pages or at http://www.redearslider.com

Answer 5

Red eared Sliders swim. Usually at pet stores they are kept in a water tank :P.
You have 2 choices
A) Have a tank with a docking thing
B) Get a half and half. Altough it would spend more time in the water. Half water, half land.

Altough, I would go to the pet store just to see how the other red eared sliders are living currently.

Hope this helps :P

Answer 6

OK first YES THEY NEED LIKE A FOOT OF WATER FOR A ADULT AT LEAST! when they r Small 6-7 inches is good don't worry it will not drown if u put a place for it to go up on they r aquatic turtle you should have done research before you bought the thing! they get like 10 inches long bet 60 bucks you didn't know that! hope you do your research next time. :)

Answer 7

They love to swim= but definitely need a place and way to get out and take a rest- or they will drown= their shell needs to be covered or it will dry out- very small feeder fish and pellets are fine- D

Answer 8

fill enough water to cover him completely but have a place where he can get completely out of water. the fish may be too quick but leave them in. get a filter for the tank or change water every 3 days. feed as oftem as it will eat, pellets are good but also try chopped chicken,tirkey,snails,or chopped fish

Answer 9

Who lets a 7 year old get a turtle? If you are planning on keeping the turtle, get off yahoo answers and start doing some major research.

Answer 10

http://www.reptileforums.com/care_sheets/turtles/red-eared_slider.htm

This has the information needed. By the way, most red eared sliders I've had, are more intrigued by mealworms & crickets, than by fish.