How do you take care of baby Red-ear Slider turtles?

Question

I'd say their shells are about 1 and a half inches wide. I'm babysitting them for my friend and might actually keep them for life. However, her instructions weren't as specific as the ones on petco.com. A link to a website with a concise article will do. Thanks!

Answer 1

Just as a note, turtles under 4" in diameter are federally illegal to sell, I do not know the legality of owning them, I know it is illegal in my state.
Anyways, here's some info.
http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/reptilesturtles/a/aquaticturtles.htm
Make sure you get all the proper equipment. It is not cheap, but it is very important for baby turtles to have the UV lighting they discuss.

Answer 2

FYI, it's only illegal to SELL them this small (federally - all states). Some states might have native turtle regulations, though, but sliders are not native to all states. I wouldn't worry too much about the regulations at this point, although your friend could report the store that sold them to the FDA.

Happy Turtle
happyturtle.ms11.net/
Devoted primarily to red-eared sliders.
Gloria Anaité Paiz
home.earthlink.net/~rednine/slider.htm
Devoted to hatchling red-eared sliders.
Shell Shock
members.shaw.ca/turtles/
Devoted to red-eared sliders.

Also try www.turtleforum.com

Katrina

Answer 3

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm

Clean water, circular clamp lamp with basking bulb over land area, flourescent uvb bulb that emits 5 percent or higher uvb rays, submersible aquarium heater for the water, land area so the turtles can bask, atleast 10 gallons PER inch of turtle. Turtles are high maitenance and expensive.

Answer 4

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm

This is one of the best sites, and best care sheets for Red-ears on the 'Net.

Another good site is http://www.redearslider.com

Thank you for looking for good links. I often hand-write out a mini-care report to answer questions and it gets really tedious sometimes!