Red Eared Slider Questions?

Question

1. If I Buy a girl one from petco will she lay eggs?
2. Do they absolutely need a heater in the aquarium?
3. My turtle is about 4 1/2-5 inches long, should i be feeding him guppies or goldfish?
4. If i do end up feeding him fish would he eat them alive, or dead?
5. Can my turtle bite me? will it hurt?

THANKS YALL !!
:)

Answer 1

1. Probably not. Red-ears usually do not lay eggs in tanks, or if they do, they are usually infertile 'practice' eggs.

2. They absolutely need warm water, 75-80F. There are other ways to do it, but a good tank heater is the easiest.

3. Fish are not the BEST food for turtles. Try a mix of pellets and other foods as outlined in http://www.redearslider.com or http://www.austinsturtlepage.com

4. Live is better and actually less messy.

5. It can, and it might hurt some, but you should not really be putting your fingers in front of it anyway.

Answer 2

If the conditions are right, yes, they will lay eggs;

if the room you have them in is pretty warm, you don't need the heat lamp, but they do require being able to get out of the water to "dry out", I never used a heat lamp and had mine for about 10 years.

He should be eating aquatic turtle pellets; small feeder fish when he's about 8 inches across, the bigger the tank you put him in the bigger he will get.

He will eat the fish live and won't eat dead ones.

He can bite you but if you handle him alot is likely too, I had mine from the time he was about 2 inches across his shell until about 2 years ago. I used to hand feed him crap and shrimp and he never bit me.

Answer 3

I don't know about the egg thing. I have had a tutle for 10 years now and have never used a heater. My turtle is about 6 inches, i feed him rosy reds/golfish. My turtle eats them live or dead, but mostly alive. The turtle can bite, but if they are used to you it may not. Have fun with your new pet!

Answer 4

1.) If she has been bred with a male.

2.) Unless the room you keep them in is 70 degrees, no.

3.) Guppies (medium size)

4.) Alive

5.) Yes. A little.