I have to little red ear slider turtles. How do I care for them?

Question

I only have a tank and food. I don't want to buy anything fancy like filters or anything. What should I do with the water and stuff

Answer 1

Here is a great link. Owning turtles is costly hobby and most owners will agree here. In order for your turtle to survive he/she will need all the necessary things to stay healthy.
http://www.redearslider.com/index_basic_info.html

Proper lighting
Proper Housing (Buying a bigger tank will save you alot of money in the long run)
Proper diet (Protein, Plant, Calcium, Occasional fruit)
Proper filtration
Proper water changes (Water Conditioner)
Proper temperatures (Basking 85-88/water 75-86) Thermometers
Proper basking area

The most expense is the starting the tank up. After that you need to change the UV light every 6 months. Food and water conditioner will also need to be bought frequently. If disease occurs you also need to be prepared to take a visit to a vet if it is life threatening!! (Vet costs) If you are maintaining the water and keeping the environment clean turtles will stay healthy...

Golden Turtle-Owner of 4 Turtles (Oldest is 8 Years old)

Answer 2

Pfft, you dont want filters or anything "fancy"...and im guessing its a 10 gal tank and you have 2 sliders. Do yourself and favor and return the turtles. Its not fair to them that you dont want to spend money to keep them well kept. Dont br greedy and keep them just because you want to say that you have turtles.

You have to have filters, you have to start them off on mainly protien cause they are babies and mostly eat crickets at this age, u need a uvb and basking light, and you need a dock so they can get outta the water to bask. So do yourself a favor and give them to someone that is willing to spend the time and money needed to take care of them.

Answer 3

You are going to HATE this answer.

Turtles need more care than we used to think they did. in fact, to properly outfit a turtle for a healthy and happy life can easily run $150-200.

Turtles want 3 things:

1. Good water. This means lots of water (figure 10 gallons per inch of shell, so 2 1.5" turtles need about 30 gallons of water), warmed to about 75-80F, and kept very clean (which usually means a BIG filter.)

2. Good sun. This takes a good basking site that they can easily and safely climb (rocks, for example, are pretty rough). It also means lighting that warms the basking site to about 90F, illuminates the cage (leaving some dark hiding places) and ideally, provides UVB rays (which takes a special bulb.

3. Good food. A mix of 1/2 good quality pellets adn 1/2 live or frozen/thawed 'fish foods' like fish, shrimp, worms, insects, snails, krill, etc.

A good site for cares is http://www.redearslider.com

If you cannot offer them the housing and cares they need for good health, you may want to think about giving them back and choosing a different pet.

Answer 4

Well, unfortunatly, you have to buy something fancy. You have to buy lighting. They need full spectrum UVA and UVB lighting. I suggest a Repti-sun 10.0 bulb. They HAVE TO HAVE this light or they will die!!! They need this bulb to absorb calcium, without it they will get a calcium deficiancy (metabolic bone disease) and this is lethal if gone unattended. They also need heat. A heat lamp above their basking spot is perfect. They need something to get out of the water on (a turtle log or dock). The lighting is crucial. Also, once they get larger, you will have to separate them, they can be quite territorial, and they will fight,
Besides the lighting, just be sure to dust their crickets with calcium. Also, they are omnivores, so they eat veggies as well. (collard greens, squash, zucchini, bell peppers, etc.)
As far as the water, all you need is water conditioner to help remove the chlorine from your tap water.
Good luck with them, unfortunatly you did not pick a cheap reptile to house.

Answer 5

I would recommend you check out austinsturtlepage.com

Um, and you WILL need a filter, sorry. As they get bigger especially. They are big and messy and smelly.
You will also need a heater to keep them warm enough. A basking area with proper lighting too.
These are just the basics. But without them, they will not survive.
Good luck. They are neat critters. But they are not cheap or extremely easy to care for.

Answer 6

ok well you need to fill the tank up with water and a rock so he can get up on it and you will have to buy a filter depending on the size of your tank i would get a tetra funa decor rock filter its a 30-50 gallon filter it works great i have mine
you can listen to like water fall at night and its only aboy 40$$
on the inter net try ebay for it but at the pet store its 60$$ wow ok well here a sight for you to help you with it hope you have fun.

Answer 7

You have to have the correct lighting. That is very important. I have 2 RES and I bought them together and they get along GREAT. They climb out of the water and onto their basking log and lay on top of one another. Mine are not terrortorial at all. But please buy the lights, filter, and thermoneter. Once you have that, they aren't as costly to take care. And mine make great pets. They love to be held...which I do daily.
Good luck!

Answer 8

It sounds to me like the turtles are going to die quickly, since you refuse to buy any thing "fancy" like proper equipment, and since you refuse to read any books on proper turtle care.

Answer 9

you need a landing where they can get out and a heat lamp to warm up and nothing special with water just use spring water they don't like chlorine

Answer 10

if you have a little red slider turtles first set your scheduling of time and then you should have your time to be with them...