is it to late in the year to let my red eared slider into the wild?

Answer 1

Never let a captive turtle go into the wild. They depend on you for their food source. They will mess up the wild turtles environments and Eco-system. If you want to get rid of your turtle I would suggest taking it to a turtle rescue. Best of luck

Golden Turtle-Owner of 4 Turtles

Answer 2

First off, Do you live in the natural range of red- eared sliders? You cant/shouldnt release red- eared sliders just anywhere. Florida recently banned the ownership of many pet turtles because WAY too many people keep releasing non-native turtles and they are taking over areas where native turtles are supposed to live. Now everyone in florida suffers for the mistakes of a small percentage of turtle owners. There are plenty of on-line sites to tell you if they are native to your area.
Secondly, even if you do live in their range, many states have laws against releasing any captive animal, even if its found in the wild in your area. Captive animals may spread disease to wild populations of turtles, and if they are not native, they definitley dont belong there.
If you dont want it, search for local turle and tortoise rescue, reptile rescues, or try petstores, or put an add on craiglist.com.
As far as your question, I dont know where you live, but if you still insist on releasing it, most likely it is too cold to allow a turtle ample time to get situated into a new area, and so it would not be the best time. It may survive, but it will not be good timing. Spring is much better. I would not recommend releasing any reptile into the wild in fall or winter.
Now, if you had a backyard pond that was fenced in, that would be a great place for it, but I would still wait till spring.

Answer 3

Yes, it's too late. I've had red-eared sliders also and they are the messiest of all turtles to maintain and keep clean but you'll have to let them stay in for one more winter. The water temps have already changed and they need time to adjust to their new surroundings. You can't just put them in a lake or pond and expect them to adjust do quickly before winter. Next season, let them go in early summer when the water is warmer, they will have plenty of time to adjust and feel comfortable in their new home. They have to feel safe when sun bathing and make sure their is small fish to feed on. I let mine go in my parents pond. He had it dug out to a much larger pond and they seem happy. Occassionaly, i will see them sun bathing so they are doing fine. If you don't want to keep them another winter, then i suggest a pet store or a fish store that sells mainly fish so they will have the proper equipment to take care of them. Good luck

Answer 4

Not only is it too late in the year, in some states it is illegal to release native species into the wild after they have been in captivity for a certain time period.

Answer 5

Here is what would happen if you release your turtles into the wild:
-If they are not native to the area, they could become established pests and disrupt the ecosystem, as has happened with red-eared sliders throughout the world.
-If they ARE native to the area, genetic pollution would occur when they breed with local specimens.
-They could introduce diseases to the local turtles
-They may not survive the new habitat

Releasing captive reptiles into the wild has caused problems throughout the world, yet people still continue to do it. Why? Ignorance, I guess.
DO NOT RELEASE THE TURTLES!

Answer 6

thats illegal