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| Red Eared Slider TurtleEnclosure Selection Health Feeding Water BreedingIntroduction Enclosure Size Substrates Décor/Basking Spots Temperatures Lighting Suitable Plants Maintenance Introduction The enclosure for your turtle should mimic its natural habitat as closely as possible. Care and attention paid now will make the general care far easier as the animals will be less prone to illnesses given the proper living conditions. It is impractical to start with a small tank, upgrading as the turtles grow as many people do as this creates unnecessary expense. A lot of people make the mistake of buying a 20 Gallon tank, only to find that soon after they have to buy a larger aquarium, and larger filters, lights, and heaters to go with it! This repeats over and over as the turtle grows and you soon have a lot of unneeded equipment and a sore wallet. It is better in the long run to save up a while and buy the largest tank you will need straight up, and save money overall. Enclosure Size As I mentioned above, the correct size tank for the fully grown turtle should be bought from the outset to prevent excessive costs. The appropriate size is approximately: Length: 4 - 5 x the turtles overall length Width: 2 - 3 x the turtles overall length Depth: 1.5 - 2 x the turtles overall length So for an adult female, which can grow to up to 12 inches, the appropriate enclosure would be at a minimum 48"x24"x18" (LxWxH) but ideally more like 60"x36"x24". Remember that Red Eared Sliders spend most of their time in the water, coming out only to bask. Select a tank which will allow you to provide mainly water with a raised platform at one end. The only really practical material is glass, either a shop bought or custom made aquarium. When two or more turtles are to be kept, it is best to increase the size by half for each additional animal. Substrates There are a few possibilities as far as substrate goes, and the main ones are listed below. Information for this section was obtained at Austins Turtle Page No substrate is the easier to clean, however it does look a bit unsightly and it looks messy quickly. All waste can be seen on the bottom. This is also unnatural for the turtle so some sort of substrate is recommended. Sand is a good option. It is pleasant to look at and carries limited impaction risks, plus your turtles will not damage themselves if they dive and hit the bottom of the tank. It can however be hard to keep clean as it will get sucked up into the siphon of most cleaners. It is also not good if it gets sucked up by the filter as it can cause considerable damage to bearings it a short time. A sponge pre-filter is recommended but this will need cleaned regularly. Gravel smaller than about 3mm is a good choice, and offers better planting opportunity than sand. It will not damage filters, looks natural but can cause more damage to a shell if your turtle hits the bottom. It carries the same cleaning problems as sand. If larger gravel is used, then impaction risks become greater. If larger gravel is eaten it can become lodged in the intestines and cause a prolapse, a potentially fatal problem. Using large river rocks which cannot be eaten overcomes this but will be harder to keep clean, and does not offer such convenient planting. Decor/Basking Spots An area large enough for the turtle to leave the water to bask should be provided. This can be fashioned from most things, rocks and bricks make good platforms. You can also make a "land" area using gravel, sloped up ad one end, although this is impractical and takes up large amounts of swimming space in a taller tank. Fixed or floating wood also seems to work quite well. Large pieces can be bought from an aquarist with suction cups already attached. Ensure that all entry and exit ramps are smooth and cannot damage the plastron. Turtles do need to get totally dry every now and then to prevent fungus, and being endothermic also require a warm area to absorb heat. They will do this in the basking area and will enter the water to cool down when they get too warm. The higher basking temperatures can be provided using a simple incandescent spotlamp or commercial basking lamp. Specifically designed basking lamp holders are available in most reptile outlets. Further decoration can be included such as rocks, plants (fake and real) and objects for them to swim around and under. Small hides will provide security and add to the look of the enclosure. Ensure all items are fixed securely as they could be knocked over causing injury, and also make sure there are no spaces that they can get stuck in. If there is a gap between two objects large enough for the turtle to enter, it WILL eventually get stuck. Temperatures Temperatures are extremely important and corners should not be cut achieving correct temperature gradients for any reptile. Because they are unable to produce their own body heat, they rely on the ambient temperature to warm to their body's optimum temperature. By the same token, they cannot sweat to cool down. They regulate their body temperature by moving from warmer to cooler zones as they need to and vice versa. This process is called thermoregulation. There are three temperatures to consider in turtles. The first is the water temperature. Water temperature is controlled by a submersible aquarium heater, preferably a steel one designed for shelled animals. This prevents risk of injury from broken glass. Heaters can come in two forms, either as a complete unit or as a separate heater/thermostat. Which type you choose will depend entirely on your situation so speak to your retailer for further advice. It is important to place both the heating element and the thermostat in an area where they will receive a high flow of water to ensure heat is distributed evenly across the tank. Try to avoid having the thermostat situated directly above the heating element in combined systems, and if you have a separate heater/thermostat configuration then try to locate the two parts as far apart as you can. You must select the appropriate size of heater for your tank. If your heater is too small, it will struggle to maintain the temperature and may burn out prematurely. If it is too large, the water temperature will fluctuate too wildly and the fish will become stressed. Most heaters these days come with a guide on the back indicating what size of tank they are suitable for so make sure you check this before you buy. I would also recommend buying a decent aquarium thermometer. These are available online for a few pounds and most come with an alarm that beeps if the temperature goes outside set limits. Check the reading on this regularly, the temperature should be between 75-80F at all times. The second consideration is the ambient air temperature. That is, the air above the water that is not heated by the basking lamp. This will typically be the same as the water temperature, but if it gets too high you will need to consider additional ventilation or moving the basking lamp to bring it down. Finally, the basking spot temperature should be between 85-90F. This provides an area where the turtle can dry off and warm itself. The basking spot can usually be a simple incandescent spotlight, fitted into a standard reptile basking reflector, or it can be a commercial basking lamps. Essentially, these commercial models and no different to a household bulb and are not worth the extra cost. Alternatively, you can use a ceramic heater, which will provide heat only. Lights will have to be installed separately. The advantage of these is that they produce heat even at night. Check all temperatures regularly to make sure they are still correct. Lighting Lighting is very important to your turtle. They require UVB wavelengths to allow them to produce vitamin D3, which in turn allows them to break down calcium. Failure to provide a suitable UVB source will lead to metabolic bone disease which can be fatal if left untreated. A brightly lit vivarium will also encourage a lively and active animal. It is also imperative that the turtle be able to get to within 8" of the UVB source. Megaray and other combined heat/UVB sources should be used with care. They are only suitable for very large enclosures where they can be positioned the proper distance from the inhabitants. Using these bulbs in a smaller enclosure where there is insufficient distance will result in blindness, and possibly other medical conditions. They should be properly researched before being used in any enclosure. If in any doubt always contact the manufacturer for advice. Any vivarium with live plants will need at least two full length full spectrum tubes to provide enough light to allow the plants to thrive Suitable Plants The following is a list of plants suitable for use in turtle habitats. It was obtained from Melissa Kaplan at http://www.anapsid.org/resources/plants2.html. Temperate
Tropical
Brackish
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