How deep should the water be in a tank if i have a yellow belly slider turtle?

Question

How deep should the water be in a tank if i have a yellow belly slider turtle?

Answer 1

Deep enough that when he slides in off his basking platform, he doesn't hit the bottom of the tank.  

Answer 2

You should have 10 gallons of water per inch of shell length... in other words, when it's 5 inches long, it should have 50 gallons of water. Couple this with a filter that is meant to handle twice the water volume it will be filtering (unless it's marketed as a turtle filter... turtles make more waste than fish) and be sure that the force of the filter isn't too much for your turtle...

Also don't forget the UVB lighting, heat lamp, and depending on how cool you keep your house, water heater for the little bugger, need to keep him warm to keep him happy.

Answer 3

The tank size for small 2” re-eared slider should be a 20-gallon aquarium minimum. He will out grow this tank fast if properly cared for.  As a general rule, the water depth should be at least 2 times the turtle's length, with several extra inches of air space between the surface of the water to the top edge of the tank to prevent escapes. So if your turtle is 4” around he needs at least 10 to 12” of water to swim. For ONE 4 to 5 inch long sliders, the recommended minimum enclosure surface area is 50 gal plus tank with an extra square foot for each additional turtle.

Did you know that they need to bask under a reptile light UVA for 8 to 10 hrs a day for the vitamin D that they need to grow. So that means getting a turtle dock also.

Leave the heater on 75 to 78 degrees always.

Their water needs to be clean otherwise they get sick easily from dirty water cause they p**p allot.

You need a good filter system! Gravel larger than they can swallow.

You need to feed them feeder guppies, goldfish or minnows for protein and calcium daily drop 20 or so in the tanks and watch them disappear! This way when they swim for their dinner they get exercise also!

They need leafy greens( Romaine, Butter lettuce. Iceberg and cabbage are bad for them, any leafy greens will do) for vitamin A that they need at least 3 to 4 times a week.

You probably already know that they get sick easily, shell rot, respiratory sickness, lopsided swimming, coughing,blowing bubbles from his mose, swollen eyes..so many illnesses.

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