How fast do red eared sliders grow?

Question

Hi, I just got a surprise red eared slider as a going away present from my friends for college. Well the guy that sold the turtle was a complete idiot who gave a lot of false info on taking care of the turtle. So at the moment i have a 15 gallon tank for a 4" turtle. I know i should have 10 gal per 1", so I am wondering how fast can i expect the turtle to grow so i can buy the appropriate sized tank. Also i was wondering, if the tank is too small is it OK to compensate for it by letting the turtle wander around my room most of the day and just putting him in the tank for feeding and sleeping?

Answer 1

it depends on the amount of food it is eating and if it is female it will grow a lot faster than a male that tank will be fine for a short while

Answer 2

he needs to bask..read below:

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. They sleep under water to avoid night predators from land and air.

They are skiddish and wioll run when they see you so don't feel bad they aren't those cuddly kind of pets.

Any turtles under 4" carry salmanela.

The bigger the environment the bigger the healthier the turtle. Tank 55  to start They grow fast.

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!

TOSS in a bird cuttle bone in the water for calcium. it will dissolve real slow and if they eat it that’s fine!!

They can have garden worm, meal worms, crickets, flies, crayfish and  anything that moves!

They need leafy greens Romaine, Butter lettuce. (Iceberg and cabbage are bad for them, any other 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 their nose, Swollen cloudy eyes means lacking in Vitamin A. Which we all need for good eyes. Google ‘vegetables with Vitamin A.

I wish you luck.

Total Body length: 5-8" average, up to 12 inches max. Life span: 15-25+ years

Males have the longer front nails and are used in mating. And are considered mature at about 5 yrs old. You can’t start sexing till about  3” across.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29035692@N0...

Answer 3

if you cant get a 50 gallon tank (which is deffinatly what you need) i really suggest you keep the turtle in SOMETHING, anything that is bigger than a 15 gallon tank, because frankly....the poor turtle......come on, you can find something big enough for now, like buy a HUGE rubbermaid container, or even build something. But really 15 gallons is animal abuse, the turtle can not be able to grow because the size of that tank is just way too small, he is cramped in there! You are aware of the fact that turtles need to bask right? There's a lot of stuff to explain, please read this....... their supplies cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars more than the turtle itself!!!!!! Well just taking care of turtles is extremely difficult for a LOT of people because they are VERY high maintenence, no joke. But if you are responsible enough, this is a RES setup.they are very high maintenence and hard to take care of.first read all of this and see if you have this setup, it costs at least $300, and is a regular setup.

************ This is a setup for a red eared slider the most common type of turtle, they get up to 12 inches, but you will see them as babies at a store commonly, so know that they will grow very big**************

You will need to get a 50 gallon starter tank and upgrade to a 75 gallon later on when your turtle is over 6 inches...If you can not get that big of a tank right now then for now you can use a huge rubbermaid container filled up with clean warm water 5/6 of the way. The water should be 75-82F, that can be achieved by buying a water heater at the petstore, along with a water filter. Water filters that are best are canister filters, like the Rena xp3 filter which costs $200, but filters very well. Do buy a filter please, even a cheap one at $25, is better then none at all, since turtles are extremely messy and p**p-ful (haha). The bottom of the tank should be bare, no gravel because they could choke on that mistaking it for food. On top of the water you need 3 things, 1. a basking dock ( buy a large size zoomed basking dock). 2. you 100% need to buy a basking lamp+bulb, you buy them separatly, then s***w the bulb in ( 50 watts) and shine it on the basking dock over a mesh hood( cut a hole out of it and place the light there!). 3. This is very important, you need a uvb light. It is a long thin light, you need to get the actual lamp+ the long skinny bulb. Reptosun 5.0 is the best bulb( together costs $55). Shine that onto the basking dock as well. Turtles need these together because they use the uva for heat, so they stay warm ( the basking site should be 90-95F, not colder) and they need the uvb rays to metabolize calcium and vitamin d3 for a stronger shell ( like you need it for your bones!) The diet for the turtle should be reptomin pellets ( and other nutricuos pellets!) crickets, mealworms, bloodworms, shrimp, and krill. All of this is found dead at the petstore!;) They also need vegetation, get kale, mustard greens, romaine lettuce, and collard greens. Drop all of the food in the tank once a day, and remove any leftover bits after a few hours. By the way ALL of the protien food ( dead food, that was alive once) should be dusted with a calcium supplement ( powder) and you need to get a cuttlebone found in the bird aisle of the petstore and drop it in the water for him to knaw on, keep it there for a while (month) until he eats all of it, then get another. Once all of these things are done your turtle will be pretty happy!