TEMPERATURE RANGE (°F)- Air Temperature: mid 70's - 80's
- Basking Temperature: High 80's to low 90's
- Water Temperature: ~ 72 to 76 degrees for sub-adults & adults, 78 to 80 degrees for hatchlings & smaller juveniles.
Red-eared Sliders are hardy & encounter a range of temperate climates across their range, making them excellent specimens for a year-round outside enclosure (if it's deep enough) in most of the southern & central United States & other countries with comparable climate. Since local populations over long time periods may be shaped via natural selection to their local environment, in theory RES descended from populations in the southern part of their range (i.e. Louisiana) may not be well-adapted for winters in the northern part of their range (i.e. northern Illinois). Be mindful of this if outdoor hibernation in the northern U.S. is planned. If you need a similar turtle for year round outdoor keeping further north, consider the Western, Eastern & Midland (but not Southern) Painted Turtles.Red-eared Sliders are decent beginner turtles for people with large aquariums or outdoor garden ponds (if deep enough) to house them year round. They are hardy, tolerate a range of conditions (not picky about water temp., pH or hardness), are comfortable around people & vigorously beg for food (some are at ease to handle, some aren't), & take readily to both commercial & natural foods. Males get fairly large & females quite large and put a strain on housing.They may out-compete other species in the tank, are larger & stronger than painted turtles & are more active & driven than cooters. Males are prone to harass females so incessantly permanent separation is often necessary. As with any turtle species, an individual may be naturally aggressive or a pair incompatible. That said, there are other good species who stay much smaller (i.e.: southern painteds, Texas maps & stinkpots).
Throughout their lives, Red-eared Sliders are omnivores progressing from predominant carnivory as juveniles to predominant herbivory as adults. That said, even adults prefer meaty foods when carnivorous & herbivorous fare are offered simultaneously. Their raw drive to gorge on higher protein foods makes it easy for keepers to feed too much protein (causing very rapid growth & a pyramided shell, & suspected to cause liver & kidney damage & shorten life span). Keep a check on the turtle's diet and ensure it gets a low-volume well-rounded diet. There are many foods they eat: Mazuri and ReptoMin, Reptile/Pond 10, Cichlid Sticks, feeder fish, feeder crickets, earthworms, krill, blood worms, occasional crayfish & ghost shrimp, aquatic plants (such as Water Lilies, Water Hyacinth, Duckweed,
Anacharis, Water Lettuce, Water Fern, Pondweed, Water starwort, Hornwort, Water milfoil, and Frogbit), some vegetables (such as Zucchini, Squash, Collard Greens, Beet Leaves, Endive, Romaine, Red Leaf Lettuce, Kale, Escarole, Mustard Greens & Dandelions) and some fruits (i.e. Banana). Many keepers use a good brand name commercial diet (usually Mazuri or ReptoMin Aquatic Turtle Diets) for a substantial portion (say, 25 - 80%) of the carnivorous portion of the diet, & round that out with treats of crickets, earth worms, crayfish, ghost shrimp & krill, & use Romaine lettuce (chosen over iceberg for higher fiber) &
Anacharis as mainstays for the herbivorous portion of the diet. Since wild RES likely don't encounter fruits often we don't recommend use of Bananas & other fruits except as rare treats. Some people offer hairless mouse pups to turtles on occasion; never feed hairy animals to animals who don't naturally eat them (like RES) since hair is poorly digestible & can form trichobezoars (hairballs) & cause G.I. obstruction in some animals (so in theory perhaps RES).RES make decent community inhabitants with other similar-sized species from the same region, provided that adequate space is given. Do not mix with snappers & be careful mixing with softshells (mainly that the softies don't get scratched up or their noses bitten). Males may sexually harass females & thus be incompatible. Sliders are strong, vigorous & may out-compete tank mates so take care to insure everyone eats well & nobody hogs the choice basking areas all the time. Sliders have fairly powerful jaws and can injure smaller turtles (i.e.: biting hunks out of the shells of hatchlings, permanently disfiguring or killing them), so only turtles of comparable size are recommended (exception: adult musk turtles such as stinkpots & razorbacks can be kept with sliders).
