Housing

Read Ear sliders can grow up to 12 inches so it is important to plan their enclosure from the start. The general rule of thumb is to provide 10 gallons of water for each inch in size so a full gown slider should have 120 gallons of water in the enclosure, in addition the land space to dry our and bask.

Water turtles also tend to be a bit on the dirty side so you will need a water filter to keep the water clean and drinkable. You generally want a water filter rated at twice the amount of water in your enclosure in order to keep up. This will reduce the frequency of water changes that will be needed to maintain proper turtle health.

You should use a submersible water heater with a guard to maintain water temperature between 75-85 degrees. Make sure to size your water heater to the amount of water in the enclosure. Running too small of a heater will burn it out.If the temperature gets too cold, your turtles metabolism will reduce which can be a direct threat to their health. It is important to maintain a consistent temperature as constant fluctuations can also put your turtle in danger of respiratory illness.

To ensure proper growth, you will need to provide a basking area of both UVA and UVB lighting in order for your turtle to properly process vitamins and calcium. Without this specific type of light, you will most certainly end up with metabolic bones disease and a poor shell. This basking area needs to be dry and have a temperature between 85-95 degrees.

Be careful with small things like gravel in your tank, turtles will ingest them and become impacted. Its best to use larger smooth rocks that are bigger than their mouth.

In summary:
- Sliders can grow up to 12" and will need 10 gallons of water for every inch
- They need a water filter rated for about twice the amount of water in the enclosure
- They require a water heater sized to the amount of water in the tank, with a guard to maintain 75-85 degree water temp
- They need both UVA and UVB lighting to bask in at about 85-95 degrees and dry
- Be careful with your substrate, make sure your turtle cannot ingest it.

Diet and Feeding

Slider are Omnivores which means they will eat just about everything. but that doesn't mean they should.The bulk of their diet is best left to a commercial pellet food that provides all their basic nutrition and then you can supplement with the occasional leafy greens, freeze dried shrimp, crickets, super-worms, and minnows.

Handling

Red eared sliders are quite cautious and frightened when approached from above or trying to handle and may bite out of fear. They get the name slider from their tendency to slide into the water from basking to escape a threat. Captive breed sliders tend to be a bit more forgiving and accepting. In general, they are not real suited to being frequently handled or removed from their enclosures. Sliders will often beg for food as they get to know you even when they are well fed so its important not to let them coax you into over feeding.

Small water turtles can harbor bacteria like salmonella. Make sure you wash your hands after handling and be careful with exposure to small children or people with compromised immune systems.