Red Eared Sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Native to the Southern States of the USA, Red Eared Sliders (RES) are the most commonly sold turtles in pet stores and are easily identified by the bright red markings on both sides of their head, which is how they received their name. RES are semi aquatic turtles that need an area where they can completely dry off and bask under a lamp and plenty of room to swim around. In the wild RES are often spotted basking together, sometimes even stacked one on top of the other, and will bask for hours before returning to the water if left undisturbed.

Special considerations need to be made when purchasing a RES though, often sold as hatchlings in Canadian and small in US pet stores, RES can be irresistibly cute, but they grow to be quite large averaging around 12 inches when full grown. Males are often smaller and tend to have much longer front nails than females do, the use these nails to tickles the females face when preforming the mating dance.

Red Eared Sliders are omnivores, which when young eat a mainly protein rich carnivorous diet and as they mature opt for more leafy vegetation. Many pet stores sell pellet foods for turtles which can be excellent but should not be the only source of food in the turtles diet, earthworms and small goldfish are great choices for proteins, dandelion leaves and shredded carrot for veggies (for a complete list see Diet page). It is crucial to your turtles health that a varied diet is supplied.

Red Eared Sliders are great pets because they do not mind high traffic areas. Though you need to take into consideration that there should be a period of down time for the turtle to get out and bask with out any fear. Be sure you leave plenty of room for the turtle to dive off the basking area without any obstacles, as diving quickly into walls and decorations can be quite harmful to the turtle. A hiding area should also be set up for the turtle, but do not try and be to fancy because turtles, especially red eared sliders, have no consideration for your set up and will often knock elaborate displays down while swimming or trying to dig.