Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys!
My family and I found a Red-eared slider turtle on our back porch. It crawled up from the golf course we live by. We were wondering if anyone has had any prior experiences of trying to domesticate them from the wild. I would really like to keep it, but I would want it to be happy. The winters here are very cold (often below zero), if I release it back to the wild what are its chances of surviving? And do you think it would be possible for it to adjust to living indoors in a cage?
-Maggie

hi,
I have yellow bellied sliders which are from the same family. Most pet turtles come from the wild and are domesticated so I dont think it causes much problems but once you domesticate a turtle it cant be put back into the wild as its a certain death sentence. You should try a website called redearedsliders.com, they seem to know a lot about them and you could email them and get a reply about your newfound turtle. Turtle_tails.com is another good website to look at if your thinking of keeping the turtle. The main thing is to do as much research as you can, whether its about rereleasing the turtle back into the wild or keeping it. hope this helps!

I really, really don't want to be rude, but so many posters ask questions regarding the identification or outdoor care of a turtle without telling us where they live - information we need to make judgements. Red-eared sliders have been introduced and have sometimes established colonies in several areas north of their natural range where temperatures get "below zero". There was such a colony in the Shaker Lakes in Shaker Heights near Cleveland, Ohio where I formerly lived and they are well established in Southern Michigan. HOWEVER.... North of Southern Illinois and Indiana, they are non-native species and, as a very aggressive breed, should not be released to the wild. Domestication is not a problem if you really want to keep the turtle. Sometimes they take a while to adapt to a captive diet of good balanced prepared commercial food and need to be started on earthworms, fish meat, kale and other leafy vegetables etc., but they are extremely adaptable and one of the hardiest turtles in captivity. They are also surprisingly aggressive to other turtles and will sometimes kill smaller individuals. Males are often relentless in "courting" both females and males of their own and other species, which involves neck biting. In the wild, individuals can escape but in a small container they suffer. Females are usually better behaved. As metioned elsewhere in the thread, check out specilialzed forums if you decide to keep it.