Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I just got two sliders(shell diameter is a lil over an inch) as gifts, and I was wondering how I even begin. I bought them a ten gallon tank, and a heater, and that's about it. Can anyone help me?

The most important thing is that you keep your turtles warm. Plenty of sunshine and a basking light are needed (no direct sun) . They are so small that you do not need a tank yet, keep them in a container large enough so that they can't get out. The water level should be about the lenght of their shell. Provide a dry basking area (a rock) with a spot light. You can feed them Baby Reptomin pellets and you must clean their water at least once a day. You might also give them a few blood worms (three times a week) and some greens. I am not an expert but I hope this information helps you!

Hi! Thanks SOO much for your help. I have already bought them a tank and a floating rock for them to climb upon. I also have a heater, and a tank hood with a built-in heating lamp. But they aren't eating the pellets. Is it because of the temperature? Also, one of them appears to enjoy sleeping underwater...without its nose above water. Is it suicidal?

P.S. is duckweed ok for the turtles? also, should i chop up the worms for them? or just give it to them alive?

P.S.S. I read on an informational website that I should feed them guppies because it is good excercise and healthy for them. Is this true?

If you don't mind my asking, where do you get your floating rock from?

One more thing! Provide them with a hiding place, they love this... (a little cave would do, they sell them at the pet shops)

Go to Austinsturtlepage.com and read the articles there and www.turtleforum.com is very good place

I disagree about not needing a tank. You should get a twenty gallon tank to start because your turtles are going to grow relatively fast. You also need a heater, basking site, uva light, uvb light, and very good filter, and a hiding spot. Your turtles will produce a lot of waste so investing in a good filter now will make your life a lot easier. A fluval is a great cannister filter that a lot of people seem to really like. Right now I use a power filter that I am very happy with. It's tetratech 300 and it costs approx. 50 dollars

I agree that you should check out Austin's Turtle Page and also the forum section there. You will get a lot of helpful feedback.

Congrats on your turtles.

It seems like you've started a good setup. Also make sure to get a UVA/UVB bulb (ReptiSun 5.0 is the best one out there), its artificial sunlight. Make sure that the water temperature is around 80 degrees, you want to keep it warmer since they are babies. My babies are kept in water that's 82 degrees. That will help increase their appetite for the pellets. Also, they may not recognize that its food (mine only recognized flake food for a while) or it may be too big for them to eat whole. I have to buy mine floating sticks and cut them in half. Guppies should be an occasional treat, but yes, it does give them exercise. Someone told me though that feeder fish are too big for turtle babies, so I haven't given mine any yet. If you give them worms, you are going to have to chop them up into bite size pieces for them. My turtles enjoy sleeping at the bottom of the tank and it worried me for a while. But if I watched them long enough, they’d swim up to the top for air when they needed it. Just keep looking at a ton of websites on RES (do a search on yahoo or google), most of them will answer all your questions. Here are a few websites I have found very informative.
http://www.anapsid.org/reslider.html

http://reslider.online.fr/res.html

http://www.resoasis.com/

I agree but I found that reptical was much smaller and therefore easier for my babies to swallow. Also, when mine were the size of a quarter they ate juvenile pellets by zoomeds.