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PET PROVISIONS

July 2010Reptile Edition

Red-Eared Sliders:Popular pet storeturtles, explained

page 2

How to:Set up your own

turtle tankpage 4

PET PROVISIONS July 2010Reptile Edition2 3PET PROVISIONS Reptile Edition July 2010

Species Introduction

The Red Ear Slider is a semi-aquatic turtle that naturally resides in areas with a calm, fresh and warm water source. These can be ponds, lakes, marshes, creeks and

streams. The area is usually quiet with a basking area, such a large flat rock or a log, which should also receive a good deal of sunlight. It is common for RES to bask together and even on top of each other. There should be abundant aquatic vegeta-tion, which is the main component of an adult slid-er’s diet. These reptiles are deceptively fast and excellent swimmers. Wild RES will stay close to a water source unless it is in search of a new one or if a female has a need to nest and lay eggs. It is not uncommon for hatchlings and released captives to dangerously stray from these areas.

Native HabitatThe Red Ear Slider geographically originated

from the area around the Mississippi River down to the Gulf of Mexico. They will thrive in warmer climates, particularly the Southeast quadrant of the United States. Such an area would be east of and below Colorado to Virginia down to Florida. The pet trade has expanded their range around the world, often at the expense of native terrapins. Therefore, it is not difficult to locate RES in some suitable habitat anywhere in the world.

The native environment will normally have a few requirements. They include a freshwater source, areas to bask, suitable vegetation and an area to nest. The water source, such as a pond or stream, should be warm, calm and quiet. There should also be logs or rock formations to provide a level basking area but anything above the surface that is stable and dry will usually do. Below the surface, a muddy or soft bottom is preferred.

Younger RES will feed on smaller prey like fish, snails and insects and gradually focus on plant material. The native habitat is primarily limited to the area in and around the water body. RES will likely not venture far from an established fresh-water environment, although females will need to create a nest on dry land.

Physical DescriptionRed Ear Sliders are very recognizable. Their

signature red (or orange - yellow) stripe starts at the end of their eyes and extends to cover their ear area. Their carapace (top shell) is nicely rounded and smooth and has a black and yellow line pat-tern. Their plastron (bottom shell) is also smooth and is yellow with a distinct and unique pattern.

Hatchlings start with a very bright green carapace that is slightly pliable (soft) and adults have a dark green carapace. As RES age, the patterns become less visible when the carapace becomes darker and the red ear area likely fades.

Their skin has a green and yellow stripe pat-tern. Females are physically larger than males. However, males have much longer claws/nails as well as a longer and thicker tail. Despite their sharpness and length, it should never be necessary to cut or trim claws.

Note: There are various other RES that have different color variations and other patterns. They may be regional variants or a result of cross breed-ing or selective breeding.

AnatomyThe shell of Red Ear Slider consists of the

carapace or top section and the plastron or bottom section. The carapace is divided into sections or plates called scutes (osteoderms) made of keratin. These are similar to scales and are derived from the RES’s epidermis. The top layers of the scute will also fall off when the RES sheds. The bridge connects the carapace and the plastron. It is a sec-tion of bone in between the fore and hind limbs.

On the underside of the tail is the cloaca - the only opening to serve intestinal, urinary and repro-duction purposes. The cloaca on a female is closer to the shell whereas a male, who has a longer and thicker tail, has it further away.

Males have long front claws that are ritually used during courtship or in a territorial confronta-tion. The claws of captive RES are sharp and can easily scratch skin.

All RES have beaks made of a sharp piece of keratin. These beaks can easily cut flesh and vege-tation. They do not have teeth to break down food, but their throats are quite flexible to accommodate large portions. Additionally, RES need to be in wa-ter to swallow since they do not produce saliva. They may take food that’s on land but will bring it into the water to swallow it.

Measurements, Growth and AgeThe straight carapace length (SCL) is used to

properly measure a RES. To obtain this measure-ment, you stretch a line between the front of the shell and the back, ignoring the curvature of the carapace. It is best to use a rigid ruler as opposed to a tape measure.

Hatchlings are roughly 1 inch (2.5 cm) in length. After the first year, a hatchling, now re-ferred to as a yearling, should be around 2-3.5” inches long. Male yearlings are sexually mature

Continued on page 7.

On the cover: Eye of a pond slider, Trache-mys scripta, taken in Six Forks Crossroads, N.C., on June 20, 2009. Photo by e_monk on Flickr.com.

Red-Eared SlidersALL ABOUT

Many new pet owners buy red-eared sliders without knowing much about them. Here’s our guide to getting to know your Trachemys scripta elegans.

There are a few ways to tell whether your turtle is male or female. It is usually easier to tell with older turtles.

1. ClawsFemales have short claws on their

front feet, while males have much lon-ger claws. The males use their long claws during courtship by stroking the female’s face or vibrating their claws in front of her.

2. CloacaThe cloaca is an opening in the un-

derside of the tail that is used for inter-stinal, uninary and reproduction purpos-es. On females, the cloaca is located closer to the shell, sometimes on the inside of the edge of the carapace (top shell). On males, the cloaca is located beyond the carapace and much further from the shell.

Herbert, an 8-year-old male red-eared slider, swims in his tank. Notice his long front claws that differentiate him from a female.

Erica Shekell

Sliders found outisde their native ranges are considered invasive species. Many of these populations exist because of run-aways or pet turtles that were released by their owners. Never release a captive turtle into the wild.

By RedEarSlider.com

Gene Provost / Pbase.com

Brian Seitzman / Rattle Box Photography Mike Keeling / Flickr.com

RedEarSlider.comA young red-eared slider swims in its tank. Red-eared sliders are about the size of a quarter when they hatch. Males may grow up to 9 inches in length and females made grow up to 12 inches.

RedEarSlider.com

Mnlamberson / Flickr.com

The parts of a plastron (underside).

Gular Scute

AbdominalScute

Pectoral Scute

HumeralScute

Femoral Scute

Anal Scute

Underside of Carapace

Bridge

A young red-eared slider, left, sleeps underwater. Hatchlings, like the one in the center, use an egg tooth to break out of their eggs. The egg tooth will drop off in a few days or weeks. An adult red-eared slider, right, sits on a log in a lake.

Is my turtle male or female?

PET PROVISIONS July 2010Reptile Edition4

Tank SizeTank size is the first critical issue you will

have to deal with. A guideline to determine this size used by many keepers, as a minimum, is 10

gallons of tank per each inch of shell length (refer to SCL for correct shell measurement). Therefore, a single adult

RES will require anywhere be-tween a 90 to a 120 gallon tank. Water levels should be as high as possible, but not enough for escape. There are more details about appropriate tanks in their own respective section. Click here to read now.

Water filtration and qual-ity are also major aspects of a well-maintained environment. Since captive RES eat, sleep and produce waste in the limit-ed amount of water they are in, it is critical to have well-cycled and filtered water. Clean water

greatly reduces the instances of infection, algae and fun-gal growth. The presence and build-up of harmful bacte-ria and waste should be monitored regularly. Water filter types, media options and more water quality aspects are explained in their respective sections.

About LightingProper lighting is a critical aspect of

RES keeping and is generally misunder-stood and overlooked. Normally, natural sunlight provides beneficial elements necessary for healthy turtles. There are three main elements provided by cor-rect lighting: UVA rays, UVB rays and heat. For your turtle, UVA exposure is essential for normal behavior including activity, feeding and mating. UVB rays are crucial for your turtle’s health and development. UVB is necessary for the production of the vitamin D3 that is re-quired for the metabolization of dietary calcium. Heat entices your turtle to bask.

This warmth elevates their metabolism along with their digestive and immune systems. Drying off also helps hardening of the shell, scute shedding as well as minimiz-ing algae growth and waterborne infections.

Sliders are diurnal — they are active during the day rather than at night. The length of daylight or “photoperiod” is a guide you should use to determine how long your habitat’s lights should be on. Mimicking your seasonal photoperiod is beneficial and the use of a timer is a huge help for making this easier. Light-ing should be on for around 12 hours a day, depending on the time of year. Too little or too much light will disrupt your turtle’s activity and sleep cycles.

Make sure all lights are firmly at-tached and using the correct wattage within the limits of their fixtures. Your RES should not be able to touch them and they should not become wet. To en-sure that maximum UVB is absorbed, it

Set Up a TankHOWTO

Zippo Zimmermann / Flickr.com

A mud turtle sits on the sandy bottom of its tank. Different strata such as sand, pebbles, rounded river rocks or marbles may be used to cover the bottom of the tank. When choosing which to use in your tank, keep in mind that some turtle species like to burrow in the tank bottom and that some turtles may mistake small rocks for food.

Got a tiny turtle? A giant one? A tropical one? A messy one? Different turtles require different tank set-ups.

Petworldshop.comBig turtles need big tanks.

Pet-dog-cat-supply-store.com

Turtles are cold-blooded and get their heat from their environment, so they need a heat and light source.

By RedEarSlider.com