I have two yellow ear sliders that are about a year and a half old. They are happy growing turtles, can have been raised mostly my the floating food sticks and shrimp. I read that turtles like to eat small fish so i got them little gold fish to eat, but they haven't eaten them yet. Its been about 3 weeks and nothing yet. I want them to enjoy the fish, but I don't know how to make them eat them, lol. Should i try to feed them less in hopes of them biting at the fish? They chase them around sometimes, but no bites.
Just leave the fish there they will eat eventually.
Remember 10 gallons for every inch of turtle. I have used kiddy pools and plastic pond liners from most nurseries and now a 150 gal pond.
They are the coolest. Not cuddly pets at all. And a life time commitment.
Sliders, cooters , painted, map, yellow bellied all are basically the same and require the same basic care.
For their needed protein and calcium drop 20 or so feeder guppies, goldfish or minnows in the tank and watch them disappear in a few days!
TOSS in a bird cuttle bone in the water for calcium that will promote better shell growth, it will dissolve real slow and if they eat it that’s fine!!
They can have garden worms, meal worms, snails, crickets, flies, crayfish small frogs, slugs, tadpoles dragon flies and anything that moves, but only as a treat.
They need leafy greens Romaine, Butter lettuce. (Iceberg and cabbage are bad for them, any other leafy greens will do) for vitamin A that they need at least 3 to 4 times a week.
They love grapes and strawberries and squash..**Swollen cloudy eyes which means lacking in Vitamin A. Which we all need for good eyes. Google ‘vegetables with Vitamin A.
Did you know that they need to bask under a reptile light UVA/UVB for up to 8 hrs a day for the vitamin D that they need to grow. So that means getting a turtle dock also.
Leave the heater on 75 to 78 degrees always.
These turtles in captivity do not hibernate their eating may slow down some but they will not hibernate.
These are not cuddly pets and will bite very very hard.
Under 4" they carry a disease called 'salmonella'. So you must wash after every handling. These guys can become cannibalistic and will kill the smallest turtle if there is not enough room and food.
And my pictures don't lie. All ages and all sizes get along as long as their is allot for swim room and plenty to eat!
Their water needs to be clean otherwise they get sick easily from dirty water cause they poop allot. You need a good filter system!
Total Body length: 5-8" average for males, up to 12 inches max for females. Life span: 15-25+ years
Males have the longer front nails and are used in mating. And are considered mature at about 5 yrs old. You can’t start sexing till about 3” across.
Gravel larger than they can swallow.
They sleep at the bottom of rivers, streams. lakes or ponds or your tank to avoid predators like coyotes, foxes, owls, hawks, possums, raccoons and even some wide mouth bass and us humans.
You probably already know that they get sick easily, shell rot, respiratory sickness, lopsided swimming, coughing, blowing bubbles from their nose. Fungus white cotton patches on their skin?
