4If you choose to get a red-eared slider as a pet, keep in mind that these turtles grow to be as large as dinner plates! Over time, you will have to buy a bigger enclosure in which to house your slider, as it will outgrow its smaller home. Setting up a tank for a slider is no easy task. These turtles need both water and a basking area. You must carefully monitor water temperatures. Water that is too cold or too warm is not good for sliders. Water temperatures should range between seventy-five and eighty-five degrees. In addition, you should clean the tank almost daily. The basking area will need a heat source, such as a light bulb. Turtles are cold-blooded. They need external heat to keep them warm because they cannot produce heat within their bodies. The temperature in the basking area should be between eighty-five and ninety degrees. In the fourth paragraph the word external means A) outside. B) outlasting. Eliminate C) outstanding. D) outnumbered.
Answers
Red eared slider turtles can be great pets but you have to know what you are getting into before making this big of a commitment. Those cute little turtle hatchlings you see for sale will grow into large, long-lived, and somewhat messy aquatic turtles. Be prepared for how much space and cleaning they will need.
Scientific Name: Trachemys scripta elegans
Lifespan: 20 years or more
Size: About 12 inches
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Red Eared Slider Behavior and Temperament
Pet turtle, a red-eared slider, white background
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Red eared slider turtles are active pets that enjoy swimming and diving. Captive-born red-eared sliders tend to be friendlier and more outgoing than those born in the wild. In fact, wild turtles are likely to disappear into their shells or underwater when they hear or see anything approaching, while captive bred sliders may actually swim up to you expecting a treat.
While it's possible to find a red-eared slider that's eager to interact with you when you pick it up, it's more likely that your pet will feel nervous and either disappear into its shell or nip. In general, therefore, it's best to just watch your turtle rather than trying to physically play with it.
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Housing the Red Eared Slider
Turtle swimming
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No matter what a sales associate tells you, your hatchling turtle will not thrive in a small plastic container. Get an aquarium, even for the smallest of hatchlings. Start with a 10-gallon tank if you must (though a 20 gallon tank is better) but be aware that your turtle will grow and need a larger tank pretty quickly. In addition, you will need to provide full spectrum UV lighting, a basking heat light, and a dry docking area. Setting up appropriate housing for a red eared slider turtle is not cheap so be prepared to spend a couple of hundred dollars on a proper set-up.
Like all turtles, red eared sliders can be pretty messy since they both eat and produce waste matter in their aquatic home. Plan on having a filter that is rated for two to three times the amount of water you have in your tank so that you can keep your water clean (this is why it is harder to keep smaller enclosures clean). Canister filters and submersible filters are both used for aquatic turtles. If you don't have a filter, you will need to do weekly partial water changes and testing, something that is time consuming and messy.
In addition to having proper filtration, feeding red eared slider turtles in a container of water outside their tank can also help keep the water clean. If you allow the water to stay dirty your turtle can develop ear infections, abscesses, shell rot, and other problems.
Some red eared slider turtles can live year-round in an outdoor pond if you live in a warm climate. If you do not live in a year-round warm climate, your turtle must either live entirely indoors or be brought inside when it gets cold out. But even outdoor ponds need to be large and are not without their own problems. Providing filtration and protecting your turtle from predators, cold spells, and pesticides must all be taken into consideration as well.
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Food and Water
Red eared slider turtle in water
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Red-eared sliders eat both meat and vegetables, which means they can enjoy leafy greens, dried shrimp, superworms, krill, or crickets. It's also just fine to feed your turtle a commercial brand of turtle food, most of which are specifically formulated for full nutrition. There is no need to provide additional water.
Answer:
its outside
Explanation:
yw :)