How to care for your turtle part 1

Red-eared Sliders are decent beginner turtles for people with large aquariums or outdoor garden ponds (if deep enough) to house them year round. 

The turtles are hardy and they can tolerate a range of different conditions. For example, they are not fussy about the temperature or pH of their habitat. They are also comfortable around people and will beg for food (this depends on the turtle itself) and adjust quickly to both commercial and natural food. 

Some of the male turtles can get medium large while the females can grow to be quite large. This might cause them to fight for tank space with other smaller turtle species. Also, because they are larger and stronger than other species, placing Red Ear Sliders with other species might not be such a good idea...

Lastly males are known to harass females, so permanent separation is often necessary. And like all other species, any specific turtle might be naturally aggressive or any pair of turtles might not be able to stay in the same tank. So if you, the owner, see any signs of harassment or fighting, do separate your turtles. 

Diet
Red Ear Sliders are omnivores throughout their lives, though they progress from predominantly carnivorous as juveniles to predominately herbivores as adults. But adults prefer meaty foods over vegetables, if given a choice. Thus, some owners or keepers might give them too much protein due to their raw drive to gorge on high protein foods. But, (take note) this may cause very rapid growth and a pyramided shell and, also, is suspected to cause liver and kidney damage, as well as a shortened life span.

Thus, do check on the turtle's diet regularly and make sure it gets a low-volume, well-rounded diet. 
Red Ear Sliders will eat:

1. most commercial turtle food,
2. feeder fish,
3. crickets,
4. earthworms,
5. krill,
6. blood worms, 
7. some crayfish and ghost shrimp,
8. aquatic plants (e.g.: duckweed, water lettuce, pondweed)
9. some vegetables (e.g.: romaine lettuce, zucchini) and
10. some fruits 

Many owners use good commercial diets as the main part of the diet, usually 25-80% of the carnivorous portion of the diet, and add some treats of earth worms, crayfish or krill, and romaine lettuce as a staple for the herbivorous portion of the diet.

Red ear slider eating a meal!

Since wild Sliders most likely won't have fruits readily available, use of bananas and other fruits EXCEPT for rare treats is NOT, we repeat, NOT recommended. And please be humane, do not feed your poor turtle hairy animals, since hair is indigestible and can form hairballs and cause obstructions in the turtle. There have been cases of owners feeding hairless mouse pups to turtles...GROSS!!!

Recommended Feeding Schedule:

For the first 6 months of its life, you can feed it once daily commercial pellets and/or other food that are meaty (e.g.: earthworms crickets or fish);  feed it enough to reduce its appetite but do not over feed the turtle. After 6 months, switch to feeding it every other day. Romaine lettuce and other leafy vegetables may be left in the tank to allow the turtle to 'snack' when it becomes peckish. Over time, you can adjust it's diet contents and schedule to account for growth, activity and appetite. 

Recommendations for the amount of meaty food to feed the turtle may vary, so choose what is suitable for the turtle and do not over- or under-feed it! 

Some people feed enough to fill the back of the head to rear of the red patches, imagining it was hollow, while others let the turtle gorge twice a week. Still, others simply feed them enough to slake the turtle's appetite. 

Just for something to go by, for a 50-cent hatchling, 1 or 2, at most, regular pellets per day are sufficient.

This concludes Part 1 of How to care for your turtle, do read the rest! Thanks! 

Sources: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm

Is it a Female... Or a Male?

The first things that come to your mind whenever you buy a pet is: is it a girl or a boy? If you do not know the answer to this question, how would you know what to name your pet? Or, if you want your pets to produce offspring, how would you know whether you bought the correct pets?

If the pet you want or have is a red ear slider, you have come to the right place! This post would tell you all you need to know about determining the gender of your red ear slider.

First of all, you cannot really tell the difference between a male and a female red ear slider until it has gotten bigger. Bigger in terms of both age and size. The males have to be two to four years old and bigger than four inches in order for it to show its gender properties. The females have to be three to five years old and bigger than five inches in order for it to do the same.


One way of determining the red ear slider's gender is by the location of the hole on its tail, otherwise known as the cloaca. For male red ear sliders, the cloaca is located at a lower part of the cloaca as compared to that of the female, where the cloaca is almost under the shell.


Another way is to look at the shape and size of the red ear slider's tail. Male red ear sliders' tails tend to be wider and longer than female red ear sliders' tails.

Also, the shape of the red ear slider's bottom shell, otherwise known as the plastron, may determine the sex of the red ear slider. If it is concave, it is probably a male, but if it is convex, it is probably a female. This allows for the female to carry more eggs and the male to rest nicely on the female when mating.

The length of the red ear slider's claws are affected by its gender. If it is male, it would have longer claws than females, as they need it to fight for the female red ear sliders to mate with.

The size of the female red ear slider is larger than that of the male red ear slider.

Now you know how to determine the sex of your red ear slider! Try to test a few factors instead of just one, as there may be a few exceptions to the species of red ear slider, which may make the factors differ.

Sources: http://www.wikihow.com/Tell-if-a-Turtle-Is-Male-or-Female

What is a Red Ear Slider?

First of all, what is a red ear slider? Well, this is a complicated question, so let me start from the BIG picture and narrow it down.

A red ear slider is a living thing. No, it is not a sliding phone with red sides, it is an actual living thing. It has a complex cell system and it responds to its surroundings. So, do not try to slide it open! It. Just. Won't. Work.

A red ear slider is an animal. It is not so tiny like bacteria such that you cannot see it. It can move freely as well, so it is not a plant. It reproduces by sexual reproduction, so it is not fungus. Therefore, it is, indeed, an animal.

A red ear slider is a reptile. It is cold-blooded and has dry scaly skin etc., which are characteristics common in reptiles.

A red ear slider is a chelonia. It has a shell which has many layers which fuse with the flesh of itself, making it inseparable from the shell.

A red ear slider is a turtle. It spends most of its life in water and has webbed feet, making it easier for the itself to move around in the water. It has long feet which form flippers and a stream-lined body to reduce water resistance when swimming.

A red ear slider is a red ear slider. I am sure you did not know that, but so it is. It has red stripes which start at their eyes and stretch to cover the area of their ears, thus the name "red ear slider".

Now, I am sure you know what a red ear slider is. So read on from this blog to find out more!

Sources: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Characteristics-of-Living-Things.topicArticleId-8741,articleId-8578.html
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_four_main_characteristics_of_reptiles
http://www.brockwellvets.co.uk/pet-info-page.php?Title=Characteristics+of+Chelonia
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-turtle.html
http://www.redearslider.com/anatomy.html

Where Could You Find Red Ear Sliders?

The Red Ear Sliders are sliders which are most commonly sold in pet shops.

They can be found in the United States, east of the Rockies Mountains. They are fresh water turtles and spend much of their day basking in the sun on logs or rocks, or swimming in the warm waters of their native habitat. 

Their habitat can range from 'mud holes' of a few hundred litters in grassy ditches to empty looking farm ponds to streams, lakes and large rivers. The sliders like quiet waters with soft, muddy bottom,  lots of aquatic vegetation and good sites, ie: rocks, logs etc, to bask on.

Introduction

Hey All!

This blog was set up for our Biology Performance Task, where we could present a Biological topic of our choice. We decided to do it on RED EAR SLIDERS! This was inspired by our very own class pet, a red ear slider, Katniss!

These two pictures show how red ear sliders look like.

Thanks!