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
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