Red-eared slider: the ecological killer - how big can it grow in a year, what is its maximum weight in jin, and how big must it be to lay eggs?
Although the red-eared slider is recognized worldwide as an “ecological killer” and has been listed by many countries as a dangerous invasive alien species, because of its cute appearance, brilliant colors, great ornamental value and extreme ease of keeping, many people still like to keep red-eared sliders as pet turtles. So, how big can a red-eared slider grow in about a year? What is the maximum weight it can reach in jin? How big must it grow before it can lay eggs?
Because red-eared sliders have a large appetite, they grow very fast. As for how big a red-eared slider can grow in a year, it can be put this way: hatchlings hatched from July to September, under room temperature, with enough food and normal rearing conditions, can reach an average of 25-40 grams by the time of their first overwintering that same year; the following year they can be raised to more than 200 grams; and by the third year they can generally reach more than 400 grams.
Put intuitively, if a red-eared slider is bought when it is a bit bigger than a coin, by the second year it will be about the size of a purple-clay teapot lid, by the third year about the size of a mouse, by the fourth year its two sides will be as wide as the mouth of a rice bowl, and by the fifth year its length will be like a spread-out napkin, making it tiring even to pick up.
As for the weight of red-eared sliders, there is no significant difference between females and males in outward coloration, but there is a great difference in weight. Sex can be distinguished when a female individual weighs 1000 grams and a male individual weighs 250 grams. Female individuals can weigh 1000-2000 grams, have a flat plastron, and the cloacal opening lies inside the rear edge of the carapace; male individuals weigh no more than 500 grams, and have longer claws on the limbs and a longer tail. Of course, different individual red-eared sliders also differ somewhat in body size and weight.
In terms of body length, the red-eared slider has a total length of about 15-25 cm, and the largest can grow to 55.5 cm, which was found in the UK; while red-eared sliders kept at home, limited by conditions, can live more than twenty years, and growing 20 to 30 cm is no problem. Generally they grow about 2-8 cm a year.
Of course, how big a red-eared slider can grow also depends on the owner's day-to-day care, mainly in terms of diet, such as meats, shrimps, fish and so on; in any case, it needs to eat very well, and with attention to the container, temperature, water quality and hygiene and so on, red-eared sliders will not often get sick. Even if a red-eared slider gets sick, as long as it is still willing to eat, it will still grow! Just watch closely: when the shell grows new shell and the limbs and head also begin to shed skin, that shows it is growing!
To understand red-eared sliders in more detail, the American reptile ecologist Professor J.W.Gibbons (1987) once observed the lifespan of red-eared sliders using the mark-recapture method. After 23 years of research results, he found that among more than 10,000 turtles, only 3.4% could live more than 25 years; individuals living 20-24 years accounted for 7.3%, those able to live 15-21 years accounted for 21.4%, and those able to live less than 15 years accounted for about 68%. Of course, under specific rearing conditions, the lifespan of red-eared sliders may be somewhat longer.
So, how big must a red-eared slider grow before it can lay eggs? Generally speaking, among turtles of the same age, female individuals are always larger than male individuals. Common male red-eared sliders reach 300 grams in weight, while female turtles reach sexual maturity at around 500 grams. Other turtle species have different standards depending on the breed. Generally speaking, red-eared sliders reach sexual maturity after growing to more than one jin, and only then can they lay eggs and hatch young turtles.
Red-eared slider care tips
Young red-eared sliders can be kept without difficulty in a flat-bottomed container; plastic basins, plastic troughs or boxes, and aquariums are all quite suitable, and the water should not be too deep. A commercially sold type of shallow flat plastic trough with an island in the middle and a plastic coconut tree is the least suitable, because: (1) it is too small; (2) an electric heater cannot be installed; (3) it misleads users into treating the small island as a place to put feed. Because red-eared sliders take food entirely in the water, the result may be that feed piles up on the island while the red-eared slider goes hungry.
An ideal rearing place must have some specific minimum requirements. Each young turtle needs five liters of water as activity space, and the water depth should not exceed the turtle's body length, so that when the turtle comes to the surface to breathe its feet can still touch the ground. At the same time, an island must also be made for them with bricks and stone pieces; floating islands are not suitable, because young turtles often cannot climb up and waste their energy. On the other hand, also be careful that the island and decorations do not become dangerous obstacles that trap the small turtle and cause it to drown. An ideal rearing place must have some specific minimum requirements. Each young turtle needs five liters of water as activity space, and the water depth should not exceed the turtle's body length, so that when the turtle comes to the surface to breathe its feet can still touch the ground. At the same time, an island must also be made for them with bricks and stone pieces; floating islands are not suitable, because young turtles often cannot climb up and waste their energy. On the other hand, also be careful that the island and decorations do not become dangerous obstacles that trap the small turtle and cause it to drown.
If the temperature is suitable for their growth, then they grow relatively fast. The suitable water temperature for red-eared sliders to grow is 20-32°C, and the optimal growth water temperature is between 25-30°C. Below 20°C they eat less and are less active; below 15°C they basically stop eating; below 10°C their activity decreases markedly and they enter a semi-dormant state.
Also, red-eared sliders are omnivorous animals. When keeping them, meat-based foods should be the main part, especially at the hatchling and juvenile stages, when small fish and shrimps, lean animal meat and so on should be the main food. At the adult stage they can also take plant-based feed and artificial compound feed.