How much water is suitable for keeping a red-eared slider? Water level control tips
The red-eared slider, whose scientific name is Trachemys scripta elegans, originated in the Mississippi River and Rio Grande basins of North America. It is an aquatic animal that can live in deep water, though hatchlings prefer shallow water. It feeds entirely in the water, and long-term dry keeping will cause it to dehydrate and die, so red-eared sliders are usually kept in water. Let's take a look below at how much water to put in when keeping a red-eared slider!
How much water to put in when keeping a red-eared slider
Many people, upon seeing turtles choke to death on water, conclude that red-eared sliders should be kept in shallow water, but this is not entirely correct. Red-eared sliders are masters in the water, and no matter how deep it is, they will not choke. Even so, we still need to strictly control the water level, because when several red-eared sliders are kept together they love to play, and sometimes a turtle gets knocked upside down; if the water is too deep, it may not be able to right itself and will drown. Generally speaking, each hatchling needs five liters of water as activity space, and the water depth should not exceed the length of the turtle's body, so that when the turtle comes to the surface to breathe its feet can touch the bottom. At the same time, you must make or buy a basking platform for them out of bricks or stone slabs, so the turtles can bask their shells. To create an ideal environment, a pair of grown red-eared sliders needs at least one hundred liters of water as activity space. If the rearing tank is too small, the red-eared slider will quickly become obese and sluggish, and if it falls into the water on its back, it will drown because it cannot turn over.
Do red-eared sliders need to be kept in water?
Since the red-eared slider is a water turtle, long-term dry keeping will cause it to dehydrate and die, and moreover the red-eared slider feeds entirely in the water, so it must be kept in water. But this does not mean red-eared sliders cannot be kept dry; generally, dry keeping is used when a red-eared slider has a bacterial infection and can no longer soak in water, as a way to speed up the effect of medication and prevent spread (experts recommend it is best not to dry-keep red-eared sliders, unless the turtle has shell rot or cloudy eyes and so on that require dry keeping). If the turtle's body is fragile, then be cautious or use semi-dry keeping (soak in clean water first each day, then keep dry). It is worth noting that if a red-eared slider is dry-kept, it must still be bathed in water at regular times, at least 3 times a day for 30 minutes each time. At the same time, when dry keeping, if you see that the red-eared slider's eyes are sunken, that means severe dehydration, and dry keeping should be stopped immediately.
How should you change the water for a red-eared slider?
1. Many turtle keepers believe the water for keeping a red-eared slider should be as clean as possible. Actually that is not the case; some bacteria in natural water are normal, and some of them are beneficial to red-eared sliders. Wild turtles stay healthy because the bacteria in their bodies remain in balance.
2. Under artificial rearing, if the turtle's body lacks beneficial bacteria or the balance is broken, the turtle will become ill or malnourished. Therefore, during rearing, if the container has a filter, you do not need to change the water every day; usually replace 1/2 or 1/3 of the water every half month, then add fresh water. But if the red-eared slider is kept in a tank and also eats in the same tank, and the leftover food is hard to clean up or will pollute the water quality, then the number of water changes should be increased as appropriate, and you can also change 1/3 of the water every day.
3. If there is no filter, it depends on how clean the water is. If you are going to change all the water, it is best to let tap water sit for one or two days to achieve dechlorination. A complete water change is generally done once every 10-15 days in summer. If the water color is brownish green or blue-green, it indicates the water is too “rich”, and all the water should be changed promptly. From June to September, because the temperature is higher, water changes should be done 3-4 hours after feeding. In winter, during the turtle's hibernation period, you can change the water less often or not at all.