Fellow Creatures
Pet match quiz
Red-eared Slider
Reptiles · Turtles

Red-eared Slider

Trachemys scripta elegans

Common aquatic turtle needing a large tankAdvanced

Lifespan
20-30+ years
Size
6-12 in (females largest)
Social needs
Can live singly; not dependent on company
Time
Medium-High; daily feed, heavy filtration
Cost
High
Diet
Omnivore (pellets, greens, some protein)

Overview

What is this animal?

  • The red-eared slider is one of the most widely kept aquatic turtles, recognised by the red stripe behind each eye.
  • Hatchlings look like a cheap pet for a small bowl, but they grow into large, messy, long-lived turtles that need a substantial aquatic setup and decades of care.
  • Underestimating their size, mess and lifespan leads to many being released, where they become a damaging invasive species in many countries.
Show 3 more
  • In the EU and UK sliders have been listed as invasive since 2016: they may not be sold, bred, exchanged or released, though existing pets may be kept for life.
  • In the US, turtles under 4 in may not legally be sold as pets (an FDA rule since 1975).
  • Acquire one only with the space, filtration budget and 20-to-30-year-plus commitment they genuinely require.

Temperament

  • Red-eared sliders are active, alert, strong swimmers that quickly learn to beg at feeding time, which many owners enjoy.
  • They are not affectionate and generally dislike handling, which can stress them, and larger turtles can deliver a painful bite if mishandled.
Show 3 more
  • They do not need company and are often best kept singly, as multiple turtles increase waste, competition and aggression, and adult males may harass tank-mates.
  • If kept together, they need much more space and careful monitoring.
  • For most keepers, one well-housed turtle is the simplest and kindest choice.

A good fit for

  • Keepers with ground-floor room for a 265-gallon tank or indoor pond
  • People who enjoy watching rather than handling
  • Owners ready for heavy filtration and water changes
  • Those committed to 20-30+ years of care

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Tiny tanks and bowls for a growing turtle
  • Weak filtration causing chronic poor water quality
  • Releasing an unwanted slider outdoors, where it becomes invasive
  • Missing UVB and basking heat

Enclosure

Minimum 265 gallons

Fine alone or with company. Can live singly; not dependent on company

  • An adult needs a stock tank, indoor pond or aquarium of at least 265 US gallons for one turtle, such as a 300-gallon stock tank.
  • Give it a water area at least five times as long and three times as wide as its shell, water at least twice its shell length deep, and a dry land or basking area of at least 3.2 sq ft (about 22 x 22 in), more for a large female.
  • A full setup weighs more than a tonne, so it belongs on a ground floor, and a second turtle needs at least half as much water again.
Show 4 more
  • The basking area should reach 88-95°F under a heat lamp, with water held around 75-79°F by a submersible heater; keep juveniles and sick turtles warmer.
  • They produce heavy waste, so a powerful external or canister filter rated well above the tank volume is essential, along with regular water changes.
  • A UVB lamp over the basking dock is required for shell and bone health.
  • Keep the basking zone genuinely dry so the turtle can fully warm and dry off.

Check your enclosure

Supplies

Setup

  • Stock tank, indoor pond or aquarium of 265 US gal or more
  • Pond or canister filtration rated at two to three times the water volume
  • Two guarded submersible heaters, about 600 W in all
  • Dry land or basking area, about 22 x 22 in (3.2 square feet) or larger
  • Basking lamp, UVB fixture and tube
Show 2 more
  • Water conditioner and liquid test kit
  • Water thermometer, and a temperature gun for the basking area

Ongoing

  • Quality aquatic turtle pellets (carnivorous formula for musk turtles)
  • Frozen or live earthworms, shrimp and snails
  • Leafy aquatic greens or romaine for the omnivores
  • Floating cuttlebone
  • Separate feeding tub
Show 3 more
  • Fine net for removing uneaten food
  • Feeding tongs
  • Kitchen scale for tracking growth

Safe substrate: Bare bottom · Smooth river stones or slate larger than the turtle's head

Work out the cost

Care routine

Daily

  • Check water and basking-dock temperatures
  • Look the animal over
  • Spot-clean waste and uneaten food
  • Top up evaporated water with dechlorinated water

Every few days

  • Feed to the species' scheduleevery 2 days
Show 10 more

Weekly

  • Check the basking dock
  • Check the tank and its kit are kept away from food areas
  • Test the water
  • Water change and debris vacuum

Every few weeks

  • Weigh-inevery 2 weeks

Monthly

  • Deep-clean decor, glass and bowls
  • Rinse the filter media
  • Siphon under rocks and decor
  • Test thermostats, lamps and guards

Less often

  • Check the UVB lamp's age and replace it if due (if one is fitted)every 6 months

Vet: Annual exam and faecal check, every 12 months

Tools

Is your enclosure big enough?Check your measurements against the recommended sizeWhat will it cost?Setup, monthly and over its whole life, itemisedCan it eat that?Search 27 foods, from everyday to never

Care in depth

Diet

Omnivore (pellets, greens, some protein)
  • Red-eared sliders are omnivores whose diet shifts with age.
  • Hatchlings and juveniles are more carnivorous, while adults eat increasingly plant matter.
  • Feed a quality commercial aquatic turtle pellet as a base, plus leafy aquatic greens, and offer protein such as appropriately sized insects for younger turtles.
  • Feed juveniles daily and adults every two to three days, removing uneaten food to protect water quality.
  • Provide calcium via a cuttlebone.
  • Over-feeding, especially fatty protein and processed treats, plus low-calcium or low-UVB conditions, drives obesity, fatty liver, shell deformity and metabolic bone disease.

Health

Signs of good health, and the common problems
  • A healthy slider has a hard, smooth shell, clear eyes, a strong swim and a good appetite.
  • Common problems include shell rot and soft shell from poor water quality or insufficient UVB and calcium, respiratory infection (gaping, listing in the water, bubbling) from cold water, and swollen eyes linked to vitamin A deficiency.
  • Poor water quality underlies most illness, so filtration and water changes are central to health.
  • Sliders can carry Salmonella, so wash your hands every time after touching the turtle, its water, food or equipment, and supervise children around it.
  • Any turtle floating abnormally, refusing food or labouring to breathe should see a reptile-capable exotics vet.

Is this urgent?

3 warning signs and how fast to act, 1 of them right away

For aquatic turtles the water quality is half the medical history.

Go now

Swimming lopsided, or unable to submergeGo now. Usually respiratory, and a turtle that cannot dive cannot feed.
Now

Today

Puffy or closed eyesBook today and check the water. Often vitamin A deficiency plus dirty water.
Today

Soon

Soft or pitted shell, a bad smell, or patches where a scute lifts to show wet or reddened tissue underneath (thin, clear scute flakes peeling off a hard shell are normal shedding)Book, and test the water. Shell rot follows poor water quality or a basking site that never fully dries the animal. A shell that is soft rather than rotten points to calcium and UVB instead.
This week

A turtle needs a basking site that gets it fully dry and properly warm. Half the common problems trace back to a dock that does neither.

This is general guidance for a healthy adult, not a diagnosis. An exotics vet who knows your animal always overrides it, and the time to find one is before you need one.

Bedding and substrate

2 safe, 1 with a caveat, 3 to avoid

For an aquatic turtle the substrate is the tank floor, and the rule is that nothing on it fits in the turtle's mouth.

Safe

Bare bottomEasiest to keep clean, and it hides no waste.
safe
Smooth river stones or slate larger than the turtle's headRinse them, and stand stacked rock on the glass, not on top of sand, so it cannot shift.
safe

With a caveat

Fine aquarium sand, in a thin rinsed layer siphoned regularlySome keepers like it for bottom-walking musk turtles, but turtles swallow it, vets advise against it, and it can be kicked into the filter.
with a caveat

Never

Gravel or pebbles small enough to swallowTurtles swallow them, and swallowed stones can need surgery to remove.
never
Soil, coco fibre, bark, mulch or leaf litter in the waterThey foul the water and clog the filter.
never
Unguarded glass heatersTurtles crack them. Use a heater guard or an in-line heater.
never

Keep the basking dock fully dry. A gravid female needs a separate soil-and-sand nesting box, or she may retain her eggs.

Top resources for more info

Independent creators and organisations we would send a friend to. We have no affiliation with any of them, and nothing here is sponsored. Links checked 2026-10-22.

YouTubers

Garden State TortoiseAquatic and box turtle housing, ponds and seasonal careReptiles and ResearchEvidence-led husbandry: enclosure size, UVB, thermal gradients, enrichmentClint's ReptilesWhich reptile suits you, with honest care and handling verdicts

Sites

Keep going

Turtles, side by side

Same axes, same care guides: the honest way to choose between types.

See all Turtles side by side →Compare with other animals

More Reptiles guides

Common Musk Turtle
Sternotherus odoratus
Intermediate

Tiny bottom-walking stinkpot with a big attitude

30-50 yearsRead guide →
Tokay Gecko
Gekko gecko
Advanced

Large, vocal, defensive display gecko

10-20 yearsRead guide →
Ackie Monitor
Varanus acanthurus
Advanced

Intelligent, active dwarf monitor

15-20 yearsRead guide →
Sulcata Tortoise
Centrochelys sulcata
Advanced

Tiny hatchling, enormous lifelong commitment

70+ yearsRead guide →
Veiled Chameleon
Chamaeleo calyptratus
Advanced

Arboreal lizard for advanced keepers

5-8 years (females shorter)Read guide →
Panther Chameleon
Furcifer pardalis
Advanced

Madagascar's painted showpiece for meticulous keepers

Males 5-7 years (up to 8); females often only 2-4 with repeated egg-layingRead guide →

Is your enclosure big enough?

These are the smallest sizes that give good conditions, not legal minimums. More room is always better.

Minimum 265 gallons

Every figure, and where it comes from

This is for one adult, and it is the legal minimum in Austria for one or two sliders over 8 in. The welfare-led guides below ask less for one turtle, about 100-125 US gal; this site sets its figure at the strictest legal minimum, because good conditions are never less than a law requires. A 300-gallon stock tank is the usual way to get there. Add at least half as much water again for each extra turtle, and only turtles of a similar size should share.

Minimum volume265 gallons
CompanyFine alone or with company. Can live singly; not dependent on company
The recognised standards do not agree on this one
Austrian legal minimum (2. Tierhaltungsverordnung, Anlage 3): 265 gal for one or two sliders over 8 in (200 gal at 6-8 in), plus 3.2 sq ft of land, and 92 gal more for each extra turtle. The figure this site uses, because no welfare-led source found asks as much for one adult and good conditions are never less than a law requires. Austria sets one figure for one or two turtles, so it applies to a single turtle too. Checked 2026-10-23.
Swiss legal minimum (Tierschutzverordnung, Anhang 2, Tabelle 5): A basin of 5 x 3 shell lengths, 2 shell lengths deep, plus land of 2 x 2 shell lengths, for up to two turtles. A legal minimum, recorded for context. For a 10-inch female that is 49 x 30 in of water 20 in deep (about 125 gal) and 20 x 20 in of land; for a 12-inch female, 59 x 35 in of water 24 in deep (about 215 gal) and 24 x 24 in of land. Checked 2026-10-23.
German Animal Welfare Federation (Deutscher Tierschutzbund): A 10 x 6.5 x 2.3 ft aqua-terrarium for two adults, about a third of it land, with water at least 20 in deep. For two adults, not one. The federation advises against keeping sliders as pets at all, because of their size and space needs. Checked 2026-10-23.
Phoenix Herpetological Society: 120 US gal minimum for an adult, larger strongly recommended; many experienced keepers use 150-300 US gal stock tanks. A reptile rescue and sanctuary. The largest stock tanks it describes reach the figure used here. Checked 2026-10-23.
ReptiFiles: 100 US gal as the minimum acceptable for one adult, and 120-125 US gal recommended instead; 10 US gal of water per 1 in of shell; at least 50 percent more for each extra turtle. Less than the figure used here. ReptiFiles calls an indoor or outdoor pond the best home. Checked 2026-10-23.
RSPCA (UK): 21 gal of water per 2 in of shell, so 105 gal for a 10-inch female. Less than the figure used here. The RSPCA gives adult females as about 10 in and males as about 8.5 in. Checked 2026-10-23.

What it really costs

Setup, monthly, first year and across a whole life, itemised and with the electricity worked out from the actual wattage. Published figures for the same animal disagree by a factor of four, so the calculator shows ranges rather than picking one.

Can a Red-eared Slider eat that?

Feed to the species: sliders shift from carnivorous youth to plant-leaning adulthood, while musk turtles stay meat-eaters for life.

The full list: 27 foods

Never (16)

AlcoholNo safe amount at any body weight on this site.
never
AvocadoPersin. Toxic to birds and many mammals; it has not been studied in reptiles, so treat it as unsafe.
never
CaffeineCoffee, tea and energy drinks. Cardiac and neurological toxicity at tiny doses for an animal this size.
never
ChocolateTheobromine and caffeine. Small mammals and reptiles cannot clear either.
never
CitrusAcidic enough to upset the gut, and sugary. Not worth the risk.
never
Dog or cat foodToo rich in fat and protein for a turtle, and it fouls the water.
never
Fatty or processed meatDrives obesity and fatty liver, and fouls the water.
never
FirefliesLucibufagins. A single firefly has killed adult lizards. This is the most dangerous item on any reptile list and it is the one keepers do not know about.
never
Fish caught from the wildParasites and pollutants. Separately, thiaminase depends on the fish species, not where it was caught: goldfish, carp, many minnows and smelt carry it even when shop-bought, and cause vitamin B1 deficiency if fed regularly.
never
GarlicSame allium toxicity as onion, and more concentrated by weight.
never
Iceberg lettuceWater with no nutrition. It fills a turtle up in place of food that would have done something.
never
LeekAllium family. Same mechanism as onion and garlic.
never
OnionOrganosulphur compounds damage red blood cells. The whole allium family is out.
never
RhubarbOxalate load high enough to cause acute kidney injury.
never
Salty or seasoned human foodSalt, oil and seasoning. Crisps, chips, seasoned leftovers and processed meat are all out.
never
Wild-caught insectsPesticide residue and parasites, and the identification risk. Captive-bred feeders only.
never

Rare treats (3)

FruitA treat only, for sliders: a small piece of berry, melon, mango or skinned apple. A small piece, rarely.
rare treat
Goldfish and rosy red minnowsThey carry thiaminase, which destroys vitamin B1, and regular feeding causes a deficiency that can be fatal. ReptiFiles allows them as an occasional treat; they are better left out. At most a rare treat.
rare treat
Plain white fishA small piece of plain, unseasoned white fish now and then. A small piece, rarely.
rare treat

Occasional (4)

CricketsA useful extra protein item. Offer a few at a time and net out any left floating. A few, occasionally.
occasional
EarthwormsGood whole protein, rotated with snails and shrimp. Adult sliders need protein only once or twice a week; juveniles need it most days. One or two per feed, in rotation.
occasional
ShrimpWhole small shrimp, rotated with worms and snails. A few, in rotation.
occasional
SnailsWhole shelled prey, which adds calcium. Captive-bred, or from a source free of pesticides and slug pellets. A few small snails, in rotation.
occasional

Everyday foods (4)

Aquatic plantsSliders graze live plants such as duckweed and anacharis; expect them to be eaten rather than to stay as decor. Grown in the tank, or a handful added regularly.
everyday food
Aquatic turtle pelletsThe dependable base of the diet. Choose a carnivorous formula for musk turtles and a general aquatic formula for sliders. A portion about the size of the turtle's head: adults every two to three days, juveniles more often.
everyday food
CuttleboneFree-choice calcium. A floating piece lets the turtle take what it needs. Always available.
everyday food
Leafy greensAdult sliders eat more and more plant matter as they age, and leafy greens can be offered daily. A handful floated in the tank, taken out before it fouls the water.
everyday food

That food is not on our list. Leave it out, and remember that anything left uneaten fouls the water within hours.

Feeding in a separate tub spares the water quality, and makes it obvious how much was actually eaten.