# red ear turtle



## skool-of-death (Apr 25, 2004)

just got a red eared slider about 7-8 inches. My question is how long can I or should I take him out of water for "play time." Im trying to get him to feel comfortable enough to crawl around on me but right now he just chills inside his shell. Dont want to endager my new buddy by having him out of his tank for too long. a few opinions please, thanx :rock:


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## TANK (Nov 18, 2003)

A red ear can be left out of the water for a lifetime as long as there is some for him to drink. Will the turtle be happy about it....NO. It is a water turtle so it should be givin plenty of swimming room. But having him out for a while will not hurt him. 
Carefull when you let him "crawl" on you. He can fall and crack his shell, or defficate on you. Both are quite unpleasant.


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## skool-of-death (Apr 25, 2004)

I am very careful with him and when I do have him out I keep a towel under him so I dont getz da poo on me. Thanks for the info you've been very helpful.


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## Puddjuice (Mar 11, 2004)

Well, this depends on where you got him. If you caught him this will take a while because you have just takin him away from everything he's ever known. Just like someone putting you in a different familly. It will just take time. Good Luck!


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## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

TANK said:


> A red ear can be left out of the water for a lifetime as long as there is some for him to drink. Will the turtle be happy about it....NO. It is a water turtle so it should be givin plenty of swimming room. But having him out for a while will not hurt him.
> Carefull when you let him "crawl" on you. He can fall and crack his shell, or defficate on you. Both are quite unpleasant.


 It's my experience that they need to be underwater to swallow properly .


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## PunkRockSkater39 (May 31, 2004)

in my experiences with my old one which died when it was 5.....








i was able to tame it to be held in front of groups of people and let other people hold it and it would never go in its shell.. however this took me awile,about 2 mounths of everyday training= 5-10 mins of holding it. Just sit down with it while watching TV for a little while then it will get more comfortable around u and others. thats just my 2 cents.

P.S. sorry for the crappy spelling.....Its summer!


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## TANK (Nov 18, 2003)

winkyee said:


> TANK said:
> 
> 
> > A red ear can be left out of the water for a lifetime as long as there is some for him to drink. Will the turtle be happy about it....NO. It is a water turtle so it should be givin plenty of swimming room. But having him out for a while will not hurt him.
> ...


 I have a sister in law that feeds hers earthworms on occasion. And she feeds them to the turtle OUT of the aquarium....BUT, I am pretty sure that after reading your post that I also have read somewhere that water helps them to swallow. Ill have to go to my REPTILES back issues and look this one up!!


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## skool-of-death (Apr 25, 2004)

I got the turtle at a local fish hatchery that this guy runs out of his house. He said my turtle was about ten years old. Its approximately 8 inches long. I have no clue how old he really is. I never really believe what people at pet stores tell me because 75% of the time they are full of sh*t.
I take him out everyday for about 20 min or so. Today for the first time he was comfortable enough to come out of his shell and chill. He crawled around on me a little but I had to stay still for the most part, otherwise he would get scared.
I feed him reptile pellet food with the occasional goldfish and have thought about crickets. He doesnt come out of the water onto his slab rock under the UV light. He just sticks his head out of the water for long periods of time. Is this normal? First turtle, Im a rookie in the reptile field.


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## TANK (Nov 18, 2003)

Crickets would be a good treat for your turtle. You say that the turtle does not come out of the water onto the rock slab. Do you have a heat lamp and a UV light on the dry part of the enclosure?? If you do not you really should. Your turtle will come out to the dry spot to bask in the heat of the lamp. If you dont give your turtle the opportunity to do this he may get a shell fungus or an eye infection.


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## skool-of-death (Apr 25, 2004)

the rock slab is directly under the UV light (not too close to it though). I dont know why he doesnt climb onto it, it slants down so he shouldnt have trouble getting up onto it. Maybe I have too much water in it. The rock is half in and half out of the water. Hes in a 20 gal half full or half empty whatever you like. Is that too much? I wouldnt think so. I'll try arranging my tank a different way and see what he likes or doesnt like, whatever.


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## fury (Nov 30, 2003)

this turtle is a -->semi aquatic turtle<--they are not well-developed for land..give him an environment with 3/4 water and 1/4 land to make him a happy lil guy


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## TANK (Nov 18, 2003)

skool-of-death said:


> the rock slab is directly under the UV light (not too close to it though). I dont know why he doesnt climb onto it, it slants down so he shouldnt have trouble getting up onto it. Maybe I have too much water in it. The rock is half in and half out of the water. Hes in a 20 gal half full or half empty whatever you like. Is that too much? I wouldnt think so. I'll try arranging my tank a different way and see what he likes or doesnt like, whatever.


 But do you have a HEAT LAMP and a UV light???


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## TormenT (Apr 1, 2004)

u need a bigger enclosure for him man, most ppl dont kno that they need a 30g or more, u also really need a heatlamp, i have both red ear sliders and painted that i have had since they were less than an inch so i know what im talking about, by the way i wouldnt suggest to many crickets or gold fish just once in a while, as for real food give him some pellet/stick and maybe leave a small piece of lettace on the water because it is better for them, vegetations is a good part of their food in the wild. good luck with your new pet man! turtles are fun and dont need to much care!


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## skool-of-death (Apr 25, 2004)

I dont as of yet have a heat lamp. I shall aquire one tomorrow on my mission for feeders. I have UV lights screwed in to the incandecent sockets in the hood of the tank. My turtle never comes out of the water onto his rock. At first I thought maybe he just couldnt get himself up there but today I saw him climb up on it with no problem and then just go right back down into the water. The bulbs arent to close to him so its not like its too hot for him. I dont know what the deal is. He just stands up on his hind legs and sticks his head up out of the water for five min. or so at a time. Other than that he just walks around at the bottom of the "deep end" and never shows any interest to come out. Weird. I thought turtles spent like half their day basking in the sun. Is there something wrong with my turtle? He appears healthy and eats regularly. No idea.


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## aaron07_20 (Apr 23, 2004)

Don't take him out of the water yet, wait till he stops being so shy. Also when you do take him out, make sure he never is upside down, with hi plastron facing the sky, turts cant breath when that happens, They also can't swallow very good out of the water. If you keep taking him out of his tank before he overcomes his shyness he may always be like that, so just wait.


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