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Red Eared Slider Feeding

Penman6668 said:
Does anybody know of safe plants you can put into the tank with the red slider?
I have a ton of java fern but I heard it can be bad for turtles.
Sliders will eat all the plants that you put in the tank. Mine are always grazing on plants that I dump in the tank. I love placing duck weed and chopped up collard greens in the tank to supplement their diet.
 
kimbyra said:
How about spinach and chinese cabbage? I usually have those around because I like them.
Give it a try, I toss spinach every once in awhile to them. They like their greens so it shouldnt hurt them. I think mine have grown really fast giving a mix diet. They really love the cooked shrimp i cut up and toss in their tank about once a week.
 
I created a pond out in our back yard and kept in mind that i might keep red eared sliders in it. I built a small wall out of 4x4's and have a waterfall. My question is, will the turtles hibernate during the winter? I am prepared to bring them indoors to the snake room if need be. I am still in the "research" phase before purchasing, as we have to get a permit in Ohio to keep sliders.
 
Probably the BEST care sheet i've found for RES. Lots of info
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm

i live down in FL, and i've seen RES most of the year. i do believe they hibernate during the colder months. most of my friends who have captive bred RES keep them in a pond in their backyard year round with no problems. they "disappear" in the really cold months when we have a hard frost. but then reappear when the weather warms up again.
the care sheet above does warn that if you get a RES, most are from down here in the south. so they may not acclimate well to colder climates. i'd look into creating an indoor enclosure for the winter just in case.
 
Greens

kimbyra said:
How about spinach and chinese cabbage? I usually have those around because I like them.
I wouldn't do spinach. I know that it is not reccomended to feed spinach to iguanas because the iron in the spinach binds with calcium preventing it from being absorbed by the iguana's system. I would assume it's the same for turtles.
We have two baby red ears that we only feed greens that are high in calcium , low in phosporous, and contain Vitamin D3. This includes collard greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens (you can pick these right out of your yard as long as they are not treated with pesticides and washed before feeding or some grocery stores have these in the produce section), and turnip greens.
 
Penman, you got the exact same kind of food for your RES as I did for my new little guy. The Select-A-Food stuff. :)

I picked up some frozen bloodworms yesterday, too, and he <i>loves</i> them. They come in a little blister pack, like gum... you just thaw out a cube (I did half a cube, and even that was too much for one sitting) and drop it in the water.
 
I did not want to start a new thread for this so here goes:

I have a couple of feeder guppies in with my RES and was wondering if it is ok for the turtle to eat some fish food. This is not its main food but she does sneak a bite or two of it.
 
Penman6668 said:
I did not want to start a new thread for this so here goes:

I have a couple of feeder guppies in with my RES and was wondering if it is ok for the turtle to eat some fish food. This is not its main food but she does sneak a bite or two of it.
basically fish food is ground up fish meal. Your turtles should be fine eating this and you shouldn't worry.
 
Also there is a Frozen food that I pick up for aquatic turtles that has plant material and fish mixed in it. My guys just love it but then again, they will eat anything.
I am glad all this advice is helping. My turtles tend to get different foods every day.
Monday: Live Worms
Tuesday Pellet
Wednesday Frozen Shrimp (with tails)
Thursday Pellet
Friday Frozen Turtle food
Saturday: Frozen fish (minnows, goldfish, anything I can get)
Sunday: Pellet

Now, during this time, I also toss in Duckweed and other Plant material, collard greens, red lettuce, anything leafy I have left over from my iguana. So they get plant material every day. :)
 
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