What do cumberland slider turtles eat

You must have a very large aquarium or an outdoor pond to keep more than one in the same enclosure, with only one male in a group. Slider turtles can be kept outdoors, but in colder climates, such as northern California, they will hibernate during the colder months. If they are kept outdoors in a pond, they still require appropriately sized enclosures and UVB lights or direct sunlight.

Without a basking bulb or a heater in their water they will hibernate. However, you will still need to do regular water changes and clean the filter on occasion. You can safely use mechanical, biological and chemical filter media in your filter without harming your turtle.

Those that she did not eat grew larger and remain in her tank consuming uneaten food and waste. This helps to keep the tank clean. If you have a larger turtle and you want to add goldfish you will need to buy large goldfish, otherwise they will be eaten by your turtle. UVB light provides them with vitamin D3, which they need to metabolize calcium and build strong bones and shell scutes.

An incandescent or basking light and a UVB light should be placed above the basking platform. The heat from the basking light will draw the turtle to the basking spot where he or she will benefit from the UVB light. The heat will also elevate their metabolism along with their digestive and immune systems and help them to properly digest their food.

Without the correct temperature, sliders will not process the vitamins and minerals in their food and they will become sick and die. You can purchase these bulbs online.

Spiral-type UVB bulbs are known to cause eye infections in reptiles and should not be used. Tube-type UVB lamps are okay for light, but do not produce enough usable UVB and do not penetrate far enough into the aquarium. Mini compact fluorescent or spiral-type light bulbs are not recommended as they can cause eye irritation or infections in reptiles. Please note the following: There should be no glass or Plexiglas between your slider and the UVB source.

If you choose this option, please do not expose your turtle to the The basking spot temperature should be higher than the water temperature to entice your turtle to bask. The water Temperature should be maintained at 75FF 24CC for young adults and adults, or at least 80F 27C for hatchlings and young juveniles. The recommended calcium to phosphorous ratio is When your slider is adult, if you can balance the food with regards to the calcium and phosphorous then a calcium supplement is not necessary.

The powdered form of D3 is not recommended and may cause the sliders to overdose on D3. Your sliders should be getting enough D3 from the UVB lighting or natural sunlight. Young sliders are generally carnivorous, requiring a mostly meat protein diet. As they progress to the juvenile stage, they will begin to accept vegetable matter and when adult will become predominately herbivorous.

But even as adults they will accept meaty foods if offered. Their drive to consume high protein foods makes it easy to over-feed them, and with too much protein they can develop rapid growth and their shells can start to pyramid pyramiding.

This means that their scutes begin to stick up and their shells take on a bumpy appearance. Pyramiding is suspected to cause liver and kidney damage and a shorter lifespan. Be sure to purchase the correct formula for your turtle, which is usually determined by the size of the shell and should be written right on the food container. You can also feed small feeder fish, crickets, earthworms, silkworms, krill, bloodworms, crayfish and ghost shrimp.

Do not feed insects from your garden where they may have come into contact with chemicals or insect sprays. Sliders will eat aquatic plants such as water lilies, water hyacinth, duckweed, anacharis, water lettuce, water fern, pondweed, water starwort, hornwort, water milfoil and frogbit. They can be fed fresh vegetables such as zucchini, squash, collard, mustard and dandelion greens, beet leaves, endive, escarole, romaine or red leaf lettuce, kale, chicory, arugula roquette or rocket.

I understand. Sometimes you just need a second opinion on things when you're a little nervous. I come to the forum every time I feel that way and search topics that relate to my situation and try to learn from the experiences of others.

Lol, I put a Romaine lettuce leaf in for Pakito now hot a name lol and the little beggar is happily floating around on it rather than eating it Another question, does the UVB and heat lamp need to be on for 12 hours when their this little? With it being winter I leave my other turtles lamps on for just 8 hours. I've been leaving little Pakitos lamps on for 12 though but just want to make sure I'm not over doing it. Right now I have my sliders on 10 hours of heatlamp and UVB and 14 hours of darkness.

In the summers I reverse the ratio and keep their lights on for 14 hours. It is important to have UVB on for the turtles to grow healthy and to metabolize vitamin D3, even when they're small.

Some turtles actually bask while in the water. While they sit on the surface they are taking in UVB and raising their body temperature, so seeing your turtle bask or not does not necessarily mean it is or is not in need of UVB. I thought UVB doesnt penetrate water so how do they bask underwater? And there are some Zoo Med hatchling pellets available in the UK.

Oh where?? When I said we can't get them round here I meant anywhere near where we live, not the whole of the UK lol. I've looked for some and can't find any. I don't mind ordering them online anyway. You can play with your turtle in its tank by placing an obstacle maze, rafts, empty shells, plants, and sticks inside it.

You can also make a play area outdoors where you can make a water pool or arrange a race to play with your pet turtle. They grow to the size of their tank. They are cheap pets. They should be able to walk around the house. Bread should NOT be part of their diet as their stomachs cannot digest bread and some of the other foods we eat, such as dairy products.

Yes, turtles drink water. Just like most animals do. The fact that turtles drink the water they live in is a good thing for turtle owners, as well as a bad thing. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile.

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