loves the little thing too much to get rid of it.
if she loves it that much, she SHOULD rehome it. she's going to kill it in the set up she has now.
turtles almost always live an unhealthy and short life in an aquarium due to inadequate care. in my opinion and in the opinion of most herpetologists, turtles are not appropriate pets for those without a full understanding of the tremendous amount of care they require. The care and feeding is more complicated than is generally thought ---> daily maintenance of the enclosure, enclosure apparatus and feeding are alot of work. most people are dismayed to find that they can't just stick the turtle in a box or tank of water or let them loose in their yard, tossing lettuce to it once in a while.
Red-eared Sliders are unfortunately one of the most common types of turtles sold in pet stores here and abroad. These fresh water turtles spend much of their time in the warm waters of their native habitat. While they are strong underwater swimmers, these sliders spend much of the warmer hours of the day hauled out on logs or rocks (or, when very small, on marsh weeds and other aquatic plants) basking in the sun.
All sliders are omnivores, eating both animal protein and vegetable/plant matter. Younger turtles need up to 40% of their food from protein sources; adult turtles feed more heavily on vegetation. In the wild they begin by eating tiny fish and amphibian larva, water snails and a variety of plants growing in the water and on land.
It is illegal in the U.S. for pet stores to sell turtles less than four inches in length (this is problematic for those species whose full adult size is 4" or less!). The ones sold legally will be at least four inches long from the neck end of the carapace (top shell) to the tail end of the carapace. If male, it will be somewhere between 2-4 years old and already sexually mature. Wild females reach maturity later, between 5-7 years, and will then be over 5 inches in length; in captivity, females may reach maturity at about 3 1/2 years. You will be able to tell male from females: males are smaller than females in overall body size but have longer tails.
As with all wild-caught reptiles, the animals found in pet stores have been under stress for some time. As a result, they are most likely suffering from protozoan and bacterial infections, including Salmonella which is easily transmitted to young children. Additionally, they are usually emaciated and dehydrated due to long periods of time without food or water or being held in areas too cold to stimulate the appetite; many of these turtles will not eat when they are stressed or frightened and cannot eat when they are too cold.
All Sliders need both a warm, dry area and a large pool of warm water. In the wild, they choose water that warms up quickly in the sun each day. The water must be kept clean; rotting bits of food mixed with feces will combine to make an unhealthful habitat and a sick turtle. Turtles are messy eaters and defecate in their water, so cleaning needs to be a daily routine.
for juvenile turtles, at least a 30 gallon aquarium is necessary to start with to allow room for swimming. clean aquarium rock and gravel to build a slope up from the wet end (the pool) to the dry end (the land). Rough rocks should not be used as they can scratch turtle shells which allows bacterial and fungal infections to get started and penetrate into the turtle's body.
The water must be at least as deep as the turtle is long. If your turtle's carapace (the top shell) is 5 1/2 inches long, the pool that the turtle needs to swim in must be at least 5 1/2 inches deep. This will enable your turtle to swim around naturally. This also means that you will have to continue to increase the water area as your turtle grows.
Proper water filtering systems are necessary to keep the water fresh between your weekly changes. If you have a powerful filter system and you feed your turtle in another tank, you may be able to get away with replacing 25-50% of the water each week for two or three weeks, emptying and cleaning out the tank thoroughly every third or fourth week. Remember to replace the water with warm water.
The water temperature must be maintained between 75-86 degrees F. If you buy a submersible pre-calibrated heater, test it first and make sure the water is the proper temperature before you put your turtle in the water. Too cold and it won't eat; too hot and you'll cook it. Buy an aquarium thermometer and monitor the temperature regularly.
If the room the turtle is being kept in is always over 75 F, then you will only need to heat up a basking area. Using an incandescent light or spot light, allow the area closest to the light to reach 85-88 F. Make sure there is absolutely no way for the light to fall into the water or for the turtle to come into direct contact with the light bulb. Be aware that the light will heat up the water to a certain degree so be sure to monitor the water temperature. Young sliders, and any sick turtle, should be kept warmer (water temperatures between 82-85 F) than the average healthy adult. Sustained low temperatures (between 65-72 degrees) will cause turtles to stop feeding and respiratory infections may result.
If the room is not warm enough to provide the turtle with the proper air temperature gradient, you will need to supplement the heat, providing another source of heat which may be used day and night in addition to the basking light. One alternative is to use one of the new ceramic heat elements; these screw into regular incandescent sockets (preferably porcelain sockets), come in a variety of powers, and last a very long time.
Full-spectrum light is an essential part of the calcium metabolization process in turtles, and calcium deficiencies are very common in captive turtles. Many herpetoculturists use full-spectrum lights as, in addition to their importance in mineral metabolizing, they may have subtle psychological benefits such as improved appetite.
To ensure proper nutrition, strong growth and a healthy long-lived turtle, feed a varied diet to both adults and juveniles. remember that adults eat less animal protein and more vegetable matter. Juveniles must be fed every day; adults can be fed once every two to three days. Do not feed more than they can eat; the excess food will go to waste and foul the water.
Feed a combination of the following foods:
Commercial diets (No more than 25% of total diet): Trout Chow, commercial floating fish, reptile or turtle food (pellets, sticks or tablets). The pellets and sticks have the advantage of being formulated specifically for reptiles and don't decompose in the water as fast as other foods.
Animal Protein (No more than 25% of total diet). Live feeder fish -- do not feed frozen fish; they are deficient in thiamin and excess consumption will cause a thiamin deficiency in your turtle. Earthworms -- buy them from a reptile or aquarium store; do not feed the ones from your yard as they may contain bacteria, parasites and pesticides against which your turtle has no immunity. Finely chopped raw lean beef, beef heart and cooked chicken; raw chicken is too often riddled with salmonella. High quality dog kibble can be offered occasionally --dog and cat foods tend to be too high in fat and additives and so should not be used as the main source of protein.
Plant Matter (50% or more of total diet).
Offer leaves of dark leafy greens such as collard, mustard and dandelion greens. Offer shredded carrots (and carrot tops), squash and green beans. Thawed frozen mixed vegetables may be used occasionally, but care should be taken as some frozen green vegetables develop thiaminase which destroys that all-important B vitamin. Fruit can be offered raw; shred hard fruits like apples and melons, chopping soft fruits such as berries. To help keep their beak in trim, let them gnaw on pieces of cantaloupe with the (well washed) rind still attached.
Vitamin Supplements should be added twice a week. Use a good reptile or turtle multi-vitamin. Turtles must also be supplied with additional calcium; they often enjoy taking bites out of calcium blocks and gnawing on cuttlebone, so always have some available to them.
Watch your turtle for any signs of illness: cloudy, closed or swollen eyes; swollen cheeks; open mouth breathing; bubbly mucous around the nose or mouth; runny stools; loss of appetite; listlessness; spots appearing on plastron (bottom shell), carapace or body; soft shell or excessive shedding. Newly acquired turtles are under a lot of stress and may be riddled with bacterial or parasitical infections that may be passed along to you or your kids. Always take a sick turtle to a reptile veterinarian. Always take a sick turtle to a reptile veterinarian, and have your children checked out by their physician if they begin to exhibit any signs (nausea, stomach aches, vomiting).
