I just got two red eared sliders, what are some things i should know?

i got a circular tank


i got a small calcium thing shaped as a turtle that lasts a week and a bigger one that lasts a month


i got pellet food


i got a rock from outside in there(cleaned)





oh do they have Salmonella Poisoning?

I just got two red eared sliders, what are some things i should know?
1) You need a large tank-it can be glass or a stock tank/rubbermaid container (ten gallons per inch of shell). You also need a submersible water heater (visitherm stealth), a filter for 2-3x the size of the tank (aquaclear or Xp3), a basking area (zoomed floating dock), a heat bulb (household bulb), a UVB bulb (Repti glo 5.0 compact), and two light fixtures (clamp lamps) pricematching Petsmart will save you money, print their online price and save like $15 at the store or order online from http://www.reptiledirect.com.





2) Throw the calcium thing out-it does other things and is not helpful for your turtle. Buy cuttlebone/turtlebone and remove the hard backing (the side you can't put your fingernail in), sticking in a clownfish veggie clip helps them eat it (always have some in their tank).





3) Feed them once per day. Every other day feed the number of pellets that would fit in their head if it was hollow with days in between offering romaine lettuce with the occasional carrot, basil, and leaf of radish. 6 rosie red minnows or other feederfish (not goldfish) is enough for a treat. Avoid meat/bugs/fruit (too much protein/parasites)-one berry per month is enough.





4) Large river rocks from the dollar store are OK but not gravel (they will eat it and die). Use the floating dock for a basking platform, it will allow you to fill the tank up more.





5) Small turtles may have salmonella and it is always reccomended that you wash your hands after handling.





Here is a good link to help you get started-it has the prices for what you need and your cheaper options as well as your more expensive options http://www.redearslider.com/startup.html





Here is a good setup http://www.putfile.com/pic.php?img=55975... (75 gallons, they will need bigger eventually).





Turtles are not social so be prepared for two 90 gallon set ups if one huge tank over 200 gallons does not work (here is a 240 gallon tank that someone on redearslider owns http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewto... they have one bulb, MVB which is used for 55 gallon tanks and has both heat and UVB).





http://www.redearslider.com is a website/forum is a free site where you can join and ask questions-if you don't join you can still read the information there and the forum.





Good luck.
Reply:RES love to swim so make sure the water is deep enough for them to swim and make sure the rock you got them is out of the water so they can crawl up on it to let their shell dry out when they need it to. I use the pellet food and also have used the turtle shaped calcium... I have heard about the salmonella but just be sure to wash your hands after touching them and you shoud be fine.



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