The Red Eared Slider Turtle:
Think Before You Buy!

Little hatchling red eared slider turtles are very cute and covered with pretty patterns. As with all reptiles though, they are not as active or expressive as a dog or cat.

They cannot be trained to do any tricks or come when they are called. Because of this sliders that are given as gifts, especially to children, soon stop being the focus of attention. Once they grow larger and require very regular tank cleaning they become nothing more than a burden to their owners. While unwanted pets can be taken to animal shelters, all too often they are just dumped. This selfish act gives no consideration to either the poor pet or other animals in the environment where it was dumped.

Dumped Animals Struggle To Survive

Released red eared sliders are generally medium to full size yet despite this they do not have good survival prospects and often fall prey to local predators such as cats and dogs. However they can breed quickly and are released from captivity in such numbers that significant populations can occur even in areas where conditions don't allow hatchlings to be produced.

Threats To Wildlife

In areas where they can breed the slider poses a significant threat to other wildlife. They can out-compete native turtles because of fewer predators. Sliders also introduce diseases and parasites that native turtles may easily fall victim to. They can also interbreed with some closely related species such as the yellow slider turtle.

The Pet Trade

Millions of this animal are sold each year. They are bred en masse in the United States and shipped all around the world. Adult sliders are also exported as a food item. Large scale breeding operations are centred only on profit and the ability of the animals to breed quickly is used to overcome losses through poor living conditions and food supply. Hatchlings that are taken into the pet trade are usually kept under similarly poor conditions. Once in the pet shop, they are often kept in substandard conditions and may be suffering disease, stress or both.

Purchasing a slider from a small scale local breeder or obtaining one from an animal shelter helps prevent abuse of these turtles by the pet trade.

Find A Home For Your Slider

If you have a pet red eared slider turtle that you can no longer care for, have a look at this Slider Adoption page.