Thankfully, most of these factors are within your control as a pet owner. Many factors can affect how quickly your red-eared slider grows as well as how large they will be when fully grown. When fully grown, you can expect your turtle to weigh somewhere between 3 and 6 pounds depending on their ultimate size. Again, the average fully-grown red-eared slider should have a shell diameter of between 8 and 12 inches. It then takes them about four years to pass through the adolescent phase, by the end of which you can expect them to measure about five inches in diameter.įrom about five years old onward they are considered adults, but they will keep growing until they are around eight, when they will reach their final size. These turtles are considered infants until about three months, when they are usually just one inch in diameter. These turtles tend to have a relatively slow pace of growth. While your red-eared slider could grow to be as big as 12 inches in diameter, you shouldn’t expect that to happen very quickly. This size difference usually becomes apparent around the end of adolescence, which is when these turtles are about five years old. While this is uncommon in many animals, it is normal for most turtle species. The females tend to be larger than the males on average. Some individuals can also be significantly smaller, maxing out at around eight inches in diameter. How Big Do Wild and Captive Red-Eared Sliders Get?īoth in captivity and in the wild, you can expect the typical red-eared slider turtle to reach a maximum size of roughly 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Known predators for this species include raccoons, otters, mink, foxes and other animals of similar size. Red-eared sliders normally swim for around 30 to 45 minutes at a time and will sometimes sleep underwater for short periods of time, but they can drown as they cannot actually breathe underwater.įemales lay between 2 and 30 eggs per clutch, and the gender of the babies depends on the temperature of the eggs during the gestation period (colder temperatures produce males and warmer temperatures result in females!). Considered one of the most destructive invasive species, as it is a highly opportunistic eater, and when a certain population is reached, it can destabilize habitats. This turtle was originally found in the US and northern part of Mexico but found its way in many parts of the world as a result of pet owners releasing them into the wild. They are the most popular pet turtle species in the United States and the most commonly traded turtle species in the world. The red-eared slider, also called the red-eared terrapin, is named for the red stripes on its skin near its ears and the way it slides off rocks and logs into the water.
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