They are classroom pets.
They are in a 20 gallon tank w/1/2 inch water %26 lamp for basking.
Answers:
I have a slider as well, and they are aquatic turtles, so they need water to swim in. I have mine in a 40 gal horse trough (she is an adult) with about 12-16 in. of water. If you do put a large amount of water in the tank, you should have some kind of perch or basking spot they can climb up on so they can get out of the water. I use a piece of grapevine i bought at a pet shop, but they make turtle docks that suction to the side of the tank. They can develop shell problems if they do no bask. I hope this helps.
I think your best option would be to call your local pet store, or local council, they might be able to give you some good advice or even fax or email some details through to you.
I have a slider turtle as well and I just went to petco and asked for help-and they set everything up for me.
sounds like you are set up pretty good but do you have an area where they can climb out of the water and bask? you could put a brick or large flat rock in the aquarium so they can climb up on it
We also take ours out sometimes and let her crawl around on the tile floor and she loves to go for the dark spots to hide. She is very interactive. Once in awhile we will give her those little 12 cent fish from the pet store and she eats them right up once we put them in her tank. Quite the treat!
The 'rule' is 10 gallons of water* per inch of turtle. (*- note that this is the water pool size, not the tank size!). Since sliders quickly get to 4-6", plan ahead with a 50 gallon pond, either in a bigger glass aquarium, or in a big plastic tub or wading pool.
With the pond in place, the basics are:
HEATING: Heat the water to 75-80, thermostatically controlled. With a bigger tank, a few smaller heaters are better than one big one. Try to leave one end 'cooler'.
BASKING: Provide at least two, but as many as practical, basking sites- rock piles, driftwood logs, rafts, etc. all work fine as long as the turtles can climb on them, get totally dry, and not get hurt by the materials. Use an ocverhead heat lamp or something to make at least some of the basking spots about 90 degrees during the day.
LIGHTING: Turtles use light cues for many things, including hibernation and UV-B rays to create vitamin D in their skin. Sadly, UV lighting is tough to provide and does not penetrate most glass or plastic. Find and install a good reptile light or similar device to provide lighting and UV. This link can help: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/article.
FILTRATION: Turtles are messy. big tanks help, but you'll want good filtration, and you'll still have to do frequent partial water changes. http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/article.
DIET: Let's just go to a good article: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/article.
Now, for the fun stuff. You can decorate the tank in a million ways or leave it plain. You can try snails, armored catfish, etc. for cagemates, potential foods, and to help keep the tank clean.
Enjoy, and check out the following sites for more ideas:
The only things really necessary are plenty of clean water to swim in, a ramp so they can bask, and a UVA / UVB light so they can synthesize calcium. Other than that some fake plants and rocks are good so they can hide from kids taping on the glass. A really good filter will go a long way because sliders make a huge mess in the tank.
