Red Eared Slider Turtle Essay

As you may have already guessed, the Red Eared Slider Turtle has derived its name from its bright scarlet ears which are its distinguishing features and set it apart from its other "slider" cousins. There are many reasons why the red eared slider turtle is the most popular pick among pet turtles.

It is pretty tame and mild-mannered in captivity, has a tolerant nature, can adapt to a variety of conditions, lives for very long periods, has very modest demands, is slow-moving, calm natured, quiet and pretty hardy if you provide it with its appropriate natural habitat.

It is a fresh water turtle species which happens to be a prolific breeder. Its several eye-catching lovely morphs are leucistic, pastel and albino.

Distribution

They can be

found in large numbers in the states of Florida to Virginia, west of Kansas, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma. These are their natural habitats. However, they are also found all over the world through human intervention and introduction.

There are 14 different kinds of Red Eared Slider Turtle (Trachemys) that can be found in the wildernesses of South America and Central America.

Status

Like most other turtles, the Red Eared Slider Turtle has been named by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, it is at lower risk of extinction than the Olive Ridley species of turtle that is highly endangered.

Availability

You can find them in online stores, at reptile shows, and pet stores.

They are very common and popular. You will need a proper and suitable setup to provide the turtle with a natural habitat where it can survive. That can set you back by quite a few hundred dollars, but the breed itself is extremely inexpensive.

Medical Problems

Don't huddle too many turtles together in a small tub or tank filled with stale, unclean, bacteria-ridden water that is not aerated because it will lead to dermatological infections, shell infections, and ear abscesses.

When these problems occur, the first thing to do is to remove the Red Eared Slider Turtle from the polluted water, dry and clean the affected areas and apply Betadine and Silvadene cream on those areas.

Let the turtle dry itself on a warm towel for a good number of hours before you return it to clean, bacteria-fee, healthy water. This process has to be repeated daily for 7 days or until the wounds heal.

Handling

The Red Eared Slider Turtle will let you touch it and handle it at times, eat food out of your hand, and swim up to you. Their curious natures come to the forefront during these times and they will observe everyone with bursting curiosity hoping for

treats.