redearslider.com

I want to know how long i can let my slider stay outside of the water, he is about 12 inches in diameter and seems to love it outside of the water more than submerged... is this typical?

A long time. alot longer then you will probly be able to keep an eye on him without being bored.

Why do you think he likes to be out of the water more than in?

-spike

well he loves to crawl around my apartment and sleep/hide under my bed and he never wants to be in the tank, so i want to make sure he can sustain being out of water or confirm that he is essistially an aquatic animal and needs to be kept in water most of the time. is there a timeframe? can he go days out of water or does he have to spend most of the day in water?

teta wrote:well he loves to crawl around my apartment and sleep/hide under my bed and he never wants to be in the tank, so i want to make sure he can sustain being out of water or confirm that he is essistially an aquatic animal and needs to be kept in water most of the time. is there a timeframe? can he go days out of water or does he have to spend most of the day in water?

How do you know that? Res living in ponds rarely distance themselves much from the water. Essentially they go on land in order to bask and lay eggs, they don't crawl around much.

i really just want to confirm that the turtle can be out of water indefinitely, that it loves water typically but can easily survive on land as long as it gets water the same as any other land animal. is this true? is is it false? and why?

RES are pond dwellers. Therefore provide rocks and logs for him/her to bask.
However, I do understand the confusion, since I have noticed that many ppl have aquarium filled tanks with platforms. While others have semi-aquatic environment for their turtles.


I do take mine out , but only when I have the time to watch him and I only have him walk on a clean towel. I do not let him/her walk on the floor or carpet.

If the turtle is out of sight, it can not be prevented if it eats something it should not like dust, old food, dirt from outside....etc

teta wrote:well he loves to crawl around my apartment and sleep/hide under my bed and he never wants to be in the tank, so i want to make sure he can sustain being out of water or confirm that he is essistially an aquatic animal and needs to be kept in water most of the time. is there a timeframe? can he go days out of water or does he have to spend most of the day in water?

Try building something for him in your backyard have a kiddy pool or a pond and have a area closed off with some chicken wire for him to roam around.

teta wrote:i really just want to confirm that the turtle can be out of water indefinitely, that it loves water typically but can easily survive on land as long as it gets water the same as any other land animal. is this true? is is it false? and why?

A res can live out of the water for extended periods of time up to several days as long as he won't dehydrate himself to death. However i wouldn't reccomend it. Maybe let's say 4 to 6 hours a day?

ps- I still don't think he 'loves' to crawl around your apartement though. Simply you have mistaken his attempts to beg for food swimming towards the tank glass and/or his attempt at escaping with 'desire' to roam around your apartment.

Yes, they can!! my 5 year old been living in the aquarium for 3 years not until i figure that she wants to be more out.. so i took her out.. so in my room i cant let her de-hydrate so i have to keep bring her to the aquarium back and forth.. anyway, one day i jus figure out to put a bowl with a rock beside it.. let her crawl in the room and as soon as she gets hungry or thirsty.. she would climb the bowl automatically.. but this took atleast a month before she memorized her routine.. and took atleast another year before she completely jus poo in the bowl.. so now i got a domestic turtle acting like a dog.. lol if i can video my turtle i would post it up here..

i have two res and they love to be out as well. when theyre in the tank they dont bask at all an i hav a basking area an light everything to make them comfortable, but after feeding time they beg to get out so i would take them out....... they will explore a bit an then go under the bed an sleep or sometimes i put them on my bed both shelly an franklyn find there way under the sheets an sleep.........

Like others have said, RES are aquatic turtles, not land turtles. They only go on land to bask and lay eggs. Most likely they want out of their tank because they are stressed by being in it. Someting in the tank or something in your room near the tank is probably bothering them.

They are going under the bed and under the sheets because they are stressed out and are hiding. Hiding calms them. Both of my ponds have places for the turtles to hide at the bottom when they feel stressed. Get them back in the tank and leave them there. If they aren't basking in their tank it is probably because they are afraid too. Rearrange the tank and make sure the lighting is above the basking area.

-Michael

My res turtle just turned 1 year He's a happy big boy And he also enjoys walking around my apartment. After i turn on his UVB-UVA bulbs etc and i feed him, he stays a bit to bask and then he goes crazy in the water and tries to escape, i then take him out of his tank and he start marathon-ing around my room, then he goes exploring the rest of the apartment. It's not him begging for food, because he is fed (he also has salad and/or cuttlefish bone to munch on in his tank), he does have places to hide in the tank, away from everything if he wishes and he likes to bask mostly in the evening. He doesn't quiet down until i let him take a stroll. After he's done walking the hides under the bed and sometimes falls asleep or he sits slightly under the edge of the bed and looks out from there admiring my dresser I really hope it's good for him, going on the premise that he knows bests what he's in the mood for He's fine, energetic, eats well, basks, so i do hope he will be good in the future too (oh, he has been doing the escape part since he was about 3 months old, although we changed tanks, design, etc etc).
Here's a little video of him going crazy in the tank, not the best quality, but you get the idea
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OmsxIF2 ... e=youtu.be

It looks like food begging to me! Turtle will beg for food even after you feed them. I will put pellets in my turtle's tank and he will splash away trying to get to me for food. I have to walk away then he will go search for the food. As soon as I come back he is back at it, splashing away. Like it has been said an year ago on this thread. Slider's are aquatic turtles that will go on land to lay eggs and bask but as soon as danger (an predator) comes they slide into the water, hence the name slider. Unless your turtle is walking up to you and begging to be picked up I doubt he would rather be out of water. I take my turtle out in the summer and let him walk around my house. (My house is turtle proofed). I'm not to sure he likes it out of the water better, he explores what he can access in the house then realizes there's no pond and tries to go out the doggy door to get to the backyard, probably trying to find a new water hole to slide into and get away from me, the large predator that has him caught on land where he doesn't feel any security at all. At that point it is my queue to put him back in his tank. It usually will take about 15 mins for him to start trying to go thru the doggie door. I'd say it doesn't hurt to let him walk around every once in awhile, but I don't recommend anyone to keep an aquatic turtle out of the water for any prolonged amount of time, only exception is if moving then a one time prolonged period in a carrier or box won't hurt but you would want to have a container big enough to allow him to sleep/swim in the water at night and drink as needed. Unless there is a pond in the house that has a ramp with access to it, your turtle can't truly choose what he wants. Your taking it into your own hands to choose what your turtle wants. I hope this helps. I know its a thread from 2010 but its a topic that a lot of people have a question about:) Welcome to the forums! Nice yellow belly slider, btw;)

I just got a red ear turtle. She's about 10 years old . I'm new to this and don't know much about them. I have gold fish in the tank and she hasn't eaten them. Why.