Hi, where did you get your turtle..we have three but my friend wants one and i'm looking for one for her. Thanks, btw...where in michigan? i'm in michigan too and i have water hyancyth to get rid of

~K~

I'm in Grosse Pointe. If you're nearby, I would love to take those hyacinth off your hands. I got the turtles at Pet Supplies Plus in St. Clair Shores. They still have one left. . .

I've added two Red Eared Sliders to my pond this year. Their former owners didn't want them anymore. The turtles have not touched any of my pond plants. I have Lillis, hyacinth and other plants. I also add watercress occasionally, but my goldfish devour it in a few days.
The turtles were fed turtle pellets by their previous owner, and they seem to prefer them over my plants. I initially had trouble feeding the turtles because my fish would eat all the pellets before the turtles got to them. I made an island of flat rocks on my plant shelf for the turtles to sun themselves and I now use it to feed them. The turtles can get the pellets off of the rocks and the fish can't.
Have you tried feeding them floating turtle pellets? Most petstores carry them.

I do feed them Reptomin pellets, but yes, the fish get them first. I'll put them on the rocks. . . Thanks.

I had a red-eared slider for a year and a half up until May when she decided to leave. Maybe she got spring fever. Well I can tell you from experience, my wife and kids loved the turtle. I couldn't stand it. The reason is it would not allow one single lily pad to come close to reaching the surface. It ate every one. The minute she left, my pond is more beautiful then ever. Lilies blooming everywhere. I fed the turtle regularly and it would not only devour it's own food it ate the fish food as well. It also ate all the baby fry (some would say a good thing) and hundreds of tadpoles. She was an eating machine. I even saw a bunch of commotion one morning. I went outside and the turtle had a frog by it's leg and was trying to and successfully ate it.

Funny story, the other day, me and my wife were outside and I looked over at the pond and approaching it in the grass was another red-eared slider turtle. It was bigger than the one that left us. I took one look at my wife and said "No Way!" I grabbed the turtle, put it in a bucket, and drove it down the road and released it in the bogs.

One other thing, red-eared sliders must be in water to eat so if you have it's food sitting outside the water, you might not see any of it disappear.

-Mike

Many people have turtle ponds and plant ponds because of the turtles eating the plants.

Jfm1973, I feed my turtles Gammarus Pellets. The ingredients are similar to the pellets I feed my fish, but they contain more fish meal and less wheat. The rocks I place the pellets on are surrounded by water. I'm not sure if turtles would eat off of rocks that were on the shore. Placing the food on a rock island keeps it away from my fish. I do see birds sometimes landing on the rock to get the pellets if the turtles don't get to it quickly.

Mike, your statement about turtles not eating out of water is simply not true. My turtles will swim around the rock containing their food, stretching their necks to reach all the food they can. Then they crawl partially out of the water to get more of the food. Eventually, the turtles will climb onto the rock and eat the food out of the water. They do compete for the food and will sometimes bump each other off of the rock. I watch them eat pellets while standing on the rock just about every day.

johnkr,

Whether it is my statement or many articles on caring for red-eared sliders, I am just relaying information that is published about this particular species.

Quote from the article "An aquatic turtle needs to be in water. It doesn't eat unless its food is in the water, too."

-Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: Caring for Red-Eared Sliders

Mike, the posts I have made on this forum are based on my own experiences. If I have seen something work, I can recommend it. Otherwise, I would not make recommendations based on what others have stated. I've seen way too much garbage posted on the Web.
The link you listed is an article by Abe. Abe enjoys writing about television, film, the arts, and various hobbies. I wonder where Abe got his' information on turtles?

What Mike said is true.... sliders, and some other aquatic turtles must have water to swallow their food. They can grab the food above water, but must have the water to swallow.

If you don't trust old Honest Abe, how about a quote from Iowa's HerpNet:

'Because they have a fixed tongue, they can not swallow on land. Obviously, their food must be obtained and eaten in the water.'

-Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: HerpNet

They probably carry the food back into the water before digesting, but my turtles definitely take the food off of the rocks. As in not obtained in water. I'll try to get some photos.

My original point was that I build an island of flat rocks on a plant shelf to give the turtles an out of water resting place. I'm able to leave turtle pellets on these rocks and their able to get them while the fish can't.

I just stumbled upon this forum and have read the above posts. I am linked with a turtle adoption agency and it is best for the turtles to eat in water. I do not find it a dumb idea to separate your pond since it is as large as it is. Sliders do need 10 gals of water per inch of shell and should be fenced in to prevent coons and other such animals from eating them and once they arrive they may eat the fish asd well. The best food for a slider is pellets containing much calcium the fish pellets lack the protien and nutrients they need. Their shells are vulnerable and need strenthened with thte calcium. If you raise an aaquatic turtle from a baby on pellets they usually don't bother your fish or plant. The plants contain nutrients they need as well as a natural food source. I suggest adding some to the turtle side if you create one. Sliders are not native to the area and a pet one being released is cruel and will not be likey to survive. For those of you wishing to obtain a turtle I suggest petfinder.com and emailing matts adoption. There are so many in need of homes and chances are good to get a baby to raise how you would like. I wish all of you the best of luck with your ponds, plants, turtles, and fish. I just hope I was able to shine some light on your dilemas. If you guys need any advice with your turtles you can email me at hallieeakin@yahoo.com.

Actually, Red Eared Sliders are native to Michigan, that's why I chose them. . . But I wouldn't think of releasing them anyway. . .

Jfm1973, here are some photos of my turtles taking food pellets from the rock island in my pond. As I stated earlier, placing the pellets on the rocks keep my fish from eating them. My turtles now associate the rocks with feeding and they often check for food during the day.

I started added some chopped pieces of grapes and watermelon to the turtle pellets and they have been taking the fruit along with the pellets.

Red Eared Sliders are not native to Pennsylvania, but so many have been released over the years that they now share most available habitat with the native species.

I'm glad to here that they live in Michigan. If they can survive a Michigan winter, they should have no trouble in PA.

I enjoy watching my turtles eat off of rocks and I hope it will work for you. That is, unless you still believe those who say turtles must obtained their food in the water. LOL

I've been on this forum for a few years and I've seen many good suggestions along with the occasional nonsense. Determining the difference is the key.

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They are not native to Michigan, I believe the warmer Mississippi/Gulf area, where they hibernate for only a short time.
I can't find any info on hibernation in colder areas, but it sounds sketchy and you may want to do more research before leaving them out over winter.

This quote is from Michigan State University...

 Red-eared Slider: Ponds, lakes, marshes, sloughs. Note: Sliders are found in a few localities in southern Michigan, but these may represent introduced populations, as thousands of baby sliders from the southern states were once sold in the pet tradeÂmost died from poor care, but those released were able to survive. There are 2000 year-old archeological records for sliders in Michigan, so the species is considered "native" to Michigan.

I also have 2 adult red eared sliders that eat all my plants but they will not eat lettuce or any other vegetables. I have never seen a pond turtle eat there food on the rock. My turtles eat their food in the water. They eat pellets, fish food (but they do not eat the Gold fish) worms and I know that this is unusal but the person who gave me my last turtle fed the turtle small venna Sauages and both of my turtles love them. I was so suprised. They love it so I continue to feed them. I have a girl and a boy turtle. How long will it take for them to reproduce? Thank You!