One of the first things that you should know about a red eared slider turtle before getting one as a pet is how long it lives. As we all know, getting a pet is a long time commitment and sometimes that long time can be a little longer than we expected. Red Eared Slider turtles live a very long time compared to other animals, so let’s see exactly how long they live.
How long do red eared slider turtles live? Red Eared Slider turtles usually live 30 to 40 years, but there are cases when a red eared slider turtle can end up living more than 50 years.
As you can see the amount of time a red eared slider turtle will live is not very well defined. This is not because there weren’t enough studies made or anything like that. But in general, the lifespan of a turtle is greatly influenced by some factors. Those factors can determine if a turtle will only live 30 years, or if it will reach 50. Now let’s take a closer look at some of the most important factors and see how they influence the lifespan of a red eared slider turtle.
How the Environment Influences How Long a Red Eared Slider Turtle Lives
The environment of a turtle is the area where it lives, and everything that lives in that area, not just the red eared slider turtle. Since the environments of wild red eared slider turtles and pet red eared slider turtles are so different I am going to split this part into two sections, one about the wild turtles, and one about the pet turtles.
Wild Red Eared Slider Turtles
In general wild turtles have to deal with a lot of things that pet turtles don’t have to worry about. And the most dangerous thing that they can encounter in the wild is a predator.
Predators
Any animal that wants to catch a turtle and eat it, or do anything harmful to it, can be considered a predator. And since most animals in the wild rely on hunting other animals and eating them, you can imagine that a relatively defenceless turtle has a lot of predators.
Here are a few of the most well-known turtle predators:
- Raccoons
- Opossums
- Skunks
- Snakes
- Eagles
- Crows
- Dogs
- Cats
If you want to see a longer list you can check out my article: What Are the Predators of Turtles ?, in this article, I talk a lot more about turtle predators in general, and I also provide a longer list with details.
Turtles are not completely defenceless against predators, if that were the case there wouldn’t be any turtles left right now. But they are definitely not the favourite winner of most encounters.
A predator can end the life of a turtle in a few minutes, and the most vulnerable turtles are the young inexperienced ones that don’t know how to properly hide or defend themselves. This is one of the main reasons why the average age is much lower than the maximum age they can biologically reach. When most predators see a young turtle they will attack it knowing that it will be easy prey.
Out of all the factors that influence how long a wild red eared slider turtle can live, the predators are probably the biggest factor. But there are some things out there that can be a lot scarier.
Random Factors
By random factors, I’m referring to things that don’t usually happen, but when they do they can drastically affect all turtles that live in an area, and those factors are usually out of the control of turtles.
Here you can include most of the natural catastrophes, tornados, wildfires, floods, prolonged winters, etc.
The worst thing about those things is that they don’t only influence a turtle directly, they influence all turtles that live in an area. And this can happen in multiple ways. Let’s take for example a tornado. A turtle can be caught in a tornado, and it will be directly affected. Or the entire vegetation of the area is destroyed and the turtle is indirectly affected.
There are other things that can be added to the list of random factors that influence the lifespan of a red eared slider turtle. For example, some people can decide to camp in that area and throw some litter on the ground and the turtle can find it and eat it. If what it ate was toxic you can be sure that its lifespan will be drastically reduced after that.
I can continue to add a lot of things to this random factors list, but at that point, the article won’t ever stop. So I am going to stop with the examples here, assuming that you got the idea.
Now let’s talk a little about the environment of a pet red eared slider turtle.
Pet Red Eared Slider Turtles
Pet red eared slider turtles don’t have to deal with any of the troubles that their wild counterparts have. But instead, their lifespan is drastically influenced but what you do, and what you provide for them.
The Tank
The first thing that people provide for their turtle is a place where it can live, and that is usually a tank. One of the most important aspects of a tank is its size. After you buy a proper tank you also have to properly maintain the water that you keep inside, which means that you have to maintain a proper temperature and to maintain the water clean. Those two factors can drastically influence the lifespan of a red eared slider turtle.
Temperature. It’s really easy to see how a bad temperature can badly influence how long a red eared slider turtle will live. If the water is too cold, the turtle will catch a cold, and colds can be a real danger for turtles. And water that is too hot, it will basically slowly boil and burn the turtle. In general, the water has to be between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. But if you want more details about this subject, you can find them in my other articles in the Care Guides section.
Cleanliness. Red Eared Slider turtles are pretty resistant when to comes to germs and bacteria, after all their natural wild habitats are not the cleanest out there. But even they have a limit. If a turtle spends too much time in dirty water their health will start to suffer and this will drastically reflect in the amount of time that they will live. They don’t require a spotless tank every day, but a minimum of cleanliness should be maintained. If you want some tips that will help clean your tank faster, or you don’t know what gear to use I would recommend you to read this article where I give you a few recommendations and tips.
The Basking Area
Another essential thing that you have to provide for your turtle to maintain good health, and live a long life, is a basking area.
When turtles bask they get rid of the harmful bacteria that live on their shell, and they also get the necessary amounts of UVB light that help them maintain a healthy shell and bone growth. And they also regulate their body temperature, since turtles are cold-blooded reptiles, they don’t produce their own body heat and they rely on the surrounding heat to regulate their body temperature.
If you want to know how to properly set up a basking area I would strongly suggest you to read this guide: Guide for Lighting and Heating a Turtle Tank and Basking Area, in this guide you will find all the information you will ever need about basking areas, and turtle tanks.
Now let’s move to the next major part of this guide the diet.
How the Diet Influences How Long a Turtle Lives
A good and balanced diet is one of the most important things for a longer lifespan. The diet is the source of all the nutrients and vitamins that a turtle needs to live. So a good diet means that a turtle will live a long life, but a poor diet means that the life of a turtle will be relatively short.
In the wild, the diet of a red eared slider turtle is limited to what it can find. If they can find good healthy food, they will eat it, if they don’t they will eat anything that can find, or they won’t eat anything if they don’t have access to any kind of food. So as you can see wild red eared slider turtles don’t have access to a stable and balanced diet, and as a result, their lifespan will be influenced a lot by this.
Pet red eared slider turtles on the other hand are in a completely different situation. They don’t have to search for food, instead, the food is given to them. But they also have no way of telling you exactly what kind of food they want, so it’s up to you to make the best choices for them.
I have a more in-depth article about what kind of food red eared slider turtles can eat, that can be found in the Care Guides section, or you can use the search function. And I would also recommend you to read this article: Buyer’s Guide: Best Turtle Food, which covers some of the best, and most advantageous turtle food on the market.
Related Questions
Can turtles live up to 500 years? No, some turtles are able to live close to 200 years, but no known turtle has lived up to 500 years.
What is the oldest turtle? Adwaita is the name of the Aldabra tortoise that reached the age of 255 years. Adwaita died on 22 March 2006 at the age of 255 years, in Alipore Zoological Gardens, Kolkata, India.
How old is the oldest living turtle? At the moment the oldest living turtle in the world is a Seychelles giant tortoise that is 186 years old.
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Hi Cameron, We have raised a slider turtle since a hatchling. Houdini is 4 1/2 years old. We keep him very clean, feed him in a separate area and play with him daily. He is very social and he knows when we get company. He gets all excited and all guests must go over and talk to him. He is totally part of our family. He eats very well and loves to sun himself under his lights.
I care for two RES turtles, one bought in Berlin 35 years ago, where I lived, and a second, bought in New York, where I now live, 25 years ago. They are splendid creatures indeed.