This is the red eared slider. In the past hatchling red ears were sold at roadside stands (this is still sometimes done illegally) and even after the 4 inch law made that illegal they were still sold as juveniles by many pet stores.
These turtles get massive. They need a 60-120 gallon tank at minimum, and really do best in a small pond. They also live for 20-30 years with proper care. Since these are branded as a low maintenance pet a huge number of red ears are either horribly neglected or illegally released into the wild (resulting in them becoming a horrible invasive species and out-competing native turtles).
However a lot of people seem to think that red ears are the only aquatic turtles available in the hobby and/or that almost all aquatic turtles get this big and unmanageable. But the truth is there are plenty of species that, while certainly not “easy” animals, make much better pets than the red eared slider.
A lot of turtle hobbyists will say a male southern painted is the best turtle for someone starting out. Males range between 3.5 and 5 inches (so a 35 to 50 gallon minimum tank size) and even a truly massive female would only get up to 7 inches. They are also cute, brightly colored, and very active as well as comparable in hardiness to a red eared slider. Other subspecies of painted turtle are beautiful and hardy as well, but they do grow significantly larger (some are comparable in size to a red eared slider).
My first turtle (and first reptile) was a little male southern painted. His name is Awkward and he is still probably my favorite reptile to watch because he is so active and graceful in the water.
Note: Painted turtles are native to much of the US and some states will have laws against keeping native reptiles. Make sure you are aware of your state laws.
I lumped these two species together because they are very similar in care and appearance. Stinkpots reach about 4-5 inches and three-stripes usually reach 3-4 inches.
While painted turtles and sliders are deep-water pond turtles, muds and musks are better suited to shallow water. Three-stripes especially are not the best swimmers and should have access to a sandy land area to dig in. Both species should have lots of vertical tank furniture to help them climb to the surface.
It should also be noted that muds/musks can be quite aggressive to members of their own species or to look-alike species so you should not cohabitate them. Even cohabitating them with basking turtles can be risky as they have very powerful jaws and are capable of ripping limbs off other turtles.
There are many species of map turtle in the United States, each species usually being unique to a few (or sometimes just one) rivers. They like fast moving water and as a result can be slightly more sensitive to water quality than the other two species above. They are also quite sexually dimorphic in terms of size; females of most turtle species are at least slightly larger than males, but the size difference in map turtles is extremely pronounced. This is why I specify that getting a male map turtle is important, because while a male might be a perfectly manageable turtle a female might be red eared slider sized (for this reason you must get a turtle that is old enough to be reliably sexed).
Map turtle species in which the males stay on the smaller side: Ouachita map (3.5-5 inch), black-knobbed map (3-4 inches), Texas map (2.5-4.5 inches), and Mississippi map (3-4.5 inches). There are probably other species too, but those are the ones I see available most often.
Most people probably haven’t seen these species available at a pet store (for reasons elaborated upon below), so where do you get them? Most of these species are available principally from breeders online.
STAY AWAY FROM TURTLESALE.COM AND TURTLESHACK.COM. They are horrible and regularly deliver deathly ill turtles.
TurtleSource.com is pretty fair. They are a big breeder and often have species that aren’t readily available elsewhere, but they can’t really put in the special attention to each animal that a smaller breeder can. However if you need an adult or subadult turtle they can be a good option, because most breeders only sell hatchlings most of the time.
Otherwise I would look for a breeder that works with the species you are interested in that has good reviews. The Turtle Forum is a great place to ask about reputable breeders working with your species (or you might find someone on there working with them).
What about the 4 inch law?
Astute readers will have noticed that some of the species I’ve mentioned may be under 4 inches even as adults. The 4 inch law, which was intended to prevent aquatic turtles from spreading salmonella to children, prohibits the sale of aquatic turtles under 4 inches in shell length except for genuine scientific or educational purposes. However, although that is what the law says, it has only ever been really enforced on brick-and-mortar pet stores (usually big chains like PetCo/PetSmart) and on people selling hatchling red ears at the beach,on the side of the road, etc.
Although the law itself has not been officially changed (though there was a recent attempt to create an exception for expensive turtles that would only be of interest to hobbyists) everyone seems to have kind of agreed that it doesn’t apply to online breeders that sell to hobbyists. There are lots of companies selling hatchling turtles online (or even adults that never get over 4 inches) that have never gotten in trouble. Some of them may ask you to check a box that says the turtle is for “educational or scientific purposes” (why shouldn’t educating yourself by observing a turtle count?).
Basically the law is outdated and the salmonella threat that originally caused it was overblown (you are more likely to get salmonella from peanut butter than from a turtle). Although I’m glad that the law prevents unscrupulous roadside hatchling sales it really should be re-written to exempt responsible hobbyists (especially become some turtle species never get over 4 inches).
It is also important to note that it is not illegal to BUY or OWN a turtle under 4-inches in shell length, it is only illegal to sell one (and again the precedent is that online hobbyist sales are fine, though that’s not technically been written into the law).
More questions about turtle ownership?
Austin’s Turtle Page is a great resource as is the associated Turtle Forum. I would also be happy to answer any questions you have!
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