The states that red eared sliders are illegal in is Oregon, TN, Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana, Florida and NJ.
The states that have restrictions on red eared sliders are Illinois, Mississippi and California.
The states of North Carolina and South Dakota ban the sale of all turtles.
Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi and Virginia have some restrictions on the possession or sale of red eared sliders.
In Pennsylvania it's illegal to release red eared sliders into the environment.
In Florida it's illegal to sell any wild red eared sliders because they can interbreed with the local yellow bellied sliders although unusual color varieties of red eared sliders are allowed for sale.
In New York they have a bill that bands the sale, breeding, trade, purchase, importation and exportation of red eared sliders.
Although current owners are not affected and it's also illegal to release any red eared sliders into waters in New York.
In California red eared sliders are legal to keep as pets but you must have a fishing license if you're 16 or older.
You cannot release a red eared slider back into the wild after you remove them from the wild.
Adult red eared sliders need a tank as big as 100 gallons for enough space although a 50 gallon tank is required at minimum.
Ideally though a 100 gallon tank to 120 gallon tank is best to allow the red eared slider enough room.
You should ideally provide the red eared slider with 10 gallons of water per each inch of shell length for each red eared slider.
Young red eared sliders need a minimum of 20 gallon tank.
Red eared sliders also need a lot of space and can grow to be 10 inches to 12 inches long so they need a large tank with at least 10 gallons of water per inch of their body.
A good size tank for a red eared slider is between 100 gallons to 120 gallons for enough room.
It takes a red eared slider 5 years to 7 years to reach full size, depending on whether it's male or female.
Male red eared sliders often reach full size at 4 inches in length after 3 to 5 years and female red eared sliders often reach full size at 6 inches in length to 7.5 inches after 5 to 7 years.
Red eared sliders also grow rapidly and reach 2 inches within their first year.
However fewer than 30 percent of all the red eared slider eggs and hatchlings survive beyond their first year.
A red eared slider is a good pet as long as you're willing to meet their specific needs and provide for their long lifespan.
Red eared sliders can be friendly and intelligent pets and some red eared sliders may even recognize you as their owner.
However if scared or handled roughly red eared sliders can bite.
Red eared sliders also have a long lifespan of around 30 years to 77 years so you should be prepared for a long term commitment when choosing a red eared slider as a pet.
Red eared sliders also need a lot of space and can grow to be 10 inches to 12 inches long so they need a large tank with at least 10 gallons of water per inch of their body.
A good size tank for a red eared slider is between 100 gallons to 120 gallons for enough room.
However red eared sliders sometimes don't do great in captivity and as pets because they're not given the correct diet and may not have the proper UV light or don't have a filtration system for their tank.
Also red eared sliders don't like to be handled frequently so they can bite when they are held too often or feel frightened.
When handling a red eared slider or other turtle you should hold them safely by their shells and be sure to monitor the turtles head at all times when handling them to avoid getting bitten.