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How to feed a red ear slider with pyramiding & choose a heat lamp?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

What should I feed my red ear slider with shell pyramiding and how often?Also which heat lamp would you recommend?Picture 1 or 2?How many watts should I get for the heat lamp?

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3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Miranda Sadar, DVM, DACZM

Veterinarian

Published on June 18th, 2018

A proper diet for red-eared sliders includes a complete pellet, such as those made by ReptoMin, and dark leafy green vegetables. This can be fed once per day, and the amount should be based on how many pellets Cooper can eat in 5-7 minutes. This is just a guideline, and your veterinarian can help you to determine if this is appropriate based on Cooper's body condition score (i.e. whether she is overweight or not). For a heat lamp - photo 1 just looks like the dome, and there doesn't appear to be a bulb in it. The second lamp looks like it is a daytime only heat lamp - it is often beneficial to have a heat source that can be used during the day or at night, and if that is what you are looking for, I would recommend a ceramic heat bulb. If you are looking for only a daytime basking bulb, there are many brands that would be appropriate. The key words that you should look for are "daytime basking bulb." For watts - it depends on how far the bulb is away from your turtle - there are some brands that have a chart on the side of the box that will give you distances and temperatures that correlate with the distance. This information, combined with your desired temperature for the basking area will help you to decide on what wattage to get. I hope that gives you more information!

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT

    Licensed Veterinary Technician

    Published on June 18th, 2018

    Feed as many pellets as would fit in her head if it was empty. Do this once daily. Offer greens daily, in the morning about 2 hours after the heat/light comes on. Supplement with a multivitamin and calcium supplement several times a week. I like Rep-Cal HerptiVite and Rep-Cal Calcium (w/o D3 as long as she has UVB lighting). An incandescent bulb or spot light will be sufficient for use as a heat lamp. Use thermometers or an infrared temperature gun to monitor ambient temp and basking spot temp.

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    Answered By Angel Alvarado, LVT

    Licensed Veterinary Technician

    Published on June 19th, 2018

    Plant matter should make up 50% of the diet with the other half divided between commercial pellets and animal protein/prey. Juveniles should be fed daily. These little guys are eating machines, so you can offer greens in the morning and pellets later or you can alternate days. Any basic lamp/reflector can be used. Start with a 100 watt bulb. If the temps are too high, use a lower wattage bulb or move the lamp farther away. This is where using thermometers can help you regulate heat.

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