Class: Reptilia Order: Testudines Family: Emydidae Genus: Trachemys Species: scripta elegans
The Red-eared slider turtle is characterized by a red stripe located behind the eye. Female sliders may have a fainter stripe than males. Their carapace or upper shell is a yellow-greenish color with yellow vertical lines. As they age, the lines or distinguished patterns may fade or turn into dark lines. Male’s carapace may even turn completely black, known as “melanistic.”
In the wild they will live in various freshwater habitats, preferring slow-moving water with soft, muddy bottoms, abundant aquatic plants, and plenty of basking sites like logs or banks, thriving in ponds, lakes, rivers, and swamps, and even man-made areas. They need access to land for nesting and burying themselves in mud to overwinter.
Their diet in the wild will consist of plant materials, insects, crayfish and small fish. In captivity, they will consume a commercial turtle diet and fish.
Help Feed Our Red-Eared Slider TurtleBreeders of the turtle have created two different strains that give them different coloring characteristics. One strain appears to be pastel, while the other is a vibrant yellow color. Many Red-eared Sliders are also commonly confused with the Painted Turtle, which is a completely different species.
The Red-eared sliders commonly bask on rocks out of the water and frequently pile on each other. They sometimes scare easily and slide into the water (hence the name slider) to get away from the source of the problem.
