Red Ear Slider Info
RED-EARED SLIDER-Trachemys scripta elegans
Description
The Red-eared Slider is perhaps the best known and most recognizable of turtles. The top of the shell (carapace) is smooth and gently curved and is olive to black with yellow stripes and bars. It is a medium -sized turtle that is best identified by a red or sometimes yellow patch that is found just behind its eye.
Life History
The Red-eared Slider is almost exclusively aquatic. It rarely ventures out of the water except to lay its eggs or to migrate to a new water body, should the need arise. As a water dweller, the adult turtle feeds primarily on aquatic plants. Young turtles are mostly carnivorous, gradually switching to vegetation as they age.
This slider is commonly seen basking in the sun, on logs or masses of vegetation. When basking sites are in short supply, they may even pile on top of each other, up to three turtles deep. The Red-eared Slider very easily is spooked and will slide directly into the water from its sunning spot at the least provocation.
During the breeding season between March and July, the female may find herself swept away by a persistent suitor. The male Red-eared Sliders attempt to win over a female by engaging in courtship activities include swimming backwards in front of the female with their forelegs stretched out, palm side up.
Red-eared Sliders may produce up to three clutches of four to 23 eggs in a single year. With each nest, the female will go on shore and dig a shallow hole that is three to 10 inches wide. She deposits her eggs in these excavations and subsequently covers them up with soil and materials to seal in the eggs for protection from predators and the elements. The young turtles hatch 60 to 75 days later, although they may spend the winter in the nest.
Habitat and Distribution
The Red-eared Slider is at home in quiet, freshwater systems that have muddy bottoms and abundant aquatic vegetation. They range from Indiana to New Mexico down through Texas to the Gulf of Mexico. They are widely distributed throughout Texas except for the far western region.
Back
Bebe Info
Bebe's Photo Album
Bebe's Photo Gallery
