Red-Eared Slider Facts

Video Transcript

"Here I'm holding a red-eared slider, her scientific name is trachemys scripta elegans. This is a freshwater turtle. They are actually found now in suitable habitats around all of the United States. They actually get their names from this red line you can see along the side of their necks. Female sliders are actually bigger than males, growing ten to twelve inches, and males only eight to ten inches. Now you can tell that this is a female because of the length of her claws. Although they may look long to us, they are actually short, and the males have much longer claws, the males use their claws during mating, and they will actually wiggle them in front of the female's face to show that he is a good candidate for breeding and has good genes. The female slider reaches sexual maturity after the male, at about seven years old, and the male can usually reach it at about five years old. Mating occurs from March through June, and the female slider can lay up to fifteen eggs. These guys are omnivores, feeding on plant matter and animal matter but especially insects and vegetations within their habitat. This specific turtle is interesting, as they are ectotherms and you can often find this species basking for long periods of time on logs in lakes and ponds. The red eared slider is a very common turtle in the pet industry, and though most pet owners will tell you that their pet does not hibernate, this species actually does. This species as I mentioned likes to bask in full sunlight, and when the sun is not available they go into hibernation around October, as soon as the temperature drops below fifty degrees."