Natural History: Trachemys scripta

Trachemys scripta, known locally as the yellow-bellied slider, is a fairly common freshwater turtle in the southeastern United States. They are often seen around still bodies of water, basking on logs or the banks, sometimes doing so in large groups.

My own grandparents live in a golf course community in Myrtle Beach, and my aunt and I will go and feed leftover bread to the turtles in the ponds throughout the courses. Perhaps not the most nutritional meal, but we love watching them poke their heads up out of the water and swarm towards us – there must be at least 50 in the pond right behind their house!

They are very interesting turtles, despite how common they are. Their carapace has as beautiful wavy pattern on it and their plastron is a bright yellow with dark swirls on the sides. This, however, does fade with time, and older turtles generally don't have distinctive patterns. Their skin is yellow and green striped, and one of the best indications that it is a yellow-bellied slider is the yellow spot behind the eye.

Females tend to be larger than males, a general sexual dimorphism found in turtles. In yellow-bellied sliders, males also tend to have longer toe nails than females. Males will use their long nails to stroke the face of the female they are attempting to seduce. How lovely....

Interestingly, the yellow-bellied slider's diet changes with age. When they are young, they are almost entirely carnivorous, eating insects, fish, and the babies of fellow herps (tadpoles). However, as they age they begin to consume only plant matter, and when they are adults the vast majority of their diet is vegetarian. They can live to be about 30 years old in the wild, and 40 years old in captivity. That's pretty cool!

This was a turtle we found at Dixie Plantation. He seemed to be happy to have his picture taken!