During our field trip to Dixie Plantation, we caught quite a few yellow-bellied sliders (Trachemys scripta scripta), including this little guy!
Yellow-bellied sliders can range in length from approximately 5-9 inches; the one pictured above is probably on the lower end of that range. It was determined that this was probably a male due to its small size and small claws.
These turtles are direct developing, like all turtles, and generally live in and around ponds and lakes. They are omnivores and spend most of their time in the water. They can be found from southern Virginia down the Atlantic coast to the Gulf Coast of Florida. These turtles can be identified by the yellow stripe behind their eyes and their yellow plastron.
Even though most of the turtles we found were trying to squirm out of our hands, this one seemed halfway content being handled. This was lucky for me because I have always been a little more reserved about handling wildlife than my classmates, so I thought this was a really cool experience!
1 comment:
Mature males have long claws. I can't see the claws that well in the photo, but maybe this one was a small female?
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