Where’s Wildlife · Turtle Field Guide
Trachemys scripta elegans
Pronounced (approx.): truh-KEH-mis SKRIP-tuh EL-eh-ganz
A striped pond turtle best known for the reddish patch behind each eye.
Red-eared Slider. Select the photo to browse the gallery. Photographs © Where’s Wildlife.
NATIVE TO NORTH AMERICA
Sizes refer to upper-shell length; age, sex and location affect size.
Usually a red or orange patch behind each eye
Yellow stripes on head, neck and limbs
Oval upper shell with a somewhat serrated rear edge
Compare views, markings and body shapes in the photographs below.
A side view of the extended head offers the best chance to see the red patch. Some older individuals become very dark, obscuring the familiar stripes and ear marking.
Painted Turtles have red shell-margin markings but lack the broad red patch behind the eye. Other slider forms differ in head pattern. Red-eared Slider is a subspecies of the Pond Slider, Trachemys scripta.
Quiet, vegetated ponds and slow waterways with muddy bottoms. Adults feed on aquatic plants and small animals; diet changes with age. Day-active; regularly basks above water.
Sliders forage in water and bask on exposed logs and banks. Females leave the water to bury eggs in soil and can produce several clutches. Younger sliders generally eat more animal food, while adults consume more vegetation.
Older dark turtles may lack an obvious red patch.
Plant material becomes more important as many sliders grow.
Range context matters when describing this widely transported turtle.
Native to parts of central and southern North America. Pet releases and escapes have established populations far beyond the native range. A local sighting therefore does not establish native status for that location.
Explore reported sightings on iNaturalist. Observation records are not a complete range map.
Photographs © Where’s Wildlife.