The Turtle

This is the red-eared slider turtle. If you look closely at its head, you can probably see why it's called "red-eared". The red markings are not really ears but are close to where you would expect to find ears.

This turtle is mostly "aquatic". That means that it spends almost all of its time in the water. It only lives in freshwater. You will not find it in saltwater like the ocean has. It is most commonly found in quiet, soft, muddy bottomed bodies of water.

About the only time you will see this turtle out of the water is when it is laying eggs. The female will go on land and dig a hole. She will lay about 20 eggs in the hole and then cover the hole with soil and leaves.

The young turtles are in danger. Predators such as raccoons, rats, skunks, snakes, gars, large turtles, frogs, wading birds, dogs, and cats prey on the hatchlings.

Grown turtles can be eaten by raccoons and other animals. But the biggest killers of these turtles are people. People catch these turtles for pets and take them away from their habitat.

They will eat almost any food available. Animals eaten include insects, crayfish, worms, snails, amphibians, and small fish. They also eat plants that grow in the water.

This turtle also likes to warm itself in the sun by climbing on logs or rocks in the water. If there are not enough spots to bask in the sun, these turtles may climb on top of each other. You could find three turtles stacked up in the sun!

They may nap while basking, but they are very alert. If danger threatens, they will quickly dash into the water and swim away. At night, sliders sleep underwater. While sleeping, sliders usually rest on the bottom, float at the surface, or cling to limbs underwater.