Live Vertebrates >> Reptiles >> Slider Turtles

Slider turtles are among the most conspicuous and abundant of all basking turtles. In spring or fall, or any time the weather is mild and the sun is out, individuals or groups of slider turtles may rest on logs, stumps or rocks.

They are brown or olive green, usually with a prominent patch of yellow on the side of the head. The lower jaw is rounded. The shells of yellow-bellied slider turtles average in size from 5 to 8 inches; the record is about one foot. The yellow blotch behind the eye is the most conspicuous marking and is most prominent in juveniles and females. The yellow underside of the turtle's shell sometimes is marked with round dusky smudges; these markings may be reduced in older turtles. Also, adult males may become very dark.

Slider turtles are abundant in the ponds and streams of the Southeast. The yellow-bellied slider turtle is found in a wide variety of habitats, including Carolina bays, sloughs, sinkholes, oxbow lakes, swamps, rivers, lakes and ponds. Sometimes they travel over land between bodies of water.