Mary Allen
The turtle with the red dot on its head is one of the most beautiful representatives of the pond turtle family.
Characteristics
What do eared turtles look like?
As with all turtles, the body of the red-eared slider turtle is almost entirely covered by a dorsal and abdominal shell. Only the front and hind legs, the head, and the short tail stick out. The armor consists of a solid bone and a horny layer. Red-eared sliders belong to the terrapin family. They are reptiles and spend most of their lives in freshwater.
Therefore, like all sea turtles, they have a shell that is much flatter than that of tortoises. So they can swim and dive better. Red-eared sliders are about 12.5 to 30 centimeters long and weigh up to one kilogram. The males are usually slightly smaller than the females. The red spot on the temples behind the eyes is striking – hence the name.
Some animals also have a red stripe between their eyes on their foreheads. In very old animals, these bright red spots can turn orange. The drawing on the light green carapace is particularly pretty: it consists of yellow and green lines bordered in black. With age, this drawing becomes darker.
The belly armor is yellow in color and has black dots in young animals, which turn into a brownish pattern in older animals. Turtle skin is green in color. They have webbed feet and very sharp claws – five on the front legs and four on the back legs. The eyes are also striking: they are green and have a black, horizontal line.
Where do eared turtles live?
The home of the red-eared sliders is the southeastern United States and Mexico. Red-eared sliders live in freshwater. They like calm, undisturbed lakes and slow-flowing streams or rivers that are shallow, dense, and have soft bottoms. Such shallow waters have the advantage that they warm up quickly.
What types of turtles are there?
The red-eared slider has many close relatives: Also belonging to the same family are the lettered slider, Florida slider, or red-bellied slider. Our European pond turtle is also related to her.
How old do eared turtles get?
In captivity, red-eared sliders can live up to 35 years with good care.
Behave
How do eared turtles live?
The diurnal red-eared slider turtles are true sun worshipers: they lie on the shore in the sun as often as possible and even stretch out on all fours to really catch every ray of sunshine.
But at the slightest danger, they flee into the water at lightning speed and dig themselves into the muddy ground or hide among the algae. Although red-eared sliders live mainly in the water and only come on land to sunbathe, they are excellent tree climbers.
Red-eared Sliders come from a region that is cold in winter. During this time they hibernate. In captivity, they only need hibernation if they are to reproduce. To do this, place them in a dark, cool room at around 5° C from the end of October to the beginning of April.
Friends and foes of the eared turtle
Adult red-eared sliders are well protected from predators by their shells. The enemies of the cubs are birds. They are often eaten by them.
How do eared turtles reproduce?
Before mating, the red-eared slider turtles go through a long courtship ritual: first, the male pursues the female for a few days until the female stops swimming away.
Then the male shows his courtship dance: He swims excitedly around the female and finally stops in front of her head, stretches his front legs forward, and trembles with his front legs. So it slowly swims towards the female. The female will also begin to tremble her front legs, showing the male that she is ready to mate. In nature, the mating season is between the end of April and the beginning of May, sometimes even later. In the aquarium, the turtles can display courtship all year round.
After mating, the female lays her eggs on land. To do this, it looks for a place with dry, soft soil, digs a pit about 25 centimeters deep with its hind legs, lays the eggs in it, and digs up the pit again. Then she smooths the earth with her belly armor and presses it down. Each female lays about 3 to 25 eggs that are only 3 to 4.5 centimeters long and 2 to 2.5 centimeters wide.
The incubation period can be very different and lasts 45 to 130 days – but usually, it lasts 60 to 80 days. The turtle babies prefer to hatch from the egg after a heavy rain because then they can dig out of the soft earth more easily. Then they quickly run to the water. Newly hatched red-eared sliders are about three centimeters long and almost perfectly round.
How do eared turtles communicate?
Red-eared sliders hardly make any sounds. They can only hiss and hiss.
Care
What do eared turtles eat?
Wild red-eared sliders eat up to 90 percent of plants. These include duckweed and many other aquatic plants. But they also eat water snails, fish, crabs, worms, and insects. They only eat in the water. If they find food on land, they carry it into the water and eat it there.
Keeping of eared turtles
Red-eared sliders are among the most common turtles kept in terrariums. They need a terrarium with a water tank that is about five times as long and three times as wide as their shell. There is also a part with solid land. So a 15-centimeter long turtle needs a tank that is 75 x 45 centimeters. The water must be 40 centimeters deep. The enclosure must be equipped with a heat lamp so that the turtles can take their beloved sunbath. Also, it will be furnished with branches for climbing and sand for digging.
It is warm in the homeland of the red-eared slider turtles, which is why they also need a temperature of 25 to 28° C in the terrarium during the day. At night, 20°C is enough. If it is warm enough with us in summer, the animals can also be kept outdoors. But as soon as it gets cooler, they have to go back into their heated pool.