Red the Red-Eared Slider Turtle

Hatched: March 12, 2021

Arrived at WSWC: March 14, 2021

Sex: Female

Red arrived with the warmer weather in early March 2021. We suspect this little one thought it was time to leave her underground winter home and emerge for the spring. Imagine her surprise when she found herself on a ski slope with snow on the ground! 

Red-Eared Sliders are not native to PA. How did this turtle hatch in the wild then? Her parents were likely pets and dumped outside when their families no longer wanted them. Red-Eared Sliders are one of the most common turtles sold in pet stores, and although irresistibly cute as hatchlings, they grow to be 12 inches long and require aquatic habitats of 120 gallons or more per turtle! Instead of caring for their pets, people choose to abandon them outdoors. Many turtles don’t make it. For the ones that do, they can hurt native turtles by spreading diseases and competing for limited resources. Since Red doesn’t belong in the wild, she will live out her long life in captivity and hopefully serve as a reminder to NEVER dump pets into the wild.

About Red-Eared Sliders

  • Size: Usually range from 5 - 8 inches, but large females can reach more than 11 inches in length. Hatchlings are only around 1 inch in length.

  • Lifespan: On average, they live up to about 49 years old

  • Diet: Sliders are opportunistic omnivores. They eat a wide variety of plant and animal matter but have a weak bite force, meaning they cannot eat large prey.

  • Reproduction: Males have long front claws that aid in courtship and mating. Hatchlings will start to emerge from their nests in late summer but some stay in their underground nests until the following spring! Females can lay up to five clutches of eggs per season, usually consisting of five to 12 eggs per clutch.

  • Range: Red-Eared Sliders are native to West Virginia through New Mexico, plus southern Ohio to northeastern Mexico. They have been introduced to every US state (except Alaska) and all continents (except Antarctica) through the pet trade.

  • Other Facts: There are three types of pond sliders that live in the Eastern US: Yellow-Bellied Sliders, Red-Eared Sliders and Cumberland Sliders. Red-Eared Sliders out-compete native aquatic species in PA due to their larger size and aggressiveness at basking and feeding sites. New animals introduced to the wild from the pet trade also bring new dangerous diseases and may not be able to survive outdoor winter temperatures.