Red Ear Slider |
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Description
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5-11 3/8" The "dime store" turtle. Prominent yellow, orange, or red blotch or stripe behind eyes. Carapace, oval,wealky keeled,olive to brown,with pattern ranging from yellow bars and stripes to reticulations and eyelike spots. Plastron yellow, plain to intricately patterned. Undersurface of chin rounded. V-shaped notch at front of upper jaw not flanked by cusps. With age, pattern and head blotch may become masked by black pigment, making identifacation difficult. |
| Breeding | Mates March to June. Nests June to July. Lays 1-3 clutches of 4-23 oval eggs,1 3/8" long, in nest cavity 1-4" deep, which may be located some distant from water. Hatchlings emerge in 2-2 1/2 months, but often overwinter in nest. Males muture in 2-5 years. |
| Habitat | Sluggish rivers,shallow streams,swamps,ponds,and lakes with soft bottoms and dense vegetation. |
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Subspecies
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Yellow-bellied, Red-eared,
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