There are many named subspecies of Trachemys scripta. These include: T. s. scripta, T. s. cataspila, T. s. callirostris, T. s. chichiriviche, T. s. elegans, T. s. emolli, T. s. grayi, T. s. grayi, T. s. hartwegi, T. s. hiltoni, T. s. ornata, T. s. taylori, T. s. troostii, T. s. venusta, T. s. nebulosa, T. s. ornata, T. s. yaquia, and T. s. gaigeae (sometimes considered a full species, Trachemys gaigeae) (Ernst and Barbour 1989).
Some species & subspecies have had several names in the past which change as more information is found. The following are a few of these previous names.
Pond slider:
1792 Testudo scripta
1831 Emys vittata
1889 Chrysemys scripta
1899 Pseudemys scripta
Present Trachemys scripta
Yellow-bellied slider
1802 Testudo serrata
1937 Pseudemys scripta scripta
1986 Trachemys scripta scripta
Red-eared slider
1839 Emys elegans
1844 Emys holbrooki
1855 Emys sanguinolenta
1873 Trachemys lineata
1889 Chrysemys scripta var. elegans
1944 Pseudemys scripta elegans
1986 Trachemys scripta elegans
Cumberland slider
1836 Emys troosti
1840 Emys cumberlandensis
1889 Chrysemys troostii
1937 Pseudemys scripta troostii
1986 Trachemys scripta troostii
(EMBL 1999)
Pond sliders communicate with touch and vibrations. They also have a good sense of vision.
Communication Channels: tactile
Other Communication Modes: vibrations
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; vibrations ; chemical
Pond sliders, especially red-eared sliders (T. s. elegans), have been heavily collected for the pet trade and are sold by the millions in pet shops across the world. Because of unsanitary conditions and a lack of knowledge on turtle care, few survive for long in captivity. U.S. government regulations now require turtles to be at least 4 inches in length before they can be sold as pets in the USA. However, many hatchlings are still produced commercially for export to Europe, Mexico, and Japan where they are popular as pets (Smither 1998). [Commercial turtle farms rarely qualify as "closed systems," and farm breeding stock is often augmented by the capture of wild turtles.] In recent years, numbers of adult sliders and related turtle species have been trapped for the food trade; many have been exported to Asia. Native slider populations are declining due to habitat destruction and pollution as well as overharvest. However, because of the release of unwanted pets, sliders have established populations outside of their native range. They have been found in California, France, South Africa, Bahrain, Japan, South Korea, Guam, and Thailand. These introduced populations may have some effect on native fauna and species, but to date there is little evidence supporting this. The biggest threat to sliders is Man. Not only are they exploited for the pet and food trade, but slider eggs are also used as fish bait. Sliders are often killed on roads by automobiles, and are sometimes persecuted by fishermen who mistakenly consider the turtles to be fish eaters.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: lower risk - near threatened
Pond slider eggs that are incubated at temperatures between 22 and 27 degrees Celsius become only males, while eggs that are incubated at warmer temperatures become females. Baby sliders come out of the egg looking like small adults.
Development - Life Cycle: temperature sex determination
The establishment of this species outside its natural range (see comments below) may be harmful to native turtle species, but evidence for this supposed competition is presently lacking or anecdotal.
Wild slider turtles in natural habitats are essentially harmless to human interests. When kept captive under unsanitary or stressful conditions or when fed contaminated foodstuffs, this species can become a carrier of certain strains of Salmonella bacteria capable of causing illness in humans.
Negative Impacts: injures humans (carries human disease)
Pond sliders fill an important niche in their wetland habitats, and are appealing to most people. Pond sliders have unfortunately been heavily exploited by humans for both the commercial pet trade and for food purposes.
Positive Impacts: pet trade ; food
Pond sliders help to control populations of the animals that they consume and affect aquatic vegetation as they graze. Young pond sliders are an important food source for large, aquatic predators.
Young pond sliders tend to be more carnivorous than adults, eating about 70% animal matter and 30% plant matter. Adults eat 90% plant matter and 10% animal matter (Wilke 1979). Foods include aquatic insects, snails, tadpoles, crawfish, fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. They also eat plants like arrowhead, water lilies, hyacinths, and duck weed. Feeding occurs under water, usually in the early morning or late afternoon (Smither 1998).
Animal Foods: amphibians; fish; insects; mollusks; aquatic crustaceans
Plant Foods: leaves; macroalgae
Primary Diet: omnivore
Pond sliders are native to the Nearctic and Neotropical regions. They are found from the southern Great Lakes region east to West Virginia, west to Indiana and Illinois and south throughout most of the southeastern and south-central United States. The range of pond sliders continues through Mexico and Central America to Venezuela in South America. Subspecies in the United states include Trachemys scripta elegans, native to the Mississippi river valley, from Illinois, west to Kansas and Oklahoma, and south to the Gulf of Mexico, T. s. scripta, found from Virginia to northern Florida and Alabama, and T. s. troostii, found from eastern Kentucky to Georgia and Alabama (Conant and Collins 1991).
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); neotropical (Native )
Pond sliders prefer quiet, soft, muddy bottomed waters with suitable basking spots. They are faithful to their home ranges, leaving only to nest or hibernate (Dawson 1998).
Habitat Regions: temperate ; freshwater
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams
Wetlands: marsh ; swamp
Other Habitat Features: riparian
Like most turtles, pond sliders can live for a long time. They have been known to live for 42 years in the wild, though most don't live past 30 years. Most red-eared sliders probably die when they are hatchlings. From 7 to 10 out of every 10 eggs and hatchlings will die before their first year.
Range lifespan
Status: wild: 42 (high) years.
Typical lifespan
Status: wild: 30 (high) years.
There are three subspecies of pond slider in the United States. Trachemys scripta elegans (red-eared slider) gets its name from the broad reddish or orange stripe behind each eye, though some red-eared sliders do not have this streak. Young hatchlings have a green carapace and skin with yellow green to dark green markings and stripes. Color in adults fades to a muted olive green color. Some older individuals (especially males) become melanistic, appearing almost black with few visible markings. The carapace is oval and flattened with a weak keel. The plastron is yellow with dark markings in the center of each scute. Trachemys scripta scripta (yellow-bellied slider) has a yellow blotch behind each eye which may join the neck stripe, but is usually only evident in juveniles and females. Yellow vertical bands mark the carapace, with the underside being yellow with smudges. The plastron is also yellow with dark blotches or smudges. Trachemys scripta troostii (Cumberland turtle) has a narrower orange-yellow stripe behind each eye. It is similar to T. s. elegans, but has fewer and much wider stripes on the legs, neck and head. All the subspecies have webbed feet that aid the turtle in swimming. There is some sexual dimorphism. The male is usually smaller than the female with a much longer, thicker tail. The cloacal opening of the male is beyond the edge of the carapace while the female's opening is usually at or under the rear edge of the carapace. Males have elongated claws that they use in courtship/mating. They range in total length from 12.5 to 28.9 cm.
Range length: 12.5 to 28.9 cm.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: female larger; sexes shaped differently
Average mass: 240 g.
Average basal metabolic rate: 0.1157 W.
Pond slider eggs and hatchlings are preyed on by raccoons, skunks, opossums, foxes, and other predators. They are relatively safe from most predators once they reach adult size and while they are in the water. Large predatory fish seem to find the hatchlings difficult to handle and do not tend to eat them. Red-eared sliders may attempt to bite and scratch when harassed, but most pull their head and legs into their shells for protection.
Known Predators:
Anti-predator Adaptations: cryptic
Male pond sliders have a unique courtship dance that they engage in anywhere between the months of March and July. Males will approach a female from the front, stretch out their front feet and vibrate their long claws on the female's head and neck. Some may even bite the female. The female usually continues to swim forward while the male does this and, if receptive, will eventually stop and sink to the bottom. The male will then grip the female's carapace with all four claws and arrange himself on top of her. He will then bend his tail under hers, let go of his front arms, and take an almost vertical position. From this position mating occurs, and lasts about 15 minutes.
Mating System: polygynous
Maturity occurs in males at 3 to 5 years of age, when they are about 4 inches long; females at 5 to 7 years and 6 to 7.5 inches in length (Dawson 1998). Most nesting occurs from May to July. A female may have 1 to 3 clutches in a season, with second clutches laid in July or August. Females will often travel some distance to find a suitable nesting site. Nests are dug in the soil with the female's back feet. Four to 23 eggs are laid in the 2 to 4 inch deep hole and then covered with the displaced soil. It takes 2 to 2.5 months for young to hatch and they do so using their "egg tooth" (caruncle) which disappears soon after hatching. Hatching occurs between July and September. If hatching occurs in the late fall, the young may overwinter in the nest and emerge the following spring. Pond sliders grow quickly at first, reaching about 2 inches within the first year, but growth slows as they get older.
Breeding interval: A female may have 1 to 3 clutches in a season, with second clutches laid in July or August.
Breeding season: Breeding occurs from March through July.
Range number of offspring: 4 to 23.
Range gestation period: 85 (high) days.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 5 to 7 years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 3 to 5 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
Average number of offspring: 13.
Female pond sliders choose safe nesting sites for their eggs. Once they lay the eggs they leave the nest and there is no further parental care.
Parental Investment: no parental involvement; pre-fertilization (Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Protecting: Female)
