Variations
2 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Yellow-bellied slider
Active and a hearty eater; will eat fish.
This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.
- Yellow-bellied slider should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
- Yellow-bellied slider should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
- Yellow-bellied slider should be kept without other species, and it needs a land area too.
Care and water
Behavior
Active and a hearty eater; will eat fish. Needs a basking dock.
Check your local laws. US: live turtles under 4 in (10 cm) carapace length and viable eggs may not be sold or distributed commercially (FDA, 21 CFR 1240.62; exceptions for science/education/exhibition, non-business transfers and export). EU: Trachemys scripta (all subspecies) is on the list of invasive alien species of Union concern (Implementing Regulation 2016/1141 under Regulation 1143/2014), so it may not be imported, kept, bred, transported, sold, used, exchanged or released; pet owners who already had animals before listing may keep them for life in secure conditions that prevent breeding and escape. Missouri treats released yellow-bellied sliders as non-native and is removing them. Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.
Good to know: Needs a basking dock with UV and heat lamp and deep water. Never house with fish.
- wood
Food
Pellets, vegetation and insects.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Male or female
Males are usually smaller than females and have long thick tails with the vent beyond the shell rim; in this species males also grow long, curved front claws.
Health
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Breeding
Egg-layer (buried clutch) · Moderate
Egg layer: courts and mates in water in spring (and autumn); females nest on land from about April to July, digging flask-shaped nests, and may lay several clutches a year. Young may overwinter in the nest.
Pair.
Large tank or pond.
Warm season.
2-30 eggs per clutch (larger females lay more), up to 5 clutches a year in North America; incubation 59-112 days depending on temperature.
Hatchlings are fully independent: house them in shallow warm water with a basking spot and feed small pellets, worms and daphnia daily.
- Undersized tank and weak filtration
- No UV or basking heat (soft shells, poor growth)
- Releasing unwanted turtles into the wild
Where it lives in the wild
The story of the yellow-bellied slider
The yellow-bellied slider is the southeastern subspecies of the pond slider, the same species as the red-eared slider. Instead of a red ear stripe it has a large yellow blotch behind each eye and a mostly yellow belly. Released pets are now found outside its native range.
Johann Schoepff described this turtle in 1792. It lives in the southeastern US. It is a subspecies of the pond slider, like the red-eared slider.
First described by Johann D. Schoepff in 1792.
- It has a yellow patch behind each eye.
- It is a subspecies of the pond slider.
- Adults eat more plants than juveniles.
Sources
9 facts checked with sources
- Scientific name
Reptile (aquatic turtle), not a fish. The yellow-bellied slider is the nominate subspecies of the pond slider, the same species as the red-eared slider (T. s. elegans). Check the head markings (large yellow blotch behind the eye, TWRA) to tell it from the red-eared slider.
The Reptile Database: Trachemys scripta - Familycorrected
New value (legacy had none). Trachemys is in Emydidae, the same family as the cooters (MDC lists the red-eared slider, T. s. elegans, among Missouri's Emydidae).
Missouri Department of Conservation: Eastern River Cooter (government; similar-species section on the yellow-bellied slider) - Size
Carapace length. ToW gives T. s. scripta to 27 cm; TWRA gives pond sliders (all subspecies) averaging 13-20 cm, max 29+ cm. Legacy 28 cm is a large female.
Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis/ETI): Trachemys scripta · Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency: Pond Slider (government) - Where it livescorrected
New value. Released pets now turn up outside the native range, e.g. Missouri (MDC) and Florida.
The Reptile Database: Trachemys scripta · Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis/ETI): Trachemys scripta · Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency: Pond Slider (government) - Male or female
Species-level description (all subspecies). ToW also notes old males often become melanistic (dark).
Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis/ETI): Trachemys scripta - Breedingcorrected
Legacy breeding text only gave an egg count; legacy trigger 'Warm season' fits. Male T. s. scripta mature at 10-12 cm plastron length in 4-5 years, females at 16-23 cm in 5-8 years (ToW).
Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis/ETI): Trachemys scripta · Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency: Pond Slider (government) - Eggs and youngcorrected
Species-level figures (Trachemys scripta, all subspecies); legacy 6-15 eggs is within but narrower than the sourced range.
Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis/ETI): Trachemys scripta · Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency: Pond Slider (government) - Storycorrected
Legacy called it 'a close relative of the red-eared slider': it is the same species (different subspecies). 'Yellow cheek patches' and 'native to the southeastern USA' are supported.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency: Pond Slider (government) · Turtles of the World (Ernst, Altenburg & Barbour; Naturalis/ETI): Trachemys scripta · Missouri Department of Conservation: Eastern River Cooter (government; similar-species section on the yellow-bellied slider) - traits.legalcorrected
US: FDA rule 21 CFR 1240.62 bans selling, holding for sale or distributing live turtles under 4 in (10 cm) carapace length and viable eggs; exceptions include bona fide scientific/educational/exhibition use (not as pets), non-business transfers and export-only shipments. EU: the Union list (first adopted 2016) names the whole species, so yellow-bellied and Cumberland sliders are covered as well as red-eared sliders. The legislation.gov.uk copy is the UK-retained version (UK wording 'special concern'); the EU text says 'Union concern'. Not CITES-listed (not checked against Species+). The legacy Salmonella hygiene advice is sensible but was not separately sourced here (the rule itself is the FDA's Salmonella measure).
eCFR: 21 CFR 1240.62 Turtles intrastate and interstate requirements (US FDA) · Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1141, Annex: list of invasive alien species of Union concern (legislation.gov.uk copy) · Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 on invasive alien species (EUR-Lex) · Missouri Department of Conservation: Eastern River Cooter (government; similar-species section on the yellow-bellied slider)