Harmless · Native to the United States · Kept as a pet

Red-eared slider

Trachemys scripta (Schoepff, 1792)

Also called pond slider
Subspecies T. s. elegans
Data updated October 2026

Red-eared slider basking on a reddish earthen bank beside water, showing the red stripe behind its eye and yellow-striped neck
Fig. 1 — Adult basking on a bank. The red stripe behind the eye gives the turtle its name.
Three red-eared sliders of different sizes basking in a row on a log in open water
Fig. 2 — Sliders often bask together on logs and slip into the water when disturbed.

At a glance

A medium-sized pond turtle with a red or orange stripe behind each eye. It is native to the central United States and is often the most common turtle in ponds and lakes there. Released pets have started wild populations around the world.

01

Identification

Look for a broad red or orange stripe on each side of the head, just behind the eye. The upper shell is olive-brown with yellow and black lines, and the lower shell is yellow with dark blotches. Very old animals, especially males, can turn almost black and lose most of the pattern.

  1. 01Red “ear” stripe. A wide red or orange band behind each eye. It is rarely yellow.
  2. 02Yellow-striped skin. Thin yellow lines run along the head, neck and legs.
  3. 03Long front claws on males. Mature males have very long claws on the front feet, used in courtship.

Commonly confused with

Cooters and pond turtles lack the red stripe behind the eye. In Florida, red-eared sliders also interbreed with the native yellow-bellied slider.

02

Size

06 in1 ft18 in2 ft Typical adult · about 7 in (18 cm) shell

Most adults have an upper shell 5 to 8 inches (13–20 cm) long. Large individuals reach about 12 inches (30 cm). Females grow larger than males. Hatchlings are just over an inch long.

03

Range & habitat

Several sliders basking on a log in a wooded pond, with bare branches reflected in the water
Fig. 3 — A wooded pond with fallen logs: soft bottom, calm water and plenty of basking sites.

The red-eared slider is native to the Mississippi River valley and nearby drainages, from the Midwest south to the Gulf Coast and into northeastern Mexico. In Oklahoma it occurs nearly statewide except the far western Panhandle, and it ranges into much of Texas.

It lives in ponds, lakes, rivers, sloughs, ditches and reservoirs, and does best where there is a soft bottom, water plants and many places to bask. Pet releases have produced wild populations far outside the native range, including in Florida, California, the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.

04

Diet & predators

Sliders eat both plants and animals. Young turtles eat mostly insects and other small animals, and the diet shifts toward water plants with age. They forage mostly in the early morning and late afternoon.

Feeds on

  • Water plants and algae
  • Aquatic insects
  • Snails and other invertebrates
  • Small fish and tadpoles

Preyed on by

  • Raccoons and skunks (eggs)
  • Wading birds (hatchlings)
  • Large fish (hatchlings)
  • Cars, at road crossings

05

Behavior & seasons

Red-eared sliders are strong baskers. They climb onto logs and rocks from midmorning to midafternoon and slide into the water at the first sign of a person. At night they sleep on the bottom or on floating plants.

In Missouri they are active from March to mid-October when the air is warmer than about 50°F (10°C). They spend the winter buried in mud under water. In late spring and summer, females often cross roads while looking for places to nest.

06

Reproduction

Courtship runs from about mid-March to June. Females nest on land from April to July, laying an average of about 10 eggs and up to 30 per clutch. The eggs hatch after about 68 to 70 days, in late summer or early fall. Males mature at 4 to 8 years; females take longer.

07

Conservation

In its native range the red-eared slider is common and widespread. Outside that range it is one of the most widely introduced reptiles. Released pets compete with native turtles, and they interbreed with other slider subspecies. In Florida it is a regulated “conditional” species, and breeding populations have persisted for many years in several counties.

08

In captivity

Sliders need far more space than a hatchling suggests. Adults need a large aquarium or pond with a dry basking platform, clean filtered water, a heat lamp over the basking spot and UVB lighting. They eat a mix of commercial turtle food, leafy greens and water plants, plus some animal protein.

They can live for decades: captive sliders have been reported to reach 37 to 49 years. Never release one into the wild. In Florida, keeping or selling red-eared sliders is regulated. See our pet care guides.

Keep reading

Sources

Data updated October 2026 · How we build these pages