RED-EARED SLIDERS

     A half-acre pond at the end of our suburban street in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania harbors at least three adult red-eared sliders, which are a species of freshwater turtles.  I see their heads poked out of the water to breathe and look around.  And I see them basking in sunlight on the stony shores of the pond.

     As store-bought, baby turtles, the above-discussed turtles were eventually released into that pond by people who didn't want them anymore.  Those reptiles adapted to life in that impoundment, survived northern winters and grew to adult size, with a top shell length of about seven inches, or a bit more. 

     Red-eared sliders are native to the southeastern and southcentral United States.  But today, they are flourishing throughout much of the world, because of the pet trade, and being released into, and successfully adapting to, impoundments and slower waterways, where they are better off. 

     Baby red-eared sliders are cute and appealing.  They are green with yellow striping on top, which camouflages them in the wild.  Their lower shells are yellow, with a dark circle in each section of that shell.  And each youngster has a decorative red bar on each side of its neck, which gives this species its name.  But as these turtles mature, their bright colors fade and the whole animal becomes darker.  

     Like other kinds of water turtles, the handsome red-ears sprawl on shorelines, emerged rocks, and logs fallen into ponds and slow creeks.  There they soak up warm sunlight.  Being cold-blooded, as all reptiles today are, red-ears need to warm up to have the energy to hunt for food in the water.  But at the slightest hint of danger, red-ears, like other water turtles, quickly slide off their basking spots, into the water and swim to the bottom, where they hide under logs and debris on the bottom.  

     Red-ears feed on slow, or stationary, aquatic edibles.  They ingest snails, tadpoles, insect larvae and other types of invertebrates, a variety of water plants and carrion.  

     As with all turtles, female red-ears lay eggs in sand or loose soil.  They dig holes with their back legs, lay a clutch of ten or more eggs in that hole and cover the eggs with their hind legs.  The eggs are on their own and some clutches are dug up and eaten by skunks or raccoons.  Herons, raccoons, snapping turtles and other predators consume some of the hatchlings.  But surviving turtles live out their lives in the nearest larger waters.  

     As a species, red-eared sliders are adaptable survivors.  They are scattered throughout much of the world because of the pet trade, and being released into the wild when no longer wanted.  There they adapt, survive and reproduce.  They are one of the many species of life on Earth that has a future.  And they add more beauty and interest to the watery habitats they inhabit.    

             

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