Red-eared slider

Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

The red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) is a family of New World pond turtles ( Emydidae ). They are native to North America and spend most of their lives in fresh water.

Appearance

Dark green, relatively flat carapace often with yellow to orange spots and lines; Plastron yellow with large black spots on each plate; strong orange to red temple ceiling. The males differ from the females: The tail of the male is longer and thicker, the cloaca further away from the tank. In the male, the plastron is curved inward, flat in the female. Furthermore, the front claws of the male from the age of two are significantly longer than those of the female.

Weight and length

Rotwangenschmuckschildkrötenweibchen can be up to 30 cm long, the males remain slightly smaller with 25 cm. The weight is a full-grown females at up to 1.5 kg.

Occurrence

The distribution of Rotwangenschildkröte is in the central and eastern United States from the southernmost tip of Lake Michigan on the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico and north-eastern Mexico. Also in Germany there are by now abandoned animals populations.

Life expectancy

Red-eared turtles are 30-40 years old. From a size of about 18 cm, the females begin to lay eggs.

Way of life

Undisturbed ponds or slow-flowing stretches of river with muddy bottoms and dense riparian vegetation are the preferred habitat of the red-eared slider. Like other terrapins also keeps them in the spring and summer a lot out of the water on and basks for hours.

Behavior

When sunbathing, the animals are quite gregarious, often in large teams in a confined space. The sociability of these animals relates only on sunbathing, because each of these animals would erheischen the most beautiful place. The Rotwangenschildkröte can be found in the wild only to mate together, otherwise each animal has its own territory.

Reproduction

If the temperature in the spring is high enough, the turtles to mate are ready. The male vibrates with its long front claws before Okularregion the face of the female, which is part of the courtship behavior. The claws help him to cling to the back of the tank mate. In early summer, the female then searches out of a place for the nest. With its hind legs, it digs a pit for up to 22 eggs. The young turtles grow very quickly and can already be six to seven inches long in their second summer.

Trade

The red-eared turtle was one of the most common turtles that were available in the pet trade. Meanwhile, the trade of this kind has been greatly reduced, as the import has been prohibited for commercial purposes.

Species protection

The red-eared turtles are listed in Annex B of the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation and recorded with the German Federal Species Protection Ordinance. However, this is not because they are at risk, but because of the risk of Faunenverfälschung.