FUN FACTS
- It gets its name ‘slider’ from its habit of ‘sliding’ or retreating quickly from the land into the water the moment they feel threatened.
- With age, the adults tend to become more ‘vegetarian’, consuming less and less meat, and eventually, up to 95% of their intake turns to plant matters.
Conservation Status
Least Concern
Physical Description
Size: A healthy, adult male typically reaches 5 to 9 inches (13 to 23 cm) in length, while a full-grown female of the species is larger measuring 8 to 13 inches (20 to 33 cm).
Weight: They have a very light mass. On average, they weigh between 7.7 and 13.8 g.
Carapace & Body Color: The shell of this terrapin has a typical brown and black coloration, often bearing bright yellow stripes, while the skin has an olive green color with distinct yellow patches down the legs and neck region.
Sexual Dimorphism: There are no visible differences between the sexes except that the males naturally bear claws, and are smaller than the females (mentioned above).
Lifespan
In the wild, the turtle can live for up to a maximum of 30 years, whereas the captive longevity of this species is more than 40 years
Distribution
The reptile is native to the southeastern parts of the US, particularly from Florida to southeastern regions of Virginia.
Habitat
Yellow-bellied sliders mostly prefer still water bodies like ponds and are found in slow-moving rivers, marshes, floodplain swamps, etc. and frequently colonizes seasonal wetlands like Carolina bays. Except for terrestrial excursions, these reptiles mostly remain in water bodies where submerged and floating vegetation is abundant.
Behavioral Characteristics
These turtles are semiaquatic and are one of the most abundant of all basking turtle species. They are seen resting on logs, stumps or rocks, individually or in groups, during fall and spring, or at any time when the weather is dull or mild, and the sun is out. They communicate with each other by means of touch and vibrations, and have very good eyesight.
These turtles have the habit of stacking on top of each other by the pond side. They are diurnal and usually spend the night sleeping underwater. However, they are also seen floating on the water surface.
During winter, when the temperature goes down, they usually become inactive. Their activity level goes down, especially when the temperatures go down below 10° C.
They will usually hibernate between November and February often underwater, under the banks of ponds, hollow stumps, etc., and come out between early March and late April.
While they prefer staying mostly in the water, they would move on land at times to lay eggs in a terrestrial nest, or to and from their hibernation sites. They are otherwise gentle-natured; however, males are sometimes aggressive towards each other during the mating season.
Diet
These reptiles are omnivorous and feed on both plant and animal matters, including insects, dead fish, tadpoles, aquatic crustaceans, and other meat items. Plant matters in their food list include fruits, seeds, leaves, stems, roots, and algae. However, they tend to be more carnivorous with their diet consisting of 70% of animal matters and 30% plant matters.
Reproduction & Life Cycle
The mating season of this slider is spring when the male yellow-bellied sliders have been observed displaying courtship behavior by performing a specific mating dance. However, some individuals have also been seen exhibiting the same during fall and sometimes winter.
After mating the female yellow-bellied sliders begin building their nest cavities by digging soil using the rear feet where they lay their eggs soon after. The litter size (number of eggs) varies between individual, being influenced by factors like body size and age.
- They have the ability to inflate their throats to keep themselves floating.
- The brown and olive coloration, as also the bizarre and bright pattern on the carapace of the turtle, create a visual paradox that helps them camouflage among the grasses, as well as other land and floating vegetation.
Predators
In the wild, the primary enemies of the yellow-bellied sliders are raccoons, striped skunks, Virginia opossums, and red foxes.
Considering their static population and growth rate, the IUCN 2.3 has enlisted them as ‘LC’ (Least Concern).
Physical Description
Tigers have reddish-orange coats with prominent black stripes, white bellies and
white spots on their ears. Like a human fingerprint, no two tigers have the exact
same markings. Because of this, researchers can use stripe patterns to identify
different individuals when studying tigers in the wild. Tigers are powerful hunters
with sharp teeth, strong jaws and agile bodies. They are the largest terrestrial
mammal whose diet consists entirely of meat. The tiger’s closest relative is the lion.
In fact, without fur, it is difficult to distinguish a tiger from a lion.
Size
Tigers are the largest cat species in the world, and the Amur tiger is the largest
subspecies with males weighing up to 660 pounds (300 kilograms) and measuring 10
feet (3 meters). Sumatran tigers are the smallest subspecies, maxing out at 310
pounds (140 kilograms) and 8 feet (2.4 meters). Female tigers of all subspecies tend
to be smaller than their male counterparts.
Native Habitat
Historically, tigers existed throughout much of Eastern and Southern Asia, as well as
in parts of Central and Western Asia and the Middle East, surrounding the Caspian
Sea. Their range has diminished significantly as human populations have expanded.
Itis believed they currently occupy just 7 percent of their historic range.
Presently, tigers are found in a variety of habitats across South and Southeast Asia,
China and Eastern Russia. They thrive in temperate, tropical or evergreen forests,
mangrove swamps and grasslands. Amur tigers are primarily found in Far-East
Russia, although there are small populations across the border into China and
potentially North Korea. Sumatran tigers are found only on the Indonesian island of
Sumatra. A tiger’s range within these regions is determined by the availability of
prey.
Communication
Despite their solitary nature, communication is a very important part of tigers’
behavioral ecology. They communicate through vocalizations, such as roaring,
grunting and chuffing, and through signals, such as scent marking and scratches on
trees. Tigers are fiercely territorial animals, so these signals are particularly
important to communicating where one tiger’s home range ends and another’s
begins.
Food/Eating Habits
Tigers are solitary ambush predators that rely on stealth and strength to take down
prey. These apex predators primarily hunt large ungulates, such as wild boar and
deer, but are also known to consume monkeys, buffalo, sloth bears, leopards and
even crocodiles. When tigers are found in close proximity to humans, they may also
feed on domestic animals, such as cattle or goats. Tigers are adept swimmers and
have even been recorded hunting in the wild.
These powerful cats hunt primarily at night, using sight and sound to identify prey.
Their striped coats help them blend into their surroundings, where they lie in wait for
prey to pass by. At the opportune moment, tigers pounce on their prey, take it to the
ground and finish the kill by breaking or biting the neck. Tigers hunt about once a
week and consume as much as 75 pounds (34 kilograms) of food in one night.
At the Zoo, tigers eat ground beef, and their diet is supplemented with enrichment
items each week. They receive knucklebones or cow femurs twice a week and rabbits
once a week to exercise their jaws and keep their teeth healthy.
Social Structure
Tigers are solitary creatures, except when mating or raising young. Cubs stay with
their mothers until they learn to hunt successfully, usually at about 18 to 24 months
old. They reach full independence after two to three years, at which point they
disperse to find their own territory. Female tigers often remain near their mother’s’
territory, while males disperse farther from home.
Reproduction and Development
Female tigers reach sexual maturity between age 3 and 4. Males are sexually mature
at about 4 or 5 years old. Mating can occur at any time of year but most often takes
place during cooler months between November and April. Tigers are induced
ovulators, which means females will not release eggs until mating occurs. Gestation
lasts approximately 100 days, and females give birth to between one and seven
offspring at a time, averaging between two and four cubs. Once cubs become
independent, at about age 2, females are ready to give birth again. However, if a
female’s offspring do not survive, due to causes such as infanticide or starvation, she
is able to conceive another litter right away.
Lifespan
The life span of tigers in the wild is usually between 10 and 15 years. In human care,
or on rare occasions in the wild, a tiger can live up to 20 years. However,
approximately half of all wild tiger cubs do not survive past the first two years of life.
Only 40 percent of those that reach independence actually live to establish a territory
and produce young. The risk of mortality remains high for adult tigers due to their
territorial nature, which often results in direct competition with conspecifics, or
members of the same species.
WHERE TO FIND THE YELLOW-BELLIED SLIDER
