News & Events

Turtle of the Week: Yellow-bellied Slider

For our #TurtleOfTheWeek, you may recognize the popular Yellow-bellied Slider!

The Yellow-bellied Slider is arguably one of the most common turtles found in South Carolina, and they find refuge in wetlands on and around the grounds of our Turtle Survival Center. The distinctive yellow bar behind their eye and signature yellow “belly”, or plastron, make for one beautiful turtle!

Across their southeastern United States range, the Yellow-bellied Slider is one of the most regularly encountered turtles. They inhabit virtually every type of freshwater body, as well as frequent coastal salt marshes, and are important contributors to the ecology of the ecosystems in which they live.

We encounter these golden beauties often during TSA-North American Freshwater Research Group samples of the freshwater springs in Florida, keeping long-term records on their presence and population dynamics.

One way you can help these turtles in your everyday life is by helping them safely cross the road, especially during the spring and early summer when they are most commonly encountered making overland treks. Road mortality is a major threat to many of our native species of turtle and tortoise in the United States, including the Yellow-bellied Slider, and a small act to help a turtle can go a long way.

• Pictured: Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta)
• Countries of Origin: United States
• Habitat: Most freshwater body types, as well as brackish tidal creeks and marshes
• Wild Population: Likely increasing; well-adapted to altered or man-made environments; increasing in many areas due to the release of animals from the pet trade
• IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern
• Threats: Habitat destruction, fragmentation and alteration; collection for personal and commercial use; road mortality; incidental drownings and capture in fishing gear