Yellow-bellied slider turtle
Yellow belly slider turtle (Trachemys scripta scripta) In the family Emydidae
Diet: The hatchlings are more carnivorous than the adults, they prefer more meats, like shrimp that you can get at the pet store rather then the pellets. The adults eat a verity of veggies like carrots, and celery etc.
Appearance: the males are smaller than the females, the males get from about 5 to 9 inches, while the females get 8 to 13 inches. You can tell the males from the females, because on the males the front fingernails are longer, and they have a thicker tail, and the females shell is taller then the males the yellow part by the ear is usually shaped like an "s". When the turtle is a hatchling it has an intricate design on the shell, and as it gets older the shell gets darker, and it turns a brown color. The top part of the shell is called the carapace, and the bottom is the plastron.
Housing: A hatchling turtle should be housed in at-least a 10 gallon aquarium, when it is an adult it should be in at-least a 45 gallon aquarium. They should have water about five times as long as the turtle is deep, and the turtle should have a piece of dry land to get up and bask on, or they might drown. The temp should be in the mid 70s, and the basking area temp should be about 90 degrees. Yellow-bellied sliders as pets taken care of properly, may live 30 to 40 years, so you must be prepared if you want to take on this wonderful pet.
