Do Yellow Bellied Sliders Get Lonely?

by Gemma Bramham
(Coconut Creek, Florida)

He hates pictures lol Yellow Bellied Sliders

I have a Yellow Bellied Slider that I found on my door step amazingly and I decided to keep him but lately I feel kind of bad cause he seems to stair at himself in his tank reflection all the time and seems to get bored easily. I keep reading that turtles are very solitary reptiles but every time I go to pick up food from the reptile store and I see the tank full of sliders they all seem so relaxed and happy to be together. So is it possibly my turtle could be lonely and would like a room-mate? I really hope to hear back from you...

-Gemma

Comments for Do Yellow Bellied Sliders Get Lonely?

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Sep 21, 2009

No, I didnt mean to imply that you were
by: Anonymous

I wasn't trying to imply that you are a moron. People ask all the time when purchasing turtles what kind they are buying. Most times, the seller IS the moron and has NO clue what he is selling so he just says anything and that makes it really hard for the purchaser to do their research and find out what they need to know. That is why people should always find out the scientific name whenever possible. I did read your whole post, but the fact that you found him slipped my mind when replying in my answer. After I re-read it, I just decided to leave the info for others who read it.

Sep 20, 2009

To Anonymous
by: Gemma Bramham

I didn't purchase him I found him on my door step (if I had bought him the first thing I would have done was ask what kind of turtle he was... I'm not a complete moron)and I researched as much as I could online to see if he was a slider or a cooter. I actually today doubted myself and thought he could possibly be a cooter and not a slider. This is my first turtle and for someone who found him and did a good amount a research (although google likes to place slider pictures in cooter pictures which makes it harder to tell them apart)I think I got pretty (***edited so kids can read this*** Shelly) close guessing what type he was so I do in fact appreciate your comment but it would have been better if you didn't assume I was an idiot who purchased a turtle without knowing what it was. But again thanks for the handy and helpful tips.

-Gemma

Sep 20, 2009

Not a Yellow Belly Slider!!
by: Anonymous

Hi, really hate to tell you this, but I would just stick with one. You do not have a Yellow Belly Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta), you have a Cooter, a River Cooter (Pseudemys concinna) from that pic alone, I would say most likely a Pseudemys concinna floridana) aka Florida River Cooter. Males get big, but if it happens to be female (not sexable until about 4-6 inches SCL, you're going to need a HUGE enclosure. My friend caught a River Cooter while herping that was about 18-19 inches!!! Fortunately, captive turtles won't get as big as wild turtles, but you're still looking at possibly 14+ inches if female!

Just a word of advice, ask for the scientific name when you purchase an animal. If the seller can't provide it and you don't know for certain, move on. It's really important to know what you keep.

OH!

Cooters LOVE their veggies more than Sliders so here is a new care sheet for you:

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-flredbelly.htm It says Red Belly, but it's good for all species of Cooters.

Sep 20, 2009

Yellow Bellied Slider Groups
by: Shelly

If you decide to get more than one yellow bellied slider, be sure you have enough room. Turtles that are kept in small enclosures are under a great deal of stress.

Also, if you do get a second turtle, be sure it is the same kind as the one you already have.

You can check out this care sheet for more information...

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-yellowbelly.htm

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