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Red-eared Slider
Trachemys scripta elegans
43.42, -86.3069
Field Notes
Description:
Greenish or brown carapace marked with yellow and black bands or stripes. Plastron is yellowish, with black blotch in each scute. Skin of head, neck, limbs is greenish with yellow stripes; red or orange band behind each eye.
Habitat:
Quiet waters with abundant plant growth and basking sites (logs, etc.). In June, female buries 4 to 25 oval, soft shelled eggs in sunny spot. Incubation takes 65 to 80 days.
Notes:
I was on my way to drop my son off to work at a Scout Camp nearby, and notice a different turtle on the yellow median line in the middle of the road. He said, "It's the saddest road kill to see, a smash turtle." So, we turned around. A car had come up behind us, so I stopped and blocked traffic. The woman in the other vehicle that was behind us shouted, "I just moved one off the road about half a mile back." I reached down to move it, but it scurried too fast for me.
We headed back toward camp, when we came upon this female just off the road laying eggs. I took the pictures, and left. She appeared to be in a torpor or meditation, and didn't notice I was there.
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