Tonight while accompanying my neighbor to the iris bed to cut a few flowers by flashlight, we came upon this turtle. Box turtles we've had aplenty but what type is this one? It is about twice as large as our common box turtles.
Who did I find underneath the oak?
Looks like a water turtle. Does it have webbed feet? Maybe it is a red slider?
I didn't get to see the feet. This is a better picture of his/her back.
I wish I had a turtle in my yard. It is really cute.
The shell looks more like land turtle than water turtle to me (water turtle shells are typically rather flat), but have no idea what kind. Big fellow, and gorgeous!
Pretty sure it's a Yellow-bellied Slider,Trachemys scripta scripta. The yellow stripe behind its eye is the big clue, that and I think it's the only slider in S.C., except the Red-eared sliders have been kept as pets and released and are now found all over the eastern US.
http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek040422.html
Whatever type it is grant I like it ,
Very cute .
Small, small world. Hilton Pond is within 10 miles of my home. I sent my pictures on to Bill to see if it was indeed a slider. Thank you for reminding me. He just slipped my mind. I will let you know what he replies.
The next morning I checked the area, and it appeared that she was trying to scrape a nest. However, she could only get down a few centimeters under that old oak tree in our dry clay. It was rock hard. I hope she found someplace more inviting and had more success. Maybe I'll get to see more turtles like this one in my future.
Did Bill confirm your turtle type? Have you seen the little lady again?
Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to come back and confirm her identity. Yes indeed it was a Yellow-bellied Slider,Trachemys scripta. I haven't seen her again. Unfortunately the ground was brick hard where I saw her trying to scrape a hole for her eggs. I hope she found easier ground elsewhere.