Trachemys scripta
Silhouette: DataBase Center for Life Science (DBCLS) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The pond slider (Trachemys scripta) is a species of common, medium-sized, semiaquatic turtle. Three subspecies are described, the most recognizable of which is the red-eared slider (T. s. elegans), which is popular in the pet trade and has been introduced to other parts of the world by people releasing it to the wild. Hatchling and juvenile pond sliders have a green upper shell (carapace), yellow bottom shell (plastron), and green and yellow stripes and markings on their skin. These patterns and colors in the skin and shell fade with age until the carapace is a muted olive green to brown and the plastron is a dull yellow or darker. Some sliders become almost black with few visible markings.
The carapace is oval with a bit of rounding and a central crest with knobs, but these features soften and fade with age, adults being smoother and flatter. For determining an adult slider's sex, males typically have much longer front claws than adult females, while females usually have shorter, more slender tails than males. Their lifespans range from 20 to 50 years.
The origin of the name slider stems from the behavior of these turtles when startled. Groups of sliders, sometimes... Wikipedia →
Recording0:16
Italy · 2026
© ScuolaValente_2C · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 6 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 8 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 11 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 15 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pond Slider sighting in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 21st most-seen of the 35 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Pond Slider in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, against under 5% in July and October–December, the lowest months. That is one of Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge's wettest months, with about 170 mm of rain against 50 mm in March.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pond Slider sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 15
Of the 15 parks where we can rate Pond Slider sightings, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge ranks 8th at about 10%. The best odds are in Congaree National Park (United States, about 50%), Padre Island National Seashore (United States, about 40%) and Channel Islands National Park (United States, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Emydidae
The closest relatives of the Pond Slider that you can see in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (family Emydidae, Pond and Box Turtles) are Peninsular Cooter (about 30%), Common Box Turtle (about 10%) and Florida Redbelly Turtle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pond Slider is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (19 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
