red eared sliders attack a slice of ham. Brutal savage starving turtles eat innerwish silent faces theme audioThe female Red-eared Slider grows to be 25-30 cm (10-12 in) in length and males 20-25 cm (8-10 in). The red stripe on each side of the head distinquishes the Red-eared Slider from all other North American species. The carapace (top shell) is oval and flattened (especially in the male), has a weak keel that is more pronounced in the young, and the rear marginal scutes are notched. The carapace usually consists of a dark green background with light and dark highly variable markings. The plastron (bottom shell) is yellow with dark paired irregular markings in the center of most scutes. The plastron is highly variable in pattern. The head, legs, and tail are green with fine yellow irregular lines. Older males can sometimes have a melanistic coloration being a dark grayish olive green, with markings being very subdued. The red stripe on the sides of the head may be difficult to see or be absent. [edit] Diet Red-eared Sliders are omnivores and eat a variety of animal and plant materials in the wild including, but not limited to fish, crayfish, carrion, tadpoles, snails, crickets, wax worms, aquatic insects and numerous aquatic plant species. The captive diet for pet Red-eared Sliders should be a varied diet consisting of feeder fish, aquatic plants and other natural foods. They should never be fed commercial dog food, cat food and fish chow. Commercial turtle foods can …