Red Eared Terrapin Factfile
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Scientific Name : Trachemys scripta elegans
World Distribution
They come from the bottom part of North America, reaching down to the top part of South America.
Habitat
They live in a variety ot still or slow-flowing freshwater habitats such as ponds and streams with underwater plants.
Feeding
They are omnivorous, feeding on water plants, fish, tadpoles, snails, insects and crustaceans.
Predators
X
Breeding
A male terrapin courts the female by performing a kind of dance, tickling her face with his long claws. The female will lay anything between 2 - 25 eggs, burying them in a shallow nest (on land). Sometimes she will lay two or more clutches of eggs in the same year.
The eggs take between one and three months to hatch, depending on the temperature. The babies peck their way out of the egg using a special egg tooth that falls off a few days after hatching. The parents do not raise the babies, who must fend for themselves from birth.