How Long Do Yellow Bellied Sliders Live? Average Lifespan, Data & Care
By Beth Crane
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Yellow-bellied sliders are popular semi-aquatic turtles kept as pets by enthusiasts worldwide. They aren’t the biggest Chelonians, only measuring between 8 and 11 inches, but they can live for a very long time. These turtles are a native species of the Southern United States, living in ponds, rivers, and lakes. Yellow-bellied sliders can live up to 50 years of age! We’ll look at the lifespan of these fascinating turtles and their various life stages below.
Yellow-Bellied Slider Average Lifespan
Yellow-bellied sliders are long-lived Chelonians, particularly in captivity. They can live for an average of 20 to 30 years, but they can comfortably reach up to 50 years of age! The reason for their longevity is their slow growth and metabolism.
How Long Do Yellow-Bellied Sliders Live in the Wild?
Yellow-bellied sliders commonly reach 30 years of age in the wild. They live slightly shorter lives than those living as pets because of the dangers the wild brings. Wild Yellow-Bellied Sliders are at risk of predation, exposure, accidental injury, lack of food, and illness, meaning they are likelier to die earlier than captive individuals.
Why Do Some Yellow-Bellied Sliders Live Longer Than Others?
Caring for a Yellow-Bellied Slider can be tricky if you don’t know what they need, and even factors such as an inappropriate diet or the wrong environment can shorten their lifespan. Knowing how to care for this exotic pet can give your Yellow-Bellied Slider the best chance of living a full and happy life.
1. Feeding & Diet
Yellow-bellied sliders are omnivorous turtles and can eat animal and vegetable proteins. They need a good mixture of the two, and the animal protein they need will vary depending on their life stage.
Young Yellow-Bellied Sliders eat a more carnivorous diet, but those under a year old should eat a diet that’s 50% animal protein and 50% vegetation. Sliders over a year old typically eat more vegetation, skewing the amounts to 25% animal protein and 75% vegetation. The amount of food your Yellow-Bellied Slider needs also varies with age, with younger turtles eating meat and vegetation daily and older turtles limiting animal protein one to two times a week.
A healthy diet is essential for Yellow-Bellied Sliders; malnutrition can severely affect them and considerably reduce their lifespan. To ensure your Slider gets the right balance, they should be fed a wide variety of protein and vegetation. Below is a small sample of the foods your Yellow-Bellied Slider can eat. Remember, variety is critical to ensuring your pet has the right balance of vitamins, minerals, and proteins for a long life:
- Guppies
- Mollies
- Snails
- Frozen Bloodworms
- Silkworms
- Dandelion greens and flowers
- Collard greens
- Kale
- Romaine lettuce
2. Environment
Yellow-bellied sliders are semi-aquatic, meaning they live mostly in the water but still need a place to come onto land and rest. Sliders use their time on land to bask in the sunlight, which is essential for absorbing vitamin D and regulating their body temperature. Proper heating and lighting are essential to the health of your Yellow-Bellied Slider; turtles without suitable enclosures can die very quickly from illness or disease, so getting it right is paramount to giving them a long life.
- Heating: Yellow-bellied sliders are cold-blooded and need heat from outside sources (namely the sun in the wild) to regulate their temperatures. They need a basking area with a heat lamp that provides a 95°–104°F ground basking temperature and 85°–90°F air temperature to keep them healthy and prevent brumation. The water will also need to be heated for these turtles, and the colder a Slider is, the slower their metabolism is. Water needs to be heated to 74°–76°F, and a series of thermometers placed in their enclosure can monitor the temperatures for you.
- Lighting: Lighting is arguably the most important environmental feature for your Yellow-Bellied Slider. Sliders get all their vitamin D from the sun, which is impossible in captivity. A UVB lamp will allow your Slider to make vitamin D, which is crucial for healthy bone and body growth. Without vitamin D, your Yellow-Bellied Slider will suffer from diseases and stunting of the skeletal system and shell, leading to a vastly reduced lifespan.
3. Care
Caring for Yellow-Bellied Sliders largely involves the environmental and dietary maintenance we’ve mentioned above, but there are a few other procedures you can do to keep your turtle in tip-top condition to prolong their life. Ensuring they get enough protein is very important, and turtles without it can develop highly debilitating metabolic bone disease. Adding cuttlefish to your Yellow-Bellied Slider’s enclosure can boost calcium while allowing them to keep their beak in check by rasping.
4. Cleaning
Testing the water and keeping it clean can help protect your Yellow-Bellied Slider from diseases due to dirty tank water. Regularly replacing the water will keep their tank clean, and testing for bacteria or other pathogens can reduce the risk of illness for your turtle. Yellow-Bellied Sliders are messy, particularly when feeding. A good filter in your enclosure is very important since food debris and feces can quickly build up and breed bacteria!
5. Healthcare
Yellow-Bellied Sliders are generally very healthy if you look after their environment and diet, but there are some health problems they should be protected from if you want them to live for the longest time possible. Injuries and weight loss are the two most common signs of illness in a Yellow-Bellied Slider, so it’s good to weigh your turtle at least once a month to monitor their growth. If you notice any weight loss, you should take them to an exotics veterinarian for a check-up. Injuries can be caused by falls, scrapes, or sharp tank decorations. It’s vital to take your Yellow-Bellied Slider to the vet as soon as you see an injury; an infection or abscess can quickly set in.
The Life Stages of a Yellow-Bellied Slider
- Egg: Eggs incubate for around 2 to 3 months before emerging as hatchlings from the nest, usually during springtime.
- Hatchling: Hatchling Sliders are around an inch in size when they hatch and are prey for many native predator species.
- Juvenile: Yellow-Bellied Sliders grow slowly and mature at around 8 years old.
- Adult: Adult Sliders will reproduce in the fall and spring, often laying clutches of six to 10 eggs in a soft hole in the ground.
How to Tell Your Yellow-Bellied Slider’s Age
The easiest way to tell your Yellow Bellied Slider’s age is by asking the person or organization you got them from! It can be challenging to age turtles just by looking if you don’t know when they hatched, but there are a few ways to guess. A young Slider’s shell will be brighter, but older turtles will have duller colors. Comparing them to an adult Slider can be a good start, and you can take a few years off if your Slider was bred in captivity. Pet Sliders have a much better diet and general husbandry than wild turtles, so they’ll grow faster. Older Yellow-Bellied Sliders might have dents and chips in their shells.
Conclusion
Yellow-Bellied Sliders can live for 50 years as pets if properly cared for. Wild turtles face many problems and hardships, but captive individuals have a much better chance of living to their full potential if they get the proper care. By providing the right diet and correct environment and giving them veterinary care if needed, you can help your Yellow-Bellied Slider live life to the fullest.
Featured Image Credit: Fabio Grandis, Pixabay
