redearslider.com

I'm in southern NJ and sometimes I like to wander the woods and take pictures of things, and I always keep an eye out for turtles. Although I have been searching for several years, I have never seen Red Ear Sliders in the wild. RES are native to NJ, although I'm sure there is a high number of former pet turtles in those populations. I was by an old rotting boat slip where I've previously seen painted turtles and birds like egrets and herons. Those birds are mostly limited to salt marshes but they can be found inland as well. The first and second pictures are of the same turtle, I believe him to be a RES but I may be wrong. Alternatively, he could have been a cooter of some subspecies. The last picture is of two RES who were checking each other out, perhaps courting? They were together the whole time I was watching them. I also saw some other turtles, darker, painteds probably, basking on cedar stumps but they were too far away to get good pictures of.

here in PA ive seen res in the wild i think twice. i mainly see painteds

I initially had a hard time finding them too, but now I see them in a lot of places. They get easier to spot after awhile.

I might have seen a dead baby RES before cuz one time, I was walking past a lake and I saw a tiny little dot in the water, when I had looked closer, it was a baby turtle. It was just floating there so it must of have been dead

We have snappers here. My poor dog discovered how they got their names the hard way haha

RES are actually NOT native to NJ. They are an invasive species, which is ONLY found in NJ due to the release of formerly captive turtles.

Here is the link to the USGS page:

http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=1261

There is an image identifying their native and non-native ranges. RES are only actually indigenous to the areas in brown. The areas in various shades of pink and purple are areas where they are sometimes found, but they are not native. It is ILLEGAL to release RES into the wild in NJ because they are a non-native species.

Interesting. I believe that RES are not "original" to New Jersey, but here they are considered to be indigenous, I suppose because they've been around for so long. There is literature from the state and local organizations that list RES as native, and show their areas of habitation, in southern and northern NJ. It may be a mix of released pet populations and encroachment from native populations from other areas.