Terrapin (also known as Sliders – all subspecies of Trachemys scripta including Red-eared slider, Yellow-bellied slider, Cumberland slider and Common slider)

Photo credit: GBNNSS

• Appearance: Hard-shelled turtle up to 33 cm in length
• Biology: Lives in freshwater, likes to bask in the sun, can lay 3 clutches of 2-19 eggs per year in suitable conditions.
• Diet: Fruit, insects, amphibians, small rodents, birds and eggs.
• Impact: Voracious predator impacting on native aquatic life.
• Pathway: May have escaped or been deliberately released into the wild.
• Legal status: Species of special concern listed under the retained EU Regulation 1143/2014 and the Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement & Permitting) Order 2019.

• Unless you have a licence or permit or an exemption applies you must not:
o keep them in your house, garden or business
o sell them to other people
o exchange them for goods
o release them into the environment
o let them breed or escape
o import them into the UK
o transport them within the UK
o export them to other countries

• What to do if you see these Terrapins for sale or other offences being committed: Make a report by following the guidance here.

• What to do if you see this animal in the wild: Record it with a photograph (where possible).

• Links to more: Species information and ID sheet.