Animal of the Month July 2019: Big Bend Slider (Trachemys gaigeae)
Also known as the Mexican Plateau Slider, this species of turtle is endemic to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. This species of turtle is only found in the Rio Grande drainage of southern New Mexico, Texas and Mexico and in the Rio Concho drainage of Chihuahua, Mexico. The Big Bend Slider is often mistaken for the Red-Eared Slider due to its similar appearance.
The Big Bend Slider is diurnal, active during the day foraging for aquatic vegetation and basking on logs and rocks. The juveniles of this species tend to be more carnivorous and are opportunistic in their feeding patterns, eating everything from insects, fish, aquatic vegetation and even stealing bait from fisherman’s traps.
Come visit the Museum of Nature & Science to see the museum’s resident Big Bend Slider now on exhibit in the “Desert Rivers” section of the Nature Center!