Pond sliders prefer quiet, soft, muddy bottomed waters with suitable basking spots. They are faithful to their home ranges, leaving only to nest or hibernate.Their diet includes carrion, fish, frogs, shrimp, water snakes, snails, tadpoles and aquatic vegetation such as duckweed. The juveniles are carnivores and as they mature, they add aquatic plants to their diets. Their heads and legs have yellow stripes. Their skin is dark green and brown and they have a wide yellow or red blotch behind the eyes.