Yellow Bellied Slider

Anonymous Author

Collection: A Literary Field Guide to the Swamp, Book 7

July 28, 2026

Prompt:

Trachemys scripta scripta

Biological Overview

Habitat
Freshwater bodies and coastal salt marshes.

Diet
Plants and insects.

Role in Ecosystem
An omnivore; acts as prey and predator.

Behavior
They slide across logs and banks into water to avoid disturbances. They enjoy basking and feed in the mornings

Human Impact

The impacts humans have on yellow bellied sliders are largely negative. Road mortality, pollution, and pet trade. These impacts cause the turtle’s population to decrease.

Creative Exploration

When people see me, they instantly become interested in my brilliant yellow color all over my slimy, scaly body. But I pay no time for them, and I quickly escape, sliding down the log I was basking on. I like nibbling on plants and catching bugs for protein. The human’s cars are really scary, especially when I’m crossing the road to get another salt marsh.

Lorenzo Cote, Mason Barley

Book 7

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Tags

Pee Dee/ Grand Strand

Anonymous Author

This fellow Communal Pen-er has chosen not to share their personal information by remaining anonymous. In Communal Pen workshops, sharing is always optional, as is sharing your name with your writings. We appreciate the courage it takes to share our stories, whether or not we add our names to them or not. If you feel that this is your writing and would like to add your name, leave a comment or contact our team directly at communalpen@coastal.edu. Thank you, and happy writing!