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The size of the adult carapace is up to
11 inches and can be uniformly brown or olive, but in
some cases is patterned with dark and light patches.
The plastron of the adult is solid pale yellow. Hatchlings
have a heavily patterned carapace which is olive with
small orange and yellow circles and the plastron is pale
yellow with dark wavy patterning and highly variable.
This turtle has significantly long claws along with webbed
digits. A noticeable feature is a yellowish stripe behind
the eye, sometimes pinkish or orange. Males have longer
foreclaws and tails than females. It lives in fresh or
brackish water ponds and wetlands and is intolerant of
seawater. Older males display a very different colour
pattern that has caused them to be mistaken for another
species. They are often found sunning on logs in the
water along dyke roads and will jump into the water when
disturbed creating a splash as they disappear. Probable
life span is 25 to 30 years. They are omnivores, feeding
on aquatic vegetation and insects. Nesting behaviour
has never been observed, but is probably similar to other
slider species. This species has been shown to interbreed
with Red-eared Slider turtles which were introduced to
the Cayman Islands as pets. It is also called the Taco
River Slider. The absence of fossil remains indicates
that hickatees may have been introduced by early settlers
as a food supply. |
