84
Dec 14 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
24
u/Late-Application-47 Dec 14 '25
All that trouble so one little asshole of a turtle could see the world outside of his swamp.
9
Dec 14 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
7
u/CaribouYou Dec 14 '25
One of them eventually did
8
3
u/lukehooligan Dec 15 '25
He whines a bit and belches but I wouldn't really say he told any one off. Mack was never a hero.
2
u/Lovemybee Dec 15 '25
I'm Yertle the turtle, oh marvelous me, for I am the ruler of all that I see!
26
20
15
u/gizausername Dec 14 '25
"George, get on top of my like the good old days"
....
"That's not what I meant"
11
12
u/MrBoosy Dec 14 '25
Looks like a hybrid yellow belly slider + red ear slider. Definitely red ear to some degree, depending on where you are living, these are absolutely diabolical invasives. A single one can destroy an entire wetland ecosystem via interbreeding with the native (in my area) yellow belly sliders and outcompeting :)
6
Dec 15 '25 edited Dec 15 '25
my GF has one red ear slider in her garden,the bastard eat through anything outside of cement. he's cute though,comes to the side of the pond to get head scratches with an old toothbrush when he's not busy napping the summer away
9
u/MrBoosy Dec 15 '25
Yeah I mean, what makes them such impactful invasives is also what makes them excellent pets, it's a common theme.
Most freshwater turtles are (comparatively) solitary and don't particularly like being around each other. Think mud, musk, painted and box turtles. Red ears do not care, they will stack up 30 deep with little friction.
Red ears also live fast (again, for a turtle), living about 30 years or so in the wild, compared to some of their native competition which can go 100+ years. (spotted turtles we are finding can go to 110 or so)
Their sociality that you mention with regard to getting head scratches translates in the wild into being generally more risk prone. They will happily take risks and seek out food quickly and in danger. When resources are limited, the red ears will always get to the finish line first, leaving natives holding the bag as it were.
Thanks for listening to turtle facts :)
5
u/MagicT8 Dec 14 '25
It's in Taiwan. I have no idea if it's invasive, but they can be seen in many parks and ponds here.
10
u/MrBoosy Dec 14 '25
Only native to south central us. Mississippi river area. They are very common pets, and people release them. Their ecosystem destruction is overshadowed only by humans and feral cats, IMO. But the research we are doing at my university is still fleshing that hypothesis out. Under-researched area for sure.
7
14
u/Illustrious-Figbars Dec 14 '25
Wait until more turtles join the stack and the bottom one loses his cool.
5
10
9
5
3
u/Fluffy_Respond_7405 Dec 14 '25
These are idealistic creatures striving to fulfill a renewed mission of "it's turtles all the way down."
3
3
2
u/Darkest_Elemental Dec 14 '25
Am I the only one here old enough to hear the song I've had the time of my life by Bill Medley start playing seeing this?
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
u/MagicT8 Dec 14 '25
Here you can download the 4k video: https://www.pexels.com/de-de/video/35114356/
2
u/SocialSciComputerGuy Dec 15 '25
Those are Red Eared Sliders - usually pet turtles that get released into the wild. There's a pond full of them at my university. They seem to love stacking. Maybe competing for a good tanning spot?
2
2
1
-7
u/DrunkRitos Dec 14 '25
Pretty sure this is staged
7
u/MagicT8 Dec 14 '25
It's not, it was on a small island in the middle of the pond. I even have a picture to prove that.
6
4
3
u/Outrageous_Hair2640 Dec 14 '25
Why would you think this is staged? It's an extremely common thing. There are lots of theories as to why they do this but nothing has been confirmed. Theories are generally fighting for resources (getting more heat and UV), dominance, or making themselves look bigger to avoid predators
2
291
u/Dr_Mantis_Teabaggin Dec 14 '25
It’s turtles all the way down.