Red-eared Sliders have a distinctive red marking at their heads and have acquired the name “Sliders” because of the way they “slide” into the water from a rock or log. “Crash,” the male, and “Coco,” the female, have unique personalities with Coco being the larger and more aggressive of the two. Crash always wanted to sit on Coco’s rock and although she never let him, he never stopped trying. As they grew, so did the need for bigger living quarters. Turtles can live as long as their humans so the quest to find them a larger home prompted Tyler to ask if his pets could become resident guests at the Governor’s Residence. His grandmother had told him of another Red-eared Slider, “Jackie,” who lives very happily there in the water garden.  Arrangements were made and Mary Alice Mairose, curator of the residence, welcomed Crash and Coco to their elegant new “digs” and led the way to their new home (see photos) where they were last seen swimming blissfully unconfined.

As a side note, the water garden contains water collected from Ohio streams and waterways. Ohio boasts 44,000 miles of waterways. Red-eared Sliders may have inhabited the Ohio River region many years ago.