>>Have you ever seen such a handsome fellow? I'm guessing he's a RES crossed with a yellowbelly slider, but since he's from a shelter, we'll never know. The only background I have is that he was purchased from a pet store six months ago.
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>>Katrina
>>

The pattern/shape of the ear striping does not really suggest yellowbelly influence (at least so far in all of the yellowbelly's I've ever seen).

Long nails suggest a male. In old RES males, the red stripe has a tendancy at times to darken and/or fade away so there is no red anymore. It's also known in some males that as they age their shell darkens considerably (almost black in some cases). It's possible that may be the case here (just a fairly old RES) unless there are other characteristics about the turtle that cannot be seen in the photo which would suggest yellowbelly influence. They pyramiding on the shell is indicative of some long-term poor diet.
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PHWyvern