What's going on with my turtles?

Question

I have two red eye turtles"I have had a turtle for about six years. The other day I added a turtle which is about two years old or less to my tank. Will they get along? And how can I tell their sex. Also, the other day I caught the older one fanning or hitting the younger one, or perhaps I should ask , what were the doing?

Answer 1

Male sliders have a unique mating ritual. When a sexually active male finds a swimming female, he maneuvers in front of her, stretches out his front feet, and vibrates his long claws on the female’s head and neck in a courtship like dance. The female often continues to swim forward while the male swims backwards. If the female is receptive, she will eventually stop swimming and sink slowly to the bottom. The male follows and climbs on top of the female. He holds her carapace with all four claws and bends his tail under hers. During this time the male may bite the female on the neck. Once in place, the male lets go with his front legs and swims backwards until he his nearly in vertical position. From this position mating occurs and lasts about fifteen minutes. Three to four mature males may court the female simultaneously. During courtship, these mature males are occasionally aggressive toward one another (Ernst and Barbour 1989).

Answer 2

Red eye? I think you mean Red-ear sliders.

Introducing a new turtle to a group is a risk for several reasons. First is the risk that the new one will carry germs or parasites to the group, so we always quarantine new animals for about a month.

Another concern is territory. Crowding Red-ears causes aggression- they need space, and as a rule of thumb, the older ones will stress the smaller one.

Aggression is also a concern. Some Red-ears are bullies. Usually this can be dealt with by a big tank, but sometimes they have to be kept separately.


Sexing Red-ears is tough until they hit about 4". Then you can tell because:
MALES will have longer tails with the vent opening in about the middle of the tail, be smaller than a same-age female, have an incurved belly, and long front claws.
FEMALES have shorter, wider tails with the vent near the base, flat or outcurved bellies, and normal length front claws.

The courtship ritual has the male stroking the female's cheeks with its long claws. This can also be a display of dominance.

For more info on this species, try http://www.austinsturtlepage.com

Answer 3

I have 2 red-eared sliders too, both of mine are females.
The easiest way to tell their sex is to look at the nails on the front feet. The males have longer nails than the females.
The males also have a longer tail and their bottom shell (plastron) is slightly curved in.
The "fanning" behavior you observed is a mating behavior, usually done by the male to the female.
If the older turtle is a male and keeps bothering (or hurts), the younger turtle, you might want to put them in separate tanks.
You didn't mention the size of the tank they are in.
If the tank is large enough for them both to comfortably swim in,
then it might be ok for them. Just keep an eye on them to make sure the younger turtle doesn't get stressed.

Answer 4

reptiles are "sexed" by the vet or expierinced persons, red ear slider turtles actually like rocks more than sand and water.. you need to be carefull on mixing grown or medium sized turtle that are different kinds. because the nature ad vulnerablilities of turtles.. they are all diff.

Answer 5

I referred to an episode of Franklin (the turtle) the position he grow to be afraid to sleep in his shell at evening. WTF is with that? If the shell comes off, why even difficulty going again in that slimey aspect to sleep? Use a blanket. i don't think of turtles come out of their shells. that is like ripping each and each and every of the floor off your again, isn't it?

Answer 6

Well, the only thing I know is that you can tell the sex by their tails. Females have shorter tails, and males have longer tails. Good luck!

Answer 7

i dont think they get along, you might watn to seperate them or moniter then closely to make sure they dont get hurt

Answer 8

you mean red eared sliders

Answer 9

Didnt ure mother tell you where babies come from?

Answer 10

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! THEY'RE THE DEVILS TURTLES!