Okay, so when I was in Georgia, I bought three baby painted sliders. I am now in California, and they are in a 30 gallon tank and seem to be fully grown. They are healthy and happy little guys. however, just today two of them where doing this what I can only call a mating ritual where they are are shaking their "hands" at each others head. I just want to know if there is anything I should or need to do for them?
2007-12-30 07:35:48 · 6 answers · asked by moshy_monster 2 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
It is a turtle
2007-12-30 07:40:39 · update #1
There is no such turtle as a painted slider. There are painted turtles, such as Southern, Eastern, and Western painted turtles, and there are sliders, such as red ear sliders and yellow bellied sliders. Sliders get pretty large, and adults would not be able to live in a 30 gallon tank, especially considering the females get over a foot in length. Painted turtles don't get as large. The females get fairly large, but the males stay small. Anyway, it's common for male turtles to shake their claws at females, even if they're not mature enough to breed. I wouldn't worry about it. I've seen it dozens of times. And they rarely breed in captivity anyway. So unless you have a big female crammed in there, you don't have to worry about mating.
2007-12-30 08:00:12 · answer #1 · answered by madsnakeman 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Painted Slider is not really a kind of turtle, but there are Painted Turtles and various kinds of Sliders (Red-ear, Yellow-belly, etc.)
The hand shaking thing is a courtship ritual. If it is between an adult male and an adult female, it is normal. However, it can be a sign of stress when it occurs between other turtles.
One thing that can stress turtles is overcrowding. We recommend 10 gallons of water per inch of turtle shell length to help ensure the turtles have enough room.
With three grown turtles, I would guess you have about 18" worth of total shell length in there- so should have at least a 200 gallon tank to give them room. The crowding will cause several forms of stress- bullying, using mating behaviors as domination techniques, etc.
Try http://www.redearslider.com for more info.
2007-12-30 18:04:51 · answer #2 · answered by Madkins007 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well,if you want baby turtles reasearch info on the internet. I also suggest that you go to a local petstore to buy helpful turtle books. Read up on them and make sure you keep on feeding them nutriciously!!!
2007-12-30 15:42:54 · answer #3 · answered by orchidpony 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What is a painted slider?
2007-12-30 15:39:01 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What's a slider?
2007-12-30 15:38:11 · answer #5 · answered by Stay Beautiful 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well make shure u keep the mom comfy if she has babys and keep her in a seprate tank i think ask a vet
2007-12-30 15:39:56 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋