Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 1:29 am Re: Steve check out the weirdness O.O
In my experience, its not common for a female west african brown mud turtle, such as yours, to mount or show dominance. It is likely to be a male, but at 5.5" they can be difficult to sex. Still quite a bit of growing to do. Keep a good eye out, during mating attempts, males can inflict some nasty wounds on the necks of other turtles. In general, this is a placid species. The species that can be aggressive is pelomedusa subrufa (african helmeted). They are the only known species (that I'm aware) that has been documented to hunt in packs. They have been known to kill, and consume turtles larger than they are. You can find videos on youtube of them hunting birds, its quite interesting.