Urgent Care :: Blood is found but no wound

[KATZ]

Hi,I'm from Hong Kong and I have a pair of RES living together.I found the blood twice starting from 19/9.They seldom fight,even if they do,it's just the female biting the male.I guess fighting itsn't the cause of the blood found as I checked both of them,no wound at all.They didn't eat any red-colored food.They are now seperated so I can see which turtle is having problem.I have kept them for 7 years and 10 years respectively and they had never got sick.They are still very active and having good appetite.I wonder what's the problem is.

Thanks,
KATZ

[megcornell]

How much blood are you finding and how are you sure it's blood?

[jenaero]

I wonder if the male's penis has been bitten?

[marisa]

Welcome. If you've had them that long, they must be fairly large. How big is the tank they're in? Too small, and they can get aggressive...

How much blood was there? Have you inspected the nail beds and claws?

[industrial_girl_2000]

It may be a good idea to KEEP them separated from now on. If the female is biting the male when they are together, that is a bad sign that they are starting to get aggressive towards each other. The blood isn't a good sign.

Keep us posted!

[KATZ]

Well,though I've kept them for a long time,they don't seem to grow much.They're about 12cm long an the tank is about 45cm long,30cm wide and 15cm high.And just checked the male.It's him.The blood came out from his penis like urine.It's not the female's fault.I will take it to the vet as soon as possible,but I still wonder what's happening to him.Will the vet cut his penis?

[marisa]

I think it would depend in part on where there's an infection or not.

[megcornell]

A big part of the problem is that the tank you have is much too small for one turtle let alone two. If those dimensions you gave are correct you have 2 four inch turtles in a 6 gallon tank. Those conditions are basically inhumane and will DEFINITELY cause aggression in turtles. It will also be impossible to keep the water clean due to how dirty turtles get and how little water you can fit into that tank.
Look at the requirements outlined on the main page and start setting up a better habitat for your turtles. You'd be wise to get two tanks, as once turtles start to fight, I think that will be a hard habit to break, regardless of how much room you give them. Ideally they should have 10 gallons per inch of shell. You should also look at the nutrition section because your turtles are not growing properly. At their ages they should be nearly if not full grown and yet they are the size of one year old turtles.

[KATZ]

Well,I didn't know about the scale and actually I thought that tank is quite big for them,the area is about 10 times of the bigger one.
Thanks for telling me about the scale and I will try my best to improve it.
But they're not fighting.Seriously,they get along quite well.The male's penis wasn't bitten.And I refill the water 1-3 times a day with water that have kept overnight.

[untsmurf]

Just because they aren't biting one another constantly doesn't mean they are getting along. Your female is being territorial and showing signs of aggression.

And I second what MegCornell said.