Other Turtle Discussion :: 3 questions... please help :)

[Glencoe]

Ok well i just had a few questions on top of my head. and here we go

1. is it normal for turtles to eat dead skin off of eachother? I saw them do this one night and it was really weird.

2. my turtles do somewhat of a mating ritual everyday almost. one of them flaps his front legs really close to his head and close to the other turtle. i think this is mating, but if it is... which one is doing it? The female or the male? Ones really nervous most of the time, but the other is calm as can be.

3. when will my turtles not fly off the basking area when i come close? I got them in october so it's been a while now. do they need more time to adjust?

thanks for anyone who can help me out with some of these questions.

[marisa]

1. I've never noticed my turts eating dead skin off each other (I've never really noticed a lot of dead skin on them). Exactly how much are they shedding?

2. If your turtles are not sexually mature, the behavior you describe could possibly be something that young turtles do to each other occasionally. It could also be a show of dominance (by the one doing the fluttering).

How big is your tank and how big are your turtles (shell lengths not including the curve of the shells)? If they're in a space that's too small for them, dominance could turn into bullying...Is the turtle that's really nervous smaller than the other one?

You won't be able to reliably sex your turtles until their shell lengths (w/o the curves) are around 4 inches.

3. Time is usually the answer for skiddish turtles. However, their flying off the basking area into the water when you approach is instinctive (flight from a possible predator) and may never be totally be eradicated.

[mikedpirone]

to answer the 3rd on i agree with marisa..my little girl(i think?) was extremely scared whenever anyone came in the room at first. its been about 6 months since ive had her and now she will just sit there unless you get too close to the tank...then shell jump into the water. its part of their nature as seeing most things bigger then them eat them. its possilbe that it could go away but then again it could never.

[Glencoe]

1. I've never noticed my turts eating dead skin off each other (I've never really noticed a lot of dead skin on them). Exactly how much are they shedding?

Not that much, its pretty thin layers u see little peice floating around in the tank. The skin that they was coming off of the neck. i cant tell how much theyre shedding each day, but it seems normal. was just wondering if they were cannibals or something. lol

2. If your turtles are not sexually mature, the behavior you describe could possibly be something that young turtles do to each other occasionally. It could also be a show of dominance (by the one doing the fluttering).

How big is your tank and how big are your turtles (shell lengths not including the curve of the shells)? If they're in a space that's too small for them, dominance could turn into bullying...Is the turtle that's really nervous smaller than the other one?

You won't be able to reliably sex your turtles until their shell lengths (w/o the curves) are around 4 inches.

At the moment i only have so much money if i wanted to buy another tank. Right now theyre about an inch and a bit. i got them in november. my tank is 10 gallons. eys i know this isnt big enough, but now itll have to do until i get a job to buy them something bigger. the turles were bought at the same time so theyre the same size. [/quote]

3. Time is usually the answer for skiddish turtles. However, their flying off the basking area into the water when you approach is instinctive (flight from a possible predator) and may never be totally be eradicated.

Oh well, theyre better than they used to be. thanks for the input