General Care Discussion :: cold water, don't wanna have egg problems

[sikobarabasi]

Hello,

I am new here and don't really know what to ask where. I have 2 turtles, Marcina, female 6'' and Feri, male 4,8''. My female is 8 years old, but was held in very pour conditions (when I first saw her the temperature of the water was under 10*C) and I think it affected her growth. I have her since 1 year and she is eating only living food so she is growing nicely. Will she recover? I saw females in her age and they were much bigger! I don't know about the male, I have him because somebody wanted to get rid of him. I read that they are not solitary creatures so i took him too. They have now a 400 Liter tank, but filled only half, because I don't know if the glass will resist the pressure (I made it 2 weeks ago and am still testing it). I had all kinds of animals, 3 bear cubs, tarantulas and snakes, dears (don't worry I did not capture them we just helped)... but no turtles. So help is needed. Now they are on my balcony so it is really worm and in winter they will move inside. What do I do that they do not mate? I don't want to have egg problems especially because I don't have space...

Thanks,

AlparS.

[jenaero]

Good for you for taking them in! Turtles actually are solitary creatures, but they can tolerate eachother if they've got enough space.

Sounds like they've got a fair amount of space. What are the water and basking temperatures? Is there a basking lamp? They'll also need a source of uvb.

Keeping them outside is a bad idea for a few reasons, one of which is, the sun can heat up the tank to a dangerous degree and cook the turtles. Move them inside please.

There's really nothing you need to do. They'll mate or not, regardless. Females will lay eggs even if they never come into contact with a male. Any eggs laid can just be discarded. You'll have to provide a nesting area just to be on the safe side. If a turtle can't find a suitable place to nest, she can hold the eggs and that can be dangerous.

As far as the diet, try getting them on a good brand of pellets. Check out the 'What to feed' and 'What not to feed' lists on the forum and that'll give you an idea. Variety in the diet is important.

good luck!

[SpotsMama]

I don't know if the turtles will ever grow to normal size. Perhaps not. Time will tell.

One common reason for turtles not growing or growing at a very slow pace is internal parasites. Parasites are pretty common in turtles. It takes a vet to determine if they have parasites - you'd need to provide a stool sample. If parasites are the problem, then the type (round worms, tape worms, protazoa, etc) would determine the treatment.

Because your female is so small, she may not ever lay eggs. On the the other hand, maybe she will. Like Jenaero said, a normal female lays eggs even when she hasn't been with a male, just like a chicken. You can just discard the eggs. But gravid females (females with eggs inside) need a nesting place to lay their eggs. They shouldn't just lay them in the aquarium. Here's a link on the subject just in case it turns out your girl is capable of producing eggs:

http://www.redearslider.com/reproduction.html

[sikobarabasi]

Hello,

god to know that they are solitary creatures I accepted the male because I knew otherwise. I hope the space will be enough because my apartment doesn't permit it to be larger, it is little more than 90 cm long 60 large and 70 high. It is not ready jet because I am leaving for 1 month, so it will stay on the balcony for one more month but I have so it is not so hot draperies. Water temperature is 24-28 *C basking area is maximum 30 *C. I have a basking light but no UV light (yet).
I have a few friends at the university for veterinarian who wrote some papers on turtles (which live in the Danube Delta) I will ask them. I have a microscope and I looked at their feces and didn't see anything (both of my parents are wets and my brother too, so it is something usual for me). I let them out a lot in the apartment but they are hiding a lot. I don't like to handle them a lot I like them to be as natural as possible. She likes to bite!
They don't eat any vegetables, green stuff, just meet!!! Why? They like bananas and that's it.

Thanks fore the tips!

AlparS.[/img]

[marisa]

If meat/animal matter is what they were fed before you got them, that's what they're used to. But a diet of meat (and never cold cuts/processed meat) isn't good for them and is very unbalanced. Turtles can take some time to accept new foods, so you have to keep offering those foods to them (it might help if you got the scent of something they liked on some of the vegetables you offer them). You also could try cutting down on the foods they do like and only offer veggies. If/when they're hungry, they'll be more apt to nibble on them.

Turtles usually do like bananas, but they're high in phosphorus, which turtles already have plenty of in the diet. I give my turtles slivers of bananas, but it's very rarely and only a small amount when I do. As a regular part of the diet, though, bananas aren't good.

[sikobarabasi]

Are plums a good meal for them? I tryed and they like it, but I don't know if it is healthy too...?

[megcornell]

Ideally you'd base a diet off something balanced like pellets and supplement it with rare protein treats like fish or brine shrimp once a month and give vegetables everyday or two. Since the female was held in such harsh conditions she has probably had her growth stunted. No amount of feeding now can make up for that so she'll never make up the lost growth but a balanced and healthy diet will still prove very important to her.
If you look at the top of the feeding and nutrition section there are sections called "what to feed your turtle" and "what NOT to feed your turtle" they're a very good list of what is healthy and unhealthy to add to a diet.
Good luck!

[marisa]

Fruit is OK occasionally, but it's better to stick more to leafy greens that you know are good for them (look at that list).

[sikobarabasi]

Thanks a lot for the info!!!