General Care Discussion :: Turtles mating..pregnant?

[frogger6]

Hello, I have one male and one female slider in a 55 gallon tank. I've noticed them mating (or trying to mate perhaps) on several occasions. This includes the male fluttering at her face and then going around her and wrapping his tail around towards her, etc.
Lately the female has started basking alot more and avoiding the male. we have some large stone (underwater) caves for the fish which she hides in for long periods of time (which she's never done before).
I set up a container with a light and dirt for her to lay her eggs in. I put her in there a few hours per day.

My question is: will the male keep trying to mate with her if she's already "pregnant"?
and do these things i metnioned indicate she is?
what else should i look for?
how large will the eggs be should she lay some?

[SpotsMama]

Here's some reading material for you:

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

Your female isn't acting gravid (that's what you call "pregnant" when it's an egg laying creature). When females are gravid they get extremely agitated and constantly struggle to get out of the tank. They lose their appetites too.

She does however, sound like she's feeling harrassed by the male. This isn't uncommon with turtles housed in small quarters (your 55 gallon tank would be considered very small for two grown turtles). The male harrasses the female until she can't stand it any more and starts lashing out at the male. The female can do a lot of harm to the male.

I'm afraid it's time to start considering separating them before the situation gets out of hand. It's also a good time to get another tank for one of them so they will have more room. RES normally live in big ponds and lakes where that have lots of room to swim and dive. They are very energetic and get frustrated if the space is too small. Also, you'll find it's much easier to keep the tanks clean because with more water the waste is diluted.

[frogger6]

thanks for the reply.
I used to have a 150 gallon tank, but had to sell it when i moved across the country. The 55 seems small to me too, but these aren't huge turtles. They're both under 5 inches though the female is bigger than the male.

The female DOES seem to have a loss of appetite though. Before she would eat everything, including my fish, but now it's hard to get her to eat much of anything.

I haven't seen the male picking on her at all though i can't watch them 24 hours a day. I just see him trying to mate with her at least once or twice a day.

if he is picking on her, what would he be doing? what should i watch for?

[megcornell]

Picking on her would include incessant fluttering, following her around, etc. Her hiding in the cave and not eating sounds like she's a bit stressed from the male. Usually the female will warn the male by snapping at him but if he doesn't get the message things can get ugly, and quickly. Females are larger and stronger than males and can do some serious damage-- I think one male on here had his penis bitten.

And, once aggression starts it's very hard in not impossible to curb, so keep your eyes out and be ready to separate them in need be.

Also, females can lay eggs even without a male, so even if you do separate them she still may be gravid eventually.

[marisa]

If he is picking on her, he's probably making advances with the intention of trying to mate again. A male can become increasingly agressive if a female spurns his advances. She should be able to get away from him if he continutally wants to mate, and she won't be able to do so in a tank that size, even if you add objects to break up their sight lines. It would be good to give her a break and separate them, at least temporarily, if not permanently.

The loss of appetite could be from either being gravid or from the stress of being harassed by the male.

[jasmiester]

turtles have penises? LOL? or Peni .. whats the plural of penis D:

[marisa]

I think each normally-formed male turtle has one.