General Care Discussion :: Turtles mating

[ungerme]

I have two RES. I have recently discovered that I have one male and one female. My male has started woo-ing the female and I'm not sure how to care for "mature" turtles. I'm concerned about a nesting area for the female, how do I make one? When does she need it? I'm also concerned about having hatchlings. Honestly I can't afford to care for babies also. Any advise?

[CountryGirl68]

Do a search - there are several posts in the Habitat Indoor topic with ideas on building a nesting area for your turtle.

If you don't want baby turtles, you can separate your turtles. You will still need to provide a nesting area for the female, though. She will lay eggs whether she's been with a male or not.

[CV Cream]

Hi,


As far as how to make turtle nest, thissite will give you some info.


http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/Nestsites.htm

And, i suggest if you cannot care for the hatchlings, then you should separate them, to prevent them from mating. But you should look into makeing the female a nest, regardless.

[missibsu]

It won't matter if they mate or not, your female is going to lay eggs. The link that CV Cream gave you is the site that several of us recommend. It has a lot of great info.

Most turtle keepers just dispose of the eggs. If your turtles are separated, then the eggs are not going to be any good anyway. If they are together, then just figure that they aren't anygood.

[steve]

You also need to consider upgrading your tank if it is too small. Male RES can harass females to the point where aggression and injuries arises.