General Care Discussion :: Will 2 males attempt to mate???

[Steve C]

I thought both my RES's were male but, tonight they were mating. Will 2 males attempt to mate or do I have a male and female?

[SpotsMama]

How big are your turtles (straight shell length)? Turtles don't mature sexually until they are at least 4" long (straight shell length).

Does one of them have much longer front toenails than the other? Does one of them have a noticeably larger tail than the other? Males grow longer front toenails and have larger, thicker tails than females. Females, on the other hand, grow up to be larger than males.

Does this help you determine what's going on?

[Steve C]

One is 4.5 the other 5" Their buid seems to be the same but I thought turtles could tell between male and female.

[Tenodera]

Mating? You mean liker fluttering or actually mating? what does it look like??

[marisa]

If you're sure they're males, do you mean that one is trying to get on top of the other? I have two male eastern painteds that will do that to each other.

[Steve C]

It starts with the fluttering and ends with one on top reaching under the other with his tail and pumping away. Kind of funny to watch.

[marisa]

Do they both have the same long, spiky front claws and long, thick tails with broad bases and cloaca's nearer to the tip of the tail than the shell? If so, they'd be males.