General Care Discussion :: Young female turtle and eggs

[ctwngrl08]

I thought my turtle was too young to breed but last year she laid 3 eggs, they we'rent fertile but does this mean she is old enough to breed? shes in a tank with 2 other turtles one adult male and 1 baby that i dont know the gender yet. She is about 4 years old but shes not very big, only about 5 inches. i was just wondering because i dont want them to breed since i dont have enough room for more turtles right now. any info would help, thanks.

[TheComputerGremlin]

See this post: http://www.redearslider.com/reproduction.html

Your baby girl is just at that age. Now you have to watch out for the male(s) so you don't end up with babies!

[steve]

You should discard the eggs. At her size it's doubtful they are her best anyway.

[megcornell]

Do you have a proper nest site for her?
Most eggs laid in water aren't viable anyways.
Any possibly viable eggs can be cracked and thrown away.

[ctwngrl08]

I was pretty sure that she is old enough now to mate, she doesnt show much interest in my male so im pretty sure all eggs will be unfertilized. but now i know they can lay eggs even if they arnt fertile so i can provide a nesting place for her. thanks everyone for your help!!

[Cramer]

Ah, you think since she doesn't show interest, he'll care? These aren't penguins, if you don't want to dispose fertile eggs (lets not get into whether life starts at copulation or under the sand, please) and you don't want to deal with an injured or stress female, it might be time to find a new home for one, Sophie.

[megcornell]

Sophie?

Ctwngirl, I think the point that crameris trying to make, is that males are very good at pestering the females incessantly to mate. So you'll want to keep your eyes out for signs that the female is getting stressed. It's an all to common outcome to see the male get seriously injured because the female finally gets fed up with his advances.

[Cramer]

RE: "Sophie"

It was a joke based on an old movie.

[Pam]

A 5 inch turtle should not have a baby turtle in the same tank. The baby will probably get seriously injured with 2 larger turtles in the same tank. How large is your tank? There have been multiple posts of baby turtles losing limbs and worse by being in tanks with larger turtles. Sorry but thought it important to note.

[Bumby's Mom]

Also, just because the eggs are underwater for a long period of time do not assume they are no good. My eggs were under water for about 12 hours that I know of and they both hatched. Make sure you properly dispose of them so they dont accidentally hatch somewhere.

[marisa]

A five-inch female isn't that big, and although she's capable of laying eggs, those laid by smaller females are less apt to be viable. If you don't want them to breed, separate the male from the female.

[ctwngrl08]

All my turtles get along well i was worried about putting the baby in with the adults but they never bother her, shes not much of a baby now shes about 4 inches. Im told that RES fight alot but my turtles have never fought, they dont show much interest in each other its odd to me, when i first put them all together i watched them like a hawk to make sure theyd get along and iv never had a problem. My male turtle doesnt bother my female either thats why i was shocked when she layd eggs but they werent fertile so that didnt suprise me. But i am being more responsible now that iv got more info on their breeding, i like turtles but i prefer to rescue and not bring more in. thanks for all the advice.