General Care Discussion :: Surprise Mating!

[RococoRissa]

This is a pretty long post so that you can really get an idea of what's going on. If you want the short summary, scroll all the way down.

I have two RES turtles, which I obtained from an owner who had had both of them for a little under five years. Unfortunately, she could not take care of them any more for health reasons, so it worked out for both of us for me to take charge of her "kids". The male, Colby, is smaller than the female, Pearl. The previous owner thinks this is because of some shell problems that have permanently stunted his growth.

She assured me that because of Colby's size, mating would not be an issue. He was just too darn tiny for big ol' Pearl. In retrospect, I should have seen this coming, though. I've seen them do the courtship fluttering, but I attributed it to flirting or occasional "get outta my way" aggression. Colby would even try to sometimes "mount" Pearl, but like I said, he seemed to small to even begin the task at hand. Pearl would usually just swim away or kick him off. It was almost laughable.

But tonight was different. I looked over and noticed that Colby was vertically swimming along the back of Pearl. I really want to get a good look, so I snuck up and tried to see if his feet were some how intertwined. But the time I ran downstairs to grab my boyfriend and returned, Colby was swimming around the tank with his manhood proudly displayed. Pearl didn't really seem to mind. They even snuggled a bit. But what if next time she's not in the mood and Colby's member gets a bite taken out of it?

Now I have the daunting task of figuring out what the heck to do with a potentially pregnant turtle in a one bedroom apartment. I don't know anything about the pregnancy symptoms. Nor do I know what to do if she -is- pregnant. As much as I would like to have an adorable baby turtle, I don't have the room, and I've done a minimal amount of research to know that the RES market is saturated enough as is. The same applies for separating the two of them - I don't have the space to have another aquarium, but I'm hesitant to give away my turtle in a college town.

So, long story short, my turtles got it on and I'm completely lost. I'm morally distraught at the idea of destroying potential babies, even if it is just egg goo, but I don't have the resources to raise them myself. Any help is really appreciated!

[megcornell]

Welcome to the site!
For starters, how large is your tank? Keep in mind that RES are an aggressive species and while Pearl was okay with Colby's advances this time females often get fed up with the males and will attack them. Although you want to keep them together, it may not be possible forever, just so you're aware. Once aggression starts it will only escalate, and since males are smaller than females they usually don't fare well in such altercations.
As for the eggs. Do so reading on the main site on turtle reproduction. Here's the link: http://www.redearslider.com/reproduction.html
You'll see that a female will lay eggs with or without a male present. So, even if they hadn't mated eventually Pearl would need a nest site. There is good information on nest sites at the link as well as links to other good sites. And, feel free to ask any questions. Females can be finicky about where they lay, so be patient.
You'll also see that usually a female's first few clutches aren't very fertile, and if the eggs are accidentally laid in water they aren't viable either.
I won't get into a moral debate with you, but the way I look at it is this: Which is worse, cracking a few eggs or bringing turtles into the world that you can't care for and cannot offer good lives to? Chances are the eggs won't be viable anyways, so I wouldn't worry about them. Plus, turtles really are much too overpopulated as it is, meaning breeding them is frankly irresponsible. One final aspect is the legality of it. In several states breeding is illegal, and in all states it's illegal to sell them when they are under 4 inches due to salmonella concerns.
My main concerns would be making sure Pearl and Colby aren't fighting and that when Pearl does need to lay eggs she has a nest site to do so.