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I received 2 RES turtles in January for my birthday, radomly, and have done my best to take care of them. One is a boy (Sheldon) and the other is a girl (Tella). They have lived together in the same tank their whole lives, but they've started doing the "mating dance" and I'm concerned because I've read alot about how the girl will get sick from not laying the eggs due to the fact there is no where to lay them. But then I've also read that they aren't sexually mature until age 5. I'm not sure which is accurate and what i should do in the meantime. I really can't afford to buy another tank setup to separate them So is it better to get rid of one?

Its not actually about age, its about size of the turtle. Females wont start producing eggs usually till they are 5inch+ in shell length but closer to 6inches-7inches. 99% of the time the turtle will just lay its eggs in the water. Its very rare that a turtle actually gets sick from holding the eggs. It more they get sick because an egg is deformed and cant pass. As long as you dont see physical makes from fighting or see the turtle actually fight it is fine to keep them together. Turtles that have been together since the start have better chance of not fighting compared to one not housed together before.

Incase your turtle is big enough to lay eggs. Just watch her for sign she would wanna nest. Basically digging with her back feet on the basking area or a really big change in her personality.

Ok. Thank you so much! I'd say she's only about 4-5 inches, but I will keep an eye on her. The only weird thing she does is hiss when i get to close to her or pick her up... I'm assuming that's probably my fault for not handling them enough?

I'm sure you know this, but a female can lay eggs whether she mates or not. The difference being if she mates the eggs can be fertilized.

Also I've seen people post that if you need to separate your turtles and can't afford a second complete set up you can use egg crate to divide your tank (provided dividing it would still allow swimming room for each turtle). You'd still need a second basking area and lighting, but at least you wouldn't have the expense of a second tank, heater, filter, etc.

People say the hiss sound is from the air being pushed out when the head retracts into the shell. You should make some contingency plans about separating them.