General Care Discussion :: pregnant

[jimtat1]

how do i know my turtle is pregnant

[Nettle]

Read this page from the main site:

http://www.redearslider.com/reproduction.html

[TheComputerGremlin]

However, pregnancy is only achieved if you have a female and male together. Otherwise, the female will produce eggs but they will not produce babies (like chickens).

[DetroitRebelle]

Will turtles mate if they are "brother and sister?"

[Nettle]

Probably, I don't think reptiles will make that distinction.

[taylor_a]

In the wild there are tons of barriers to siblings reproducing (dispersal, for example).

In captivity you're isolating two turtles of opposite sex together, so yeah, they're likely going to mate regardless of their relatedness.

[DetroitRebelle]

So if she ends up laying eggs a few years down the road, should I toss them so there aren't more unwanted baby turtles? What would you do?

[taylor_a]

Make sure you destroy them before you just toss them...otherwise some unfortunate little babies might be hatching in the dump.

[Bascomb]

If you are sure that is what you want to do, I suggest you put them in a plastic bag and freeze them over night. That should do it. I porbably would not do that. I would just have to bite the bullet and make room for them. I just would not do it. That is just me.

[DetroitRebelle]

Okay, yeah. Well I don't know if I'd terminate them (or all of them) or not. I guess I just have to see where I'm at if that does end up happening. Thanks.

[hdaisog]

There are many many turtles in shelters and rescues that could use good homes. If you are against disposing of the eggs then you really should seperate the male and female. Then when the eggs are layed they won't be fertile.

I would definately destory the eggs if you decide to keep them together. Females lay 2 to 3 clutches a year with several (up to 20 or so) eggs each clutch. You should ask yourself if you really can care for 60 new turtles a year.

I think responsible pet ownership would be to destroy the eggs. If you want more turtles I would suggest adopting one.

[1981camaroz28]

I see many people on this board say the same thing like they copy and paste other peoples comments about so many turtles need a home don't let them mate. But where I live a red ear is like gold there are none to be found. If I wanted another turtle it could take weeks to find them so I guess it's all about where you live. I hope my turtles mate so I can bring them to the pet store and get them a good home and keep some for me. Just wait and see how many people respond to this.

[starscollided]

it would be a hard decision for me but i would have to terminate the eggs - it sounds so cruel but i couldnt handle a whole batch of babies -

My decision only gets made easier because all you need to do is walk through china town NYC and see people selling them by the dozen to parents with little kids that want a "cute little turtle" (completely unaware of the responsibilities involved)

i <3 turtles but could never handle lots of babies - if you worried about the "ethical" decision just separate the male and female

[KameKo]

I would definitely go with separating the male and female so as not to have the problem to begin with. I would not be able to terminate all those babies. Separation would probably be your easiest solution.

[1981camaroz28]

I agree I love turtles so I could not kill one hatched or not