FEMALE RED EAR SLIDER ??????

Question

I have a female red ear slider about 7-8 inches(don't know her age)

I got another red ear slider male who is 5-6 inches.H has been doing his mating ritual dance for her and she hasn't been interested,well I had gone out today and just returned. Apparently he tried again to wiggle his feet in her face and she must have gotten angry....he has no claws on either foot now! He is not bleeding or anything but has no claws and is still trying to wiggle his feet in her face.I took him out of the tank....any suggestions? Will they ever be friends can they ever be in the same tank or best to keep apart? Any suggestions will be great!

Answer 1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29035692@N0...

Mine do that all the time to my girls,,they are 36 yrs old. I got them when I was 18!

You really have no idea how old she is. The mating should happen in May thru June and eggs hatch in 80 to 90 days.

If she is receptive, she will accept him, otherwise, a fight might start.  If after 45 minutes, the female is not receptive to the male's dance, you should remove her from the tank and try again  in about two days.  The mating itself takes about 15 minutes.

So she is not ready, I have never seen my old gals go after the young studs..they just kinda sit there sad. If they are to old they may never mate.



And Did you know that they need to bask under a reptile light for  8 to 10 hrs a day for the vitamin D that  they need to grow.

Leave the heater on 75 to 78 degrees always.

Their water needs to be clean otherwise they get sick easily from dirty water cause they p**p allot.

You need a good filter system!

You need to feed them feeder guppies, goldfish or minnows for protein and calcium daily.

They need leafy greens for vitamins at least 3 to 4 times a week.

Your a good parent and with a tank that size..they may get to be 12" long!

Answer 2

Well just drat. The poor fellow. It's very difficult to eat when you have no 'fingers' to grasp food with. You'll have to cut his food up bite size for a while, until his nails regrow, and watch closely for signs of infection. Be sure he doesn't strangle on a bite too big, since he can't pull excess away from his 'beak.'

Don't put them back together in the tank. He needs to be isolated now, and have sanitary conditions (very clean water). If you don't use salt, now would be a good time to start (approx. 1 level Tbsp. of Sea salt per 10 gal. of water). It will help prevent his feet from becoming infected or subject to fungal/bacterial problems.

If the skin wasn't broken; I would suggest that you bathe the ends of his feet daily with 50/50 water Hydrogen Peroxide mix, apply with a cotton swab. You need to remove him from the water, pat his foot dry, leave him out of the water for 5-10 min. afterwards, making sure he doesn't wipe his eyes with the bubbling appendage. Rinse his foot well in clean water, and return him to his separate enclosure. I'd do this for a couple of days at least, if you're sure the skin isn't broken (did she bite the nails off, or pull them out?). If the skin is broken, I'd use 100% Hydrogen Peroxide once daily until new nails begin to generate.

If any redness, puffiness, or odd appearance of any sort begins, take him to a reptile vet immediately.

If you don’t already know of a qualified exotics/reptile vet in your area, google: “Herpetological Society” -or-

<>http://www.herpvetconnection.com/> for the one closest to you.

I have no idea what size the tank is that you attempted to enter a new animal into. Adult turtles can be very territorial, and react poorly (as you just witnessed) to crowding. Room for retreat is mandatory, when a pestering male attempts to corner an unwilling female.

I'll post a link about behavior for you to peek out when you have time.

http://redearslider.com/unusual_behavior...

The rule of thumb is 10 gal. of water per inch of turtle shell length PER turtle. They need lots of space, if you are housing two together.

I also don't know anything about your basking area. If you're taking up room with rocks/clutter for a perch you can either install a textured Plexiglas shelf with silicone (this requires temporary housing of the turtles elsewhere to allow for curing time), or you can peek out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxGhdVKJj... <>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxGhdVKJj... for an alternative.

Do your research and make sure the enclosure is large enough when you attempt to reintroduce them once the male has recovered fully.

Good luck. I sure hope the lil guy gets his claws back soon. If I can be of further help, please feel free to email me at [e-mail].

I hope this has been helpful.