my yellow bellied and map turtles.

Question
QUESTION: hi i have two yellow bellied turtles and a map turtle (i think it is a map turtle) and have had them  for about a year and a half i think i have one male and two females but the male is begining to tikle the females face and has been for a few weeks but last night i saw the male sitting on top of the females shell but it didnt look like he was mating with her is that i sign of mating?, but also the female yellow bely is trying to tikle the map turtles head aswell any ideas why she might be doing this,and my last question is how old do they have to be to actually breed i read that it is when they are more than 5 inches long and the two yellow bellies are both a bit larger than 5 inches long but the map turtle it only around 4 are the yellow bellies old enough to breed? thank you if you could answer these questions i would be very greatful.

ANSWER: Hi David,

Well the map turtle and the yellow bellies can not breed. The reason they sit on top of each other is a competition to get the closets to the sun (or heat source). It is very common in the wild so that tells me that you have a great environment for them ( good job). It is usually the size of the turtle that determines the breeding capabilities. 5 inches is about the earliest for the yellow bellies, 6 inches is common size for breeding with that type of turtle. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Nate
http://www.petshoptalk.com

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QUESTION: hi Nathan
since i sent you the last message i am pretty sure that the two yellow bellies have mated and was just wondering what the obvious signs of pregnancy are and how long she will be pregnant and what is a good habitat to lay her eggs and any other info about Yellow bellies mating i would very much appreciate it
thanks David  

Answer
Hi David

That is exciting to hear about your yellow bellies. The only way to tell for certain if she is pregnant is to look at her back end in about 6-8 weeks you will notice that it is really bloated or fat around the tail area. When it's time for her to lay she will be looking for moist sand that is easy for her to dig. After she lays them it's about a 5 week wait.

Good luck!

Nate
http://www.petshoptalk.com