HELP!!

Question
QUESTION: I have had these two red eared sliders since they were babies, and they are the best of friends. But, the person at the store could not tell me what gender they were because she said they were too young to tell. She never told me how old they were, either. Now, I'm pretty sure one is a boy and one is a girl because one keeps trying to mount and reproduce with the other. They aren't very big, one is 4.5" and one is 5", but I need to know if they are sexually mature yet. Also, I need to know if there is a way to keep them from breeding other than keeping them separate. I don't have the space and money for two separate tanks or baby turtles. Would they still mate if I don't hibernate them?



ANSWER: Well...

The good news is that Red-ear Sliders kept in the typical home set up rarely lay fertile eggs since there is not adequate nesting areas. They usually lay a few eggs in the water, but they will not be fertile. You can also sterilize any eggs by soaking them, or chilling them in the fridge.

The bad news is there is nothing you can do to stop them from mating unless they are physically separate.

An easy way to tell male sliders is the long front claws. Determining age is harder, but not a big deal- they will mature by size. When the shell is about 5" long, they are getting sexually mature.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I heard that if the female retains her eggs they can rot and decay inside her and then kill her! So I want to try to give her a nesting site. Also, I can't stand killing any eggs, they are so innocent and cute!!

Answer
Two things can happen to unlaid eggs- most are reabsorbed as raw materials harmlessly. Sometimes, because of stress and poor diet, the turtle becomes 'egg bound', where the eggs basically get stuck.

The only sure way to protect from any bad options is to not keep males and females together.