turtle mated now what?

Question
QUESTION: We are taking care of a friends' turtle while he is serving in Iraq.  I think that his turtle mated our female, which we thought was a male.  We are excited and want to make sure mom and hatchlings will survive.  

Both are red ear sliders.  we now have them in seprate tanks because he is persistant, and now that she knows . . .well she just isn't interested.  

any advice would be great!
M.

ANSWER: Hi Monica, I will give you a link on this information (breeding, egg laying, etc) It will be attached at the bottom.

Are you sure your turtle is a female? Males will do the mating position to indicate dominance and territorial disputes. Its a way of fighting and showing who is boss. Does either of them have long front claws? A concave bottom shell? Where is the vent located?

If you have a male they will have long front claws, a convave bottom shell, and their vent (anal opening) will be further away from their body on their tail. About half way down their tail. When the female's vent is closer to their body.

Be sure they are male and female, either way keep them separated.

If you have any more questions, or need clarification on my information or from the link let me know.

http://redearslider.com/reproduction.html

Best of luck to you, your turtles, your friend, and the eggs if they come.

Yexalen



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

QUESTION: The sex is not really a question:  I saw them having sex.  I feel like the mom who just busted the teenager in the livingroom.

She is in a 75 gallon tank in the house.  When should we start looking for eggs?  I heard that if she can't get out to lay her eggs, that she could get sick and die.  

We do have a pond outside and now that it is warmer . . .But we have lots of hawks and big birds in the area.

Answer
Hi Monica, I understand that they were mating but the exact mating position is also used to show dominance. If there are two males one dominant, the dominant one will mount and "mate" with the weaker one just to show who is boss. I am not arguing the gender with you, just being sure you are aware of this.


If you have a proper lay area (4 inches deep moise 50/50 sand/soil mixture) then about 2 months possibly 3 months she will lay her eggs. If she doesn't have an area to lay her eggs where she feels comfortable she can hold them in and that can be fatal to the eggs and her (the eggs continue to grow and break open inside of her) But the lay area should be inside her tank. That way she is as comfortable as possible during this time with little added stress.

Moving her to a pond would be nice for her and laying eggs however the move itself to a new environment will stress her and because she is unsure of the new area she may feel it is not safe to lay her eggs. That wouldn't be good.


If you need some ideas on how to construct a good lay area let me know.

Best of luck,
Yexalen