All Turtles Message Board

wehwee · Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 8:52 pm Post subject: Slapping each other?

We inherited some aquatic turtles from an irresponsible friend of ours. Lately, the two larger turtles have been slapping each others faces. Mostly it's one doing it to the other one. They'll have a foot on either side of the face and start quickly slapping. Is this an aggression thing? mating? Should they be separated? thank you! Very Happy

turtle_grl77 · Level 4 Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 985 Location: Florida

Im not much of a turtle expert. But to me it sounds almost like the mating dance.

Fred_and_George · Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 9:30 pm Post subject:

it is also a sign of dominance. its not too big a deal. you dont need to separate them at this point, but watch for biting and other violent acts, if they are 5+ years old, and one is male and one is female, watch for the male to try and mount the female. they do it doggy style. Laughing

there isnt an easier way to put it.... but ya. thats all i got
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Storm_Rider · Level 2 Joined: 28 Oct 2006 Posts: 99

i always wondered why it's considered doggy style when soo many animals do it like that.. monkeys.. lions.. horses.. why isn't it kitty style? better yet piggy style?!

that's a very interesting mating ritual too then if it actually is.. slappin the one u wanna boink? hmm..

wehwee · Posted: Thu Nov 30, 2006 9:27 am Post subject:

Well, it would appear that it IS the mating dance... yesterday I got to see the male reproductive organs for the first time as it humped the gravel. I stood there and watched with my jaw on the floor. It was like a train wreck, I couldn't look away! hahaha

I think both of the big ones are males... poor things are probably pretty frustrated Wink

HarryHydro · Guest

Hi!
I just put our two turtles in a bigger tank. The bigger of the two is probably 5" long (in the shell). The other maybe a half-inch shorter. I noticed them doing this thing you describe, slapping each other. Well, here there not much making contact. They look face to face, both of them put there front legs forward, the bottom part of their feet outward, along the side of one-anothers face, and wiggle their legs for a second or two. They might do this once every couple of minutes. It doesn't look agressive. They don't push their face against the other, or wack each other either. It does look ritualistic.
Is there a way to tell the gender of red-eared sliders?
Thanks!
Harry

Fred_and_George · Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2007 12:02 pm Post subject:

i am currently trying to determine the gender of one of my turtles, but i know some ways to tell.

1. males have long tails and nails, females have shorter, fatter tails and short nails

2. the vent (the hole where excretions come from) in the male is located farther down the tail (about 2/3 or past the edge of his shell) females have their vent closer to the body, or at/before the edge of the shell

3. females grow faster than males, but this is not a really handy method, because some turtles just grow fast and may not be female...

4. males have a concave (scooped inwards) slightly plastron (belly) and females have more of a domed shell. but this is hard to tell, especially for new turtle owners, or for people who have never had turtles before, i personally cant tell on mine, but i know it works for some turtles.

try judging your turtle with all/most of these methods, if they appear male in more than one way, then they are probly male, same goes for female.

your turtles might be too small yet to tell, mine is about 4.5 inches, and s/he is too small to tell yet. so estimate now, and then wait till they grow to decide for sure. your vet may also be helpful in deciding.
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