# Turtles mated. Now what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 22, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-mated-now-what/593713 "2011-08-22T23:16:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-mated-now-what/593713/1 "2011-08-22T23:16:56Z")
Red eared sliders. One huge and something like 14 years old. The other bought by one of my kids in Chinatown at a size that was below the legal limit something like four years ago. Still a fraction of the older one’s size. Once the smaller one got big enough that we thought it would be eaten we threw them both in the same large tank rather than have two tanks. They have tolerated each other up to now. Now we just observed the younger, clearly male one, attached from behind and hanging somewhat upside down, yes, I slowly realized, turtle sex. And if you want to see something strange google up an image of a turtle penis. I had no intention and have no intention of breeding turtles. Just had not much considered that the small guy and big mama would be different genders and when briefly thought about figured our tank would not meet whatever needs for mating turtles have. Who knew? No candles, no flowers … just stuck in the tank and hey let’s kill some time and hook up. So what do I do now? Web sources talk about a nesting tank in about 2 months for her to lay her eggs. What if I don’t? Will she just have the turtle equal of a miscarriage? Damn, I should had the talk with them a bit earlier! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-mated-now-what/593713/2 "2011-08-23T02:22:59Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I slowly realized, turtle sex. Take out the comma and so did he! On the GQ side, I don’t really know. I never had water turtles reproduce, only the one wood turtle I had, and she was already a) pregnant and b) in a tank with soil to bury the things in. You could always just remove the eggs when she lays them and toss 'em/destroy 'em if you don’t want sliderlings running…er, trudging around. ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-mated-now-what/593713/3 "2011-08-23T02:41:51Z")
nice thing to witness before having children (especially girls.) ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-mated-now-what/593713/4 "2011-08-23T02:58:02Z")
[Oh crap.](http://www.turtlesarchive.com/health/egg-binding.php) > [@](#): > > Egg binding occurs when the female has eggs that she is ready to lay in her body but does not actually release them. … If the conditions inside the turtles enclosure are not correct for laying eggs the turtle may decide not to lay them at all. These conditions can include not only temperature and humidity but can also be affected by the substrate. If the substrate in use is not suitable for creating a nest it is likely that the female will hold onto the eggs until they find a suitable area. … Regardless of the reason, egg binding is a very dangerous condition that is most often fatal if not taken care of immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-mated-now-what/593713/5 "2011-08-23T04:37:44Z")
You can imagine how tough a Caesarian on a turtle would be.😉 ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-mated-now-what/593713/6 "2011-08-23T12:45:01Z")
Omelette! ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-mated-now-what/593713/7 "2011-08-24T03:22:55Z")
Now what? Now I’m afraid it’s turtles all the way down. ---
**Author:** ![fumster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9c0ed/32.png) [@fumster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fumster)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-mated-now-what/593713/8 "2011-08-24T03:26:28Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > T I never had water turtles reproduce, only the one wood turtle hee, hee ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-mated-now-what/593713/9 "2011-08-24T04:07:01Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > Now what? Now I’m afraid it’s turtles all the way down. No, no oral sex involved, not that I observed anyway. How likely is it that conception was achieved? You know I do like the older woman turtle, we’ve had her a long time, and I don’t want to lose her to “egg-binding”, but I really don’t want to have to set up a nesting area, or have to have two big turtle tanks. Or have to deal with my ten year old daughter being upset if eggs are laid and we don’t help them hatch. Dang. Getting these things to mate is apparently supposed to [difficult even for the advance turtle keeper](http://www.redearedslider.net/advanced-breeding) … > [@](#): > > Red-eared slider breeding is a lot tougher than you may think. You can’t just put a male and female together and wait for the hatchlings to show up. To make sure that your sliders breed, you need to mimic their natural conditions and life cycle as closely as possible. In the wild, red eared sliders generally breed after two weeks of hibernation in the spring so that their babies hatch out when the weather is good and warm. To prepare your turtle for hibernation, begin reducing the photoperiod on its lights slowly over a period of time and fast the turtle for 10 days. During the last 3 days of the fast, soak your slider to make sure it completely empties out its digestive tract. Next, place the slider in a hibernaculum, a tank with one inch of potting soil and some loose hay sphagnum, soil and moss. Drop the temperature within slowly until it reaches 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit. After the hibernation period, slowly raise the temperature over 1-2 days until it reaches 85 degrees, then return your turtles to their regular tank. Once they seem ready to eat, make sure you give them lots of food so they can increase their energy. Yeah right. These horny bastards didn’t even need any Barry White. Crud crud crud. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-mated-now-what/593713/10 "2011-08-24T10:02:48Z")
Find a vet that specializes in exotic animals around your area, and discuss with her/him your turtles’ husbandry and your concerns. You may end up having to take the female for a check up. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2011, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-mated-now-what/593713/11 "2011-08-24T11:04:12Z")
Your profile says you live in a major city. Why don’t you contact the local herp club. If these things are tough to breed you will probably be inundated with volounteers who will take the female off your hands for the duration of her “confinement”, prepare an ideal laying tank, incubate the eggs and let your daughter keep the young as well. Herp nuts love this sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-mated-now-what/593713/12 "2011-08-25T05:10:18Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Your profile says you live in a major city. Why don’t you contact the local herp club. If these things are tough to breed you will probably be inundated with volounteers who will take the female off your hands for the duration of her “confinement”, prepare an ideal laying tank, incubate the eggs and let your daughter keep the young as well. > > Herp nuts love this sort of thing. Good idea. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-mated-now-what/593713/13 "2011-08-25T11:30:46Z")
Out of curiosity, how many eggs is she likely to lay on average? I know nothing about turtle husbandry. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-mated-now-what/593713/14 "2011-08-25T12:12:01Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > Out of curiosity, how many eggs is she likely to lay on average? I know nothing about turtle husbandry. From [here](http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm): > [@](#): > > Clutch size for Red-eared Sliders ranges between 2 and 23 eggs ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/turtles-mated-now-what/593713/15 "2011-08-25T12:49:56Z")
**Turtles mated. Now what?** ♫[So happy together](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=621671)♫