Male and Female Cohabitation--HELP!!

[emileith]

We have three red-eared sliders who are all relatively young, the biggest having a shell of about 4 inches. We had started with one male who had lived by himself and then we got two more for him to live with. Up until the other day we thought they were both female, so we had those two separated from our original male. However, the one started to perform the mating dance on the other and then tried to mount her. So at this point we have all three turtles separated from one another and aren't sure what to do but certainly can't have all three turtles living like this. So my question is, what would happen if all three turtles lived together? We have one VERY large tank which would certainly provide them with enough space. But would the two males fight constantly with each other and over the female? And what is the likelihood of us ending up with a pregnant female (certainly something else we're not ready for)?

Please help!!! We just want to have our turtles happy and healthy.

[Winter]

Pay attention to signs of aggression. They are very common among the males. Once a female RES has been impregnated she usually likes to be away from male turtles because they tend to keep wanting to court her.

I have 3 RES. 1 female, 1 male, and the other I'm suspecting to be a male but he's still too young to determine. They are in a big tank and they've lived together since they were hatchlings so I'm sure they are used to each other. I still keep a very close eye on them.

A RES female can hatch fertile eggs within 3 years of coming in contact with a male RES. So... you're bond to have babies ;P Make sure you set up a nesting tank for her and when she does lay you can properly dispose the eggs (you have to kill them...) I'm sure you don't want any poor hatchlings to come out of a trash can :(

[Winter]

Since your turtles did not grow up together they will most likely have problems sharing territory.

[sandra510]

hi, I am happy to find this forum and now I am able to meet here with your guys.______________________The tribe

[Linda Wise]

I have 4 RES in the same tank with no problems. They have always been together and they are about 7 months old. I suspect one is female because she is bigger than the others. I also have 2 eastern painted turtles and they don't get along so I had to
separate them.

[Spike762]

Unless you've got a 360+ gallon tank, then you don't have a tank big enough to house 3 adult RES. All aquatic turtles are territorial, and RES are notorious for this. Problems may be slow in coming, but they are coming nontheless. The best thing you can do is seperate your turtles to avoid injury, pregnancy and death. If you don't have the resources to have seperate set ups for all your turtles, then you need to think about re-homing them or adopting them out. Your female will lay eggs even without a male, so be prepared to net them out and throw them away when the time comes.

Redearslider.com :: Cohabitation with Other Turtles

-Spike

[Winter]

Linda,

Your turtles probably aren't even adults yet. One female to 3 males is not going to be satisfying and even when the female becomes pregnant she will want to be isolated.

Don't have more than 1 turtle of different species in the same tank. It's not natural and it's not right.

[miggzz55]

hi all im new at this i like to know y u kill the hatchlings?

[Winter]

RES are not an endangered species. It is costly to house more than 1 RES and it can also cause problems in regards to compatibility.

[Linda Wise]

My RES are doing fine. They are 11 months old now & have been together since birth. They have a very large tank all to them selves. Pretty soon I may have problems tho. I am watching them to make sure there is no agression. I think I have 1 female and I may have to put her in a tank by herself. At what age do they mate?
WE have 2 Eastern Painted in another tank and they are okay for now.