eastern painted turtle

[Mrgbb]

hey guys,

A buddy of mine has 2 eastern painted turtles 1 male and 1 female.
The female is a mature female maybe 8, and the male is pretty young maybe 2 years or so. the male always tries to get with her but she wants nothing to do with it, and they are both off feed and my friend said that she has infertile eggs in her that she passes every year but for some reason shes not doing it now. is it possible that she is egg bound with infertile eggs or possibly fertile eggs if the male is sexually mature.

I dont know how old a male has to be to be sexually mature but if its possible do you think that being in the tank with the male is stressing her out and keeping her from laying the eggs? or is she egg bound.

i kinda need help because if shes egg bound than he has to take her to the vet ASAP.

Thanks a bunch guys,
Mike H.
HogansHerps.

[Christine]

If the male is hounding her yes he is stressing her out and should be separated.
I had a southern painted in with my cooter and he was chasing her around all the time. So I took him out and put him by himself. Are they off feed from being cooled down . I dont cool my turtles and every one is eating just fine.

[Christine]

It would be good to know what the set up is like . What are the temperatures and What kind of lights are they using. How big of tank has he got these two turtles in.
Why does he think she has eggs.

[Mrgbb]

It would be good to know what the set up is like . What are the temperatures and What kind of lights are they using. How big of tank has he got these two turtles in.
Why does he think she has eggs.

the set up is a 55g and shes got a little basking dock up on top im not sure of the temps but im sure there pretty good. and i asked him the same question and he told me that she gets like this every time shes gunna lay. he said she acts frantic like she wants to get out of the tank and she wont eat anything atall.

shes usually nice and calm but for some reason she gets like this when shes about to lay. i was thinking that maybe it the presence of the male that making her act like this..

maybe he should take him out and give her the tank all to herself so she feels comfy.

idk like i might have already stated im not that educated on the subject so im not really sure what he should do. so i came here. lol

thanks,
Mike H.

[Christine]

Ok well if she is most likely acting frantic to get out of the water to lay her eggs . They should have a land area to do that . If the turtles are being forced to use the same dock and the male is harrasing her thats not helping. Honestly I think the best thing is get them apart give her a place to lay her eggs and see what happens. If not a trip to the vet then . She could be egg bound.Why is the person forcing them to stay together knowing the male is harrasing the female?
I couldnt stand it when I saw one of my turtle doing that. I took them apart right away. If this person needs a fast enclosure go get a 10$ rubbermaid tub and get a heater filter and light for it.

[Mrgbb]

Ok well if she is most likely acting frantic to get out of the water to lay her eggs . They should have a land area to do that . If the turtles are being forced to use the same dock and the male is harrasing her thats not helping. Honestly I think the best thing is get them apart give her a place to lay her eggs and see what happens. If not a trip to the vet then . She could be egg bound.Why is the person forcing them to stay together knowing the male is harrasing the female?
I couldnt stand it when I saw one of my turtle doing that. I took them apart right away. If this person needs a fast enclosure go get a 10$ rubbermaid tub and get a heater filter and light for it.

I never said anything about harrasment... but she probably just feels threatened by the male.
i know that he does try to get with her by doing the whole wiggle his claws infront of her face thingy (not sure what to call that behavior)... but he doesnt try to mount her or bite her or anything.

also the dock is big enough for both of them to fit on and more its about 2 foot long and maybe 1 foot wide with the heat lamp above it.
do you think maybe he should put her in a seperate enclosure and give her a lay box so she feels more comfortable?
ill just give him one of my extra setups.

i agree that seperating would be the best thing for her.

thanks again,
Mike H.

[Mrgbb]

Are they off feed from being cooled down?

He didnt intetionaly cool them. but i live in newyork and the weather has been quite cold. like from 7F-15F for the last 2 weeks. so maybe since the outdoor temp is so low its affecting his indoor temp im not sure on the temps in his house but im sure they have been lower for the last 2 weeks or so.

but he said that the male wont eat meal worms anymore, only pellets.
and the Female is totally off feed. she wont touch anything.

i mentioned this to him just now over the phone and he said that the water temps havent moved an inch.

i think seperating is best. hes gunna try that and see how it works.

[Christine]

I never said anything about harrasment... but she probably just feels threatened by the male.
i know that he does try to get with her by doing the whole wiggle his claws infront of her face thingy (not sure what to call that behavior)... but he doesnt try to mount her or bite her or anything.

also the dock is big enough for both of them to fit on and more its about 2 foot long and maybe 1 foot wide with the heat lamp above it.
do you think maybe he should put her in a seperate enclosure and give her a lay box so she feels more comfortable?
ill just give him one of my extra setups.

i agree that seperating would be the best thing for her.

thanks again,
Mike H.

the male always tries to get with her but she wants nothing to do with it



To me when you said this . I take it the male is harrasing her. If he was biting her then that would be considered attacking her. So if he is constatly harrasing her to breed since what you described is courting behavior. Then they should be separated. She might just get fed up one day and do some damage to him. Even tho the dock is big eneough for them both to use they are still forced to use the same one. That again is causing stress on the female turtle since she has to be in close quarters with the male