redearslider.com

About my Turtles:

I was given 2 turtles as a gift 4 months ago.

Both of them were given to me at near adult age )or already adults?). I haven't measured them.. but I would say their shells are as about big as an average human hand.

Both are female, as I figured out from the information given on this website, and seem to get along ok. (The smaller one, Scampi, flutters at the bigger one, Apollo, sometimes.. but not often.)

Health Concern:

With that being said, I've become slightly concerned about one of my turtles (Scampi) always swimming against the glass. I thought she did it at first because she was scared of the new environment, but it's been 4 months. She does this to the back of the aquarium, away from people. She has a few places to hide, and uses them regularly. Apollo always comes to the front of the glass to say hi, but doesn't swim into the glass often (unless she's doing the hungry dance).

So, is Scampi doing this because she's scared.. or is there atually a problem? If she's scared.. how can I get her to calm down? Lately I've noticed she's had some parts of the shell come off (very little) and she seems even more skiddish. I'm afraid she's stressed and I have no clue why. Apollo is doing just fine.

[/b]

My Res always used to swim into the glass all the time, I never saw it as a problem because she is perfectly healthy.

could she be ready to lay eggs? does it seem liek she is trying to escape when doing this?

Is Scampi trying to get away from Apollo? Any aggressive behavior? How big are they and how big is their tank?

LOBO wrote:could she be ready to lay eggs? does it seem liek she is trying to escape when doing this?

If they are infact both female, I don't know how she got pregnant! How can you tell if your turtle is carrying eggs? She is acting like she's trying to escape...

steve wrote:Is Scampi trying to get away from Apollo? Any aggressive behavior? How big are they and how big is their tank?

They are the size of an average human hand (I've yet to measure them, but I will sometime soon..) and they are in a 55" tank. They don't show much aggressive behavior, but I'm beginning to think that maybe they would prefer to be alone..

I have no clue what conditions they were living in before they were given to me. I was just wondering if anyone else's turtle has acted this way before.. it's kinda heartbreaking to watch her act so freaked out the majority of the time.

My turtle, Squirt, Will swim against the glass sometimes when I walk in the room, But he is just begging for food.

not sure why the turt would swim at the back of the tank against the glass.

Yea both my turtles swim up against the glass TOWARDS me when they are begging for food, and when they are reeeally hungry they get even more frantic, i've seen heaps and heaps of other people turtles do it to and its normal, i would say unless of course the turtles are swimming up against the glass AWAY from you. Then i would suggest they are frightened and just need to be tamed more, like more handling and talking to them etc

Thats my 2 cents anyway.

Apollo&Scampi wrote:

LOBO wrote:could she be ready to lay eggs? does it seem liek she is trying to escape when doing this?

If they are infact both female, I don't know how she got pregnant! How can you tell if your turtle is carrying eggs? She is acting like she's trying to escape...

turtles dont have to have sex to lay eggs. a female will lay her eggs they just wont be fertle if there was no sex. and they need to lay the eggs because if they dont have a place to do it they will hold them inside and could get an infection if one breaks.

u can feel for eggs if u, very gently, feel between the shell infront of her rear leg, but u have to be gentle cause u dont wanna break one. but if she is acting frenzied and trying to escape alot that could be the cause.

again i've never had a turtle who did this so im telling u what i have learned in my research. u may want to talk to someone who has had a egg laying female before.

Swimming against the glass is normal, but if she is frantically splashing water out of the tank, going up & down the basking dock trying to get out of the tank, then it may be a sign she wants to lay eggs (she may also stop eating which is another tell-tale sign). Turtles are like chickens....they don't need a male around to lay eggs, and the eggs won't be fertilized (won't hatch).

The best way to know for sure is to take her to the vet who can do an X-ray & confirm if she needs to lay eggs. Any turtle who needs to lay eggs should not retain them in their body & should lay them asap.

Keep us updated.

Looks like most of your questions should be answered already but i just wanted to share this link that gives some great info on how, when, and what to do when your female turtles need to lay eggs.

http://redearslider.com/reproduction.html

Good luck and keep us updated

I touched their booties and I felt the same thing on both of them. I wasn't sure if what I was feeling was the hind leg muscle or testicles.. which would make my girls infact boys. (So then were their claws trimmed? they dont look trimmed) eeerrr. I didn't think they were eggs because it didn't feelt delicate. It felt hard.

Scampi actually calmed down today. After handling.. uhh.. "it" last night, I suppose it calmed him/her down. I always handled Apollo more because he/she was more willing to be picked up.

LOL. I'm confusing myself now and I'm going to stop. Thanks for all the suggestions and help. I'll keep u updated.. ESPECAILLY if they want to lay eggs..

Can you post pictures of the underside of their tails?

m and t are correct -- Generally speaking, when they swim toward you they are hungry or begging for food. When they swim away from you they are frightened and are in the escape mode. Some turtles will do that forever and some will get over it. Only time will tell.

steve wrote:Can you post pictures of the underside of their tails?

I'm gong to clean their tank within the next two weeks. When I do, I'll take pictures of the undertail and post it in this post .

If your turtle is aimlessly swimming against the glass, s/he could be seeing his reflection in the tank or could possibly be stressed. How big is the tank they're in? What are their shell lengths without the curves?