Urgent Care :: Uh Yeah....

[Mandyb]

Sooooooooooooo i got home from grocery shopping tonight to find my turtles linked together in i guess what you would call "love". At first i thought my turtle was dead yeah he wasnt. So i pulled them outta the tank scared that he was dead and found out yeah ...so they finally disconnected in my kitchen sink but now his member is hanging out. Sooooo how long does it take for it to go back in .....? ...also is my female going to be okay i also thought he would be too well midget cause his growth was severly stunted when he was young cause he was very neglected before i got him so i didnt think he would ever be able to get it into my huge like foot long female...my male is only about 4 inches Help! it scared me soo much

[theartbook35]

Okay, first off, keeping an male and female together is never a good idea. I don't recommend it because males will pursue females so much, that the female will attempt to kill him to make him leave her alone. Also, keeping them in separate housing will keep the female from laying fertile clutches. There are health risks for a pregnant turtle, such as being egg bound. It's also very stressful for us turtle parents. (Remember that females can lay infertile eggs, but it's the norm for them not to do this very some often. Some girls are an exception though).

Secondly, the male was obviously fanning after being attached to the female. I don't know much about male anatomy in turtles. What I do know is that if a male is startled while fanning, they will stop abruptly and "you know who" goes back in the hatch. I would just leave him alone.

Mating is a very normal experience for turtles of both sexes when they are properly developed, in other words, over four inches in shell length or sexually mature. Females can't become pregnant until they reach three years of age. Males reach sexual maturity earlier than that.

Your male's growth isn't stunted. Males grow very slowly over time, and stay very small. We expect both sexes to grow up to four inches in their first year, and one inch per year after that. However, growth varies from turtle to turtle, so some turtles may grow more or less than that. Diet can affect growth. Excessive hibernating, which is practice by back alley and flea market breeders, can stunt growth dramatically.

If you female is over three years of age, she could have gotten pregnant. I forget how long gestation is for RES, but get a nesting box ready for her if she shows signs of being gravid: Trying to escape, digging with her back feet. Vomiting and refusing food sometimes is a sign that a girl is getting ready to lay her eggs very soon.

[Diamondbacks4Life]

Its sounds like you pulled on the the male with the female hanging there while they were mating, you probably did some damage to his penis. If it didnt go back in right away you need to seek a vet cause you damaged it.

[Mandyb]

UPDATE!!!

For one i did not pull just i didnt want them still in the water because when i read up on turtle mating i found the male can drown and i didnt want that. As far as his stunted growth it is. When i got him he had severe pyrimiding (sp?) and didnt swim. He had spent like two years in a five gallon tank with almost no water. His penis is back in and now i have him in a seperate tank. My female is not three years only about 2. So update in the end is penis is back in looks like no real damage was done! Hooray....?

[gwennie]

Hooray indeed.

You might have eggs on the way. Keep an eye on your female and look for signs of needing to lay ^^

It's a good thing his penis went back in by itself, many guys have problems with it not going in.