redearslider.com

hi there!
im new to all this , but i need help!
8 months ago i rescued two hatchlings but one died 2 months later, since then the other one grew pretty big and is healthy , oh and he loves to eat! so i thought hey! i'll get him another turtle for company. so i did, the one i got him was a bit smaller than my big one ( his name: TUCK ). i recently moved them to a bow front 55 gal. TUCK ( 8 months old ) is about 3 inches in shell length, while the new friend ( approx.5yrs old ) is about 2 inches in shell length. they got all they need to survive and feel good in there... heaters, filters , 2 big basking docks, plants, lights etc...
okay, so what i need help with is:
for the past few weeks i seen them doing this mating ritual 'dance'... (( i heard its normal, but im pretty sure theyre both males, because of the research i ve done online. their nails and tails etc... ))
but now since 3 days already the smaller one been trying to mate with my bigger one! he actually gets on top of TUCK as soon as he can get to him and clings on! TUCK changed alot! he was always really active.. swimming around... eating alot! now he's just on his basking dock, and i think its because he's scared to get down, because the smaller rebel is waiting for him under water .
is it possible for my smaller turtle to not be used to living with other turtles and abusing TUCK ?
should i seperate them? if yes, will TUCK come back to his old self?

please help.. i dont really know any vets around here that would know squat about turtles.
so any help will be really appreciated!

THNANKS!

It's not necessary to double post...

double post?

You had posted this twice (the other was deleted).

How do you know the other one is 5 years old? 2" is pretty small for a 5 year old RES.

At this age, it's probably territorial, which means you will have to separate them. As for climbing, they might stack while basking, but if its happening in water, then you have to intervene and separate them.

oh i didnt know i posted it twice.
thanks !
the girl i adopted him from told me he's 5.
she had him in some type of bin and with about 2 inches of water.. so the conditions he was kept in were horrible.
and yes, that climbing happens under water.
ill seperate them asap.
Thank you !

You can get or make a divider for that 55 gallon, until things are sorted out.

And... make sure they are RES, because there are other species that are smaller than RES. Here is how to accurately measure shell length: http://www.redearslider.com/anatomy.html

yes .. they're red eared sliders..
and i measured their shell lengths right.