General Care Discussion :: Some General Questions (Shell Health and Being A Girl)

[figment]

I've got these two. One, Owlicious, is a girl. I've never had a girl before. The red eared slider we had as a kid was a boy. What do I need to be aware of? When do they start laying eggs? How do I tell if she's pregnant? Do turtles do like chickens and lay eggs even if they're not fertilized? If so, how do I tell the difference? How often do they lay eggs? How many eggs? And what do I do with those itty bitty turtles once they hatch?

And her shell. I can't seem to get any good pictures of her through the aquarium, but I'll see if I can convince her to come out and play and get some then. She's still a little leery of me. But, the little shell parts around the very edge of her top shell (marginal scutes?) are spread apart in the back, over her tail and legs. It's not a very wide spread, but it's there. They don't make a smooth edge like I'm used to. What causes this? Is it something to be concerned about, or pretty normal? Her belly shell might be doing the same thing, she hasn't let me get a good look at it. They are both shedding.

[steve]

Yes, they can lay eggs even if not fertilized. But it's almost random as some never lay eggs. Some can lay them excessively. You can feel for them, and x-rays can also confirm them. If she is gravid, she'll have specific behavior... mainly wanting to get out of the tank.

It sounds like she has some retained scutes. How big is she? So you also have a male with her?

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Yes, there's a male and a female. She is almost six inches. He is about six and a half. I got some pictures while they were scooting around outside. I'll post them here in a couple of minutes.

[steve]

Then you will most likely have breeding and aggression. If there are any fertilized eggs, you can just throw them away.