Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have 2 RES one is about a year and a half old and the other is about 5 months. every so often the big turtle stands in front of the baby puts its front legs out and shakes what is this??? a fighting thing or maybe mating??? i hav sen him do it a few times. i don't know the sex of either one either.please help thanks
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~~~~~~~HEATHER~~~~~~~

mating dance, the male is trying to entice what he percieves as female to mate with him. Hence the vibrating paws.

Haha..my red-ears and painteds have vibrated their claws against: staplers, holepunchers, calculators, pen, a dead fish, a book...virtually anything that's not food that I've put up against the tank wall for them to see. Weird.

Johnny

great thank you at least now i know there is a male and female!!!!
heather
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~~~~~~~HEATHER~~~~~~~

The "mating dance" is not a reliable way to determine sex. As someone posted previously, some turtles will do the "mating dance" with/for inanimate objects. Also with turtles of the same sex.

Usually the distinguishing factors for adult male RES and female RES are such:

Males have extremely long foreclaws (like Freddy Krueger) and long tails where the anus is farther out.

Females are often larger, have shorter claws, and shorter tails with the anus closer to the shell.

Babies and small individuals are hard, if impossible, to tell which is male and which is female.

Oh, and also I've seen a baby RES vibrate its claws at a dead guppy. hahaha..confused turtles.

Johnny

I agree. I have a female RES and she did the mating dance (shaking her paws) at the kale I put in her tank. So its not fool proof.
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"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals"
--Immanual Kant