Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello Everybody,
My 2 CBB'02 Miss.Maps, maleness blossomed about 2 months ago. They are approximately 9, maybe 10 months old. Their front nails went from stubs to a 1/2 long, their tails are as thick as my pinky, and they've both have had their manhood out, which pretty much confirms it all.
Besides the fact that they're supposed to be way to young to even determine their sex, the attempts at sexual activity are constant.
Map1 shadows Map2 relentlessly, constantly trying to get nose to nose so he can do the front claw jiggle thing in Map2's face. After 10 minutes or so of this, Map2 seemingly in annoyance starts opening his mouth to bite Map1. Map2 attempts to circle Map1 looking for a place to bite, Map1 tucks everything in, in anticipation of the bite. Map2 has bitten Map1's nose, his feet, and his shell edge, but mostly he'll get his nip in on the neck, right behind Map1's head.
Map1 has never tried to bite back.
Once Map2 gets the bite in, he swims away, quickly! Five seconds later Map1 is at it again and the whole thing plays out all over. I can't tell you how many times I've watched this in the last month. Map1 shows no damage from the bites. Map2 evevtually climbs out on the basking log to get away from Map1's advances.
I know I'm asking for a slew of joke comments here, but can anybody tell me if this is typical behavior for male Maps that are less than a year old?
Bob.

pretty typical. They might calm down, but if they don't, keep a close eye out for skin lesions. Maps are prone to fungal infections and skin damage can increase this risk. If they develop wounds, you'll probably have to separate them for good. Male maps aren't usually very aggressive, though, so perhaps this "puberty" will pass before they get to the point of harming one another.

Hi Nathana,
Map1, the horny toadle, doesn't do anything aggressive, he's just won't leave the other male alone. Map2 only seems to snap back in an attempt to get Map1 to go away, or at least just get out of his face. I haven't seen anything that I could consider dangerously aggressive.
I"m more amazed that Map1 acts this way at only 9 months old. Not that Map2 has never acted "mature", but it's at one tenth the level of Map1.
Have you seen this kind of adult behavior in Maps this young before?

Bob.

Not in maps specifically, but many kinds of aquatics perform mating rituals from hatching on through adulthood. No idea why they do that, since they are not able to mate yet, but who knows.

Some of my adult female Texas Maps display unusual aggresion as well. I've had to separate two females who continually bite at the others, in and out of the water. They don't seem to bother other species (redears). Hey Bob, how's our weirdo Redear Painter doing?
Doug

Hey Doug,
From mid-April 'til about 2 weeks ago, there would be 8 to 10 turtles basking on the floating trash, cloudy, rainy, sunny, it didn't matter. He was there everyday, but now that it's a lot warmer, there's a lot more people in the park all the time. So I haven't seen him in 2 weeks. I also haven't seen that little solid black guy either. Most days now, there's only 2 or 3 and they're alot more jumpy than they were a month ago. Although today I saw the monster for the second time. It's some kind of slider, no exaggeration, at least a 15" shell. I saw him once before from about 20 yds., and I thought he was huge then. Today I was within 20 feet. He was basking on a busted railroad tie jutting out of the bank. I just stared at it for a while. The shell and skin have lost all coloration, it's not black, but it's not green anymore either.
One of the unfortunate things that I've noticed about the parks' regular fisherman is that when they hook a turtle, the turtle is usually a goner. In my daily walks I've come across a half dozen slider shells and carcasses close to fishing landings. I think the locals consider the turtles a nuisance to their fishing rather than something to appreciate.
Later, Bob.

Bob,
Sorry to hear your turtle spot hasn't been as good lately. Maybe some of turtles have been relocated due to the heavy rains we have had. I know I haven't been seeing some of the regulars at the neighborhood basking spots. Do you think that monster turtle could be a Northern Redbelly? I've seen very dark (and black) specimens here...they kinda look like Painters on steroids!
Doug