Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have 2 red eared sliders a male i bought at a petstore that is about 6-7 inches long and a female that i found in a storm drain that some had to have let go being there are no red eared sliders in the area and not native to my state. she is a bout 11-13 inches long. the male always wants to mate with the female but the female will not mate most of the time. about a week ago i found the male biteing the females neck and there sesm to be fresh bite marks on her neck today they are nothing seriuos. is this just normal mateing behaveur?
CrazyCody

Females need to have a place to hide where they can get away from the constant pressure the males put on them. If she can't get away your female can get really stressed which can lead to illness. The half of a broken pot or something she can hide in. That's a large female. Doe she have access to dirt? If not, she's going to have problems with egg binding some day. It's not natural for them to lay eggs in the water. Some will lay them in the water but that is stressful for them too. They will lay eggs whether their fertile or not. Unless you can put her outside in the dirt and grass some days to give her a chance to lay, you need to have a large tub of dirt 6-8 inches deep for her to be in a couple days a week. Working their legs in a backward motion is a sign they need to lay. They will usually go off feed before needing to lay also. Well developed eggs can be gently palpated in the abdomen up where the rear legs retract into.
click here for good turtle care info.