Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have 4 RES supposely 3 males and 1 female (male differ from females in the red colour intensity...is this true?). If i really have 3 males will they fight over the female though they grew up together. I dont suppose they reached adulthood yet(shell is 15cm wide). Heres a relatively bad image(sorry) of who i think is female, she is bigger than the other 3.

forgot the pic....lol

Males tend to have shorter nails and longer tails than female sliders. As they grow older, it becomes easy to determine these traits. I think it is a bad idea to have 3 males and a female in one tank. Take the female out and see if the males cooperate. If they don't, then you have to separate the 3 males (you can leave one male with the female if the female doesn't mind and you don't mind having babies at some point)

You got that wrong, males have the long nails and long tails. Females have short stubby tails and nails.

I have two males and they get along fine, but I was told they would fight over a female if there was one present.

At the very least the female would be constantly harrassed by three res wanting to mate, and that wouldn't be healthy.

I don't think red intensity is a gender predictor at all. I think pic should show my turtle's long nails.

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Mom to:

1 little boy born 7/19/04
2 male RES, born 2001
1 ribbon snake, age unknown
3 FBT, ages unknown
1 female bearded dragon, born 5/2002
1 male lab mix, born 5/24/03
1 female calico cat, born 6/7/04

i had 3 females and 2 males in a pond and thought that they wouldnt fight but i was wrong. one was badly hurt. if you do 3 males and 1 female then yes they will fight. what size tank to you have them in?
nathan

they`re in a 20 gallon tank...by when can you start telling these differences (measurements)? Hopefully i hav 1 male an 3 fems instead Its not that i dont want any babies, i dont mind them. Its that getting another tank will leave me this and next month broke because 3 nile monitors are on their way:-S

They reach maturity around 4-5 inches, so you can tell by then. Size isn't an indication, females get bigger eventually, but they all grow at their own rate.
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Mom to:

1 little boy born 7/19/04
2 male RES, born 2001
1 ribbon snake, age unknown
3 FBT, ages unknown
1 female bearded dragon, born 5/2002
1 male lab mix, born 5/24/03
1 female calico cat, born 6/7/04

All 4 are 4-4 1/2 inches already, but so far all their nails seem the same size. The one in the pic is the biggest, though his/her tail is longer than the other 2 and the same size as another...so i guess i have 2 males and 2 females, supposely for now.

If you don't want to be broke, just get a rubber maid container for now. 20 gals seems too small for 4 turtles anyways. If they were kept in there they would fight for sure. I broke my aquaruim half a year ago, and being a student I couldn't afford another one, so I bought a 35 gal plastic container for $8 to keep one turtle. As everybody preaches, its 10 gals of water per inch of turtle. (a 3 inch turtle needs 30gal) This makes sure they have enough space to swim and avoid eachother if they wish. Good luck with everything : )

Thanks all! ill see what i can do