Breeding turtles red-eared slider

All turtles and tortoises reproduce by the means of eggs, which like the eggs of birds, must be laid on land. But not all eggs are fertile; mature females can and often lay clutches of perfectly formed but infertile eggs. Females are also capable of “Sperm storage”, laying several clutches of eggs after a single mating. Once the turtles mate, the first clutch of eggs is usually laid in 3 to 6 weeks (note, they can hold eggs up to 3 years).

Maturity

Red eared Sliders become sexually mature when they become 5″ and up! Most people believe that they have to be a certain age but they are wrong. It depends only on the size of the turtle.

Hibernation

Hibernation is not necessary to do if you plan to breed your red eared sliders. Some say hibernation will produce greater results.

Mating Dance

The male Red eared Slider will take his claws and gently flicker them in front of the females face. If the female is receptive, she will then let the male mount her. Once the mounting is finished, they both will go about their own business.

Egg Laying

Red eared sliders will only lay eggs when they find a suitable nesting site. They can hold eggs up to 3 years! You will notice the female spending more time basking and digging in the gravel of your tank. They also will loose some of their appetite. In some cases, the female will lay the eggs in the water. This can pose problems because the male res will eat them. You should put your red eared slider in a 5′ by 3′ Tupperware dish or whatever you find and fill it with vermiculite. Place the red eared slider in here for about 6 hours. If she lays the eggs, she will dig a 6″ hole and plop them in. Carefully remove the eggs.

Removal of eggs

Carefully dig up the eggs and place them into small plastic containers half filled with dampened vermiculite; the containers are then put in the incubator. After the incubation has started, it is very important that the eggs do not be rotated at all. A good thing to do is mark an X with a pencil on the egg before it is moved.

INCUBATING

Here comes the tough part! incubating these eggs are extremely hard because they are relatively soft. They can easily cave in and get parasites. Chelonian eggs require warmth – 77 to 86’F (25-30’C) and moisture to develop. For best results, I use Vermiculite substrate. Vermiculite holds in the moisture very well for red eared slider eggs. To moisten the vermiculite, add water and mix until the vermiculite clumps together when squeezed in your hand. The volumes would be about 4 parts vermiculite to 1 part water, but add the water sparingly; you may need less.

Construction
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Place the heat tape in a series of loops on the bottom of the cooler. Attach the leads of the heat tape to the appropriate leads of the thermostat. Poke a hole through the lid of the cooler, and suspend the thermostat/heater from the inside. Add another hole for the thermometer, so you can check on the inside temperature without opening the top. If their is no flange on the thermometer to keep it from slipping through the hole in the lid, use a rubber band wound around several times around the thermometer to form a flange. Put the lid on the cooler, and plug in the thermostat/heater. Wait a half an hour and check the temperature. Adjust the thermometer/heater until the temperature inside the incubator is about 80′ to 86;F (26.6 – 30’C). The L-pin handle on the top of the thermostat is the rheostat. Once you have the temperature regulated, put the container of eggs inside the incubator and close the lid. Check the temperature daily. Use the rheostat to increase or decrease the temperature daily. Also add some water to the vermiculite when needed(remember not too much). Keep the humidity high for red eared sliders and you should have no problems.