I was told that the "hole" for lack of a better word was under or super close to the shell its a female. If it is away from the shell its a male. Right?
It is still antsy and trying to settle in from the trip so I could only get pictures of its tail untucked while it was in the water. What do you think?
The two of them went from ignoring each other to the bigger one picking on the new/smaller one. I had to put a divider in due to my previous male trying to rip the new males back foot off!!!!
The two of them went from ignoring each other to the bigger one picking on the new/smaller one. I had to put a divider in due to my previous male trying to rip the new males back foot off!!!!
Congrats, you have boy! Before I moved my southern painted turtle away from the previous owner's pairing up of his 'friends' they ripped out his toenail, and evidence shone it had happened before...
That is your older turtle's territory, and it just got invaded! In the wild, the smaller male would have just upped and left, but he can't. If you introduce a female, the male might fight her too, but he could also stress her out by mating way too many times, and just bullying her about
For some reason, when I put my mr southern into the tank I had mr midland painted turtle in, they got along great. I still watch, and there's no biting... no chasing... they allow each other to bask equally, they don't fight for food, and it's only s 75gal tank! It's really strange, but I'm always prepared to separate if something goes wrong.
Sight barriers, things to hide in, and two basking spot might equal up the playing field for the smmal male
Thank you for the info, it was very helpful. Extra floating bark and another basking light/spot has seemed to help them go back to ignoring each other for the most part.