cumberland terrapins

[samhaines]

right iv only got my cumberland terrapins to day. i stuck them in there tank and left the an houre to setal in. came back in to notic that they are breeding. any advic on what i shuld do befor she lays and when the eggs come and all that ty

[Graham]

Breeding? I think you mean mating, or possibly just fanning each other, unless you've actually witnessed copulation?

How old are they and are you certain you have at least one male and one female?

[samhaines]

yh i mean mating. and i have o boys one girl. and me and my bf have seen them do it. they are 3 years old mabey a lil older.

[samnste]

haha dont worry hun, they fan each other all the time with their claws & they do regularly "practice" mating with each other... they will be 3 years old around july ish (we got them about 2 1/2 years ago when they were about the size of a twenty P & it was august 2006 we got them but they must have been a good few weeks old, but thats all), & i believe they wont be sexually mature until they are around 5yrs old. if you keep watching them you may well see the males "practicing" with each other on occasion aswell lol. glad to hear they are settling in though we were so sad seeing them go but we're glad they've gone to a good loving home.

[samhaines]

hehehe ty when i partner gets payd were seting up an even biger tank with a mud bank and plants and some fish for them to eat so its all natrul hehe shuld be fun

[samnste]

that sounds brilliant!!!! they'll love that!

[Graham]

At 3 years they could be approaching sexual maturity, it's a function of size as much as age, if you've actually witnessed a successful copulation you could expect eggs in about a month's time.
It's important to provide a suitable nesting area, otherwise if the female is gravid she may choose to retain the eggs if she can't find somewhere to lay them.
It's also worth noting that female turts can lay infertile eggs even if they've never been with a male, rather like chickens.

[samhaines]

ow what would make a good nestying site cos i was gona put a tub of mude in like a mude bank sorta thing would that be ok

[Graham]

A deep plastic tray filled with damp playsand, or a mix of playsand, compost, with a bit of sphagnum moss. They like to lay at the base of plants so a few fake ones stuck in the sand might encourage them to use it, live plants would probably die under the heat of the lamps.

[samhaines]

ok ty =]