Turtles!

[blondrebel76]

actually i do have a question, i hope you havent answered this and i missed it somewhere, but i have a red eared slider that my sister found in my moms yard last summer. At the moment he has a tankmate, a crawdad (everyone said they would eat each other, but so far they get along great). anyway can you put possibly two sliders together in a tank or no? and i still have no idea if jaws is a boy or a girl??

 

[snosrap5]

Male turtles have long front claws and a fat long tail. Females have the short front claws and a shorter tail. The males opening on the tail is going to be farther down the tail where the females is closer to where the tail begins.

Oh and eventually that turtle will eat the crawdad.

 

[arielrain]

For a great turtle forum check this place out!

http://www.turtleforum.com/forum/upload/index.php

 

[strange_wings]

snosrap pretty much summed it up. But try a search for "sexing RES" - you'll probably find some decent pictures to help you.

Things to think about -
If you don't know the sex, don't put turtles together.
It may be fine when they're younger but as they start reaching maturity males fight or one will bully the other. This will also happen no matter the sex if there is a difference in the size between two turtles.

Rule is 10 gallons to every inch of turtle. 4-5" - 50 gallon+ if you add another turtle you have to add both of their sizes together.

Female RES's get around a foot in diameter - at some point keeping them in an aquarium will not be an option.
They will eventually lay eggs, even without a male. If not provided with a laying spot a female may become egg bound and eventually die - surgery for this usually isn't successful in turtles.

Before putting two turtles together, both must be healthy. If one has a little spot of shell rot or is carrying parasites you'll soon find yourself with even more trouble to deal with. Recommended quarantine time can be anywhere from 6 months to a year. Vet checks are a good idea too http://www.arav.org/ and http://www.herpvetconnection.com/ can help you find a herp vet near you.

Don't wild catch turtles or any other animal. In some states this is very much illegal and the wild populations do not need it. Respect nature - don't do this. If the animal is hurt take it to a wildlife rehabilitater, even cracked shells can be fixed.
Consider adopting instead.

Just like with cats, there's often too many turtles in rescue groups care that need homes. If you can't find groups near you with an internet search, call your local zoos. Often they get people wanting to dump animals on them and surely know of rescue groups.
And likewise, never release an animal that has been your pet. This can be a serious threat to wild populations... and it is rather cruel.