Nesting for Moms

Many people keep females and males together. This is fine, nothing wrong. But are you ready for baby hatchlings? Can you take care of them? If yes great. But can you provide a proper nesting space? I doubt it for people who keep their Red Eared Sliders in aquariums. Adult females are extremely picky with their nesting sites. If you have a pregnant Slider, provide a nesting site or the female will get egg bound. Sliders who can't lay eggs because of improper nesting sites will either retain the eggs until they crack or decompose inside her, or she'll lay the eggs in water, killing the babies. So here's how the nesting area should be like, 50% soil, 50% sand. The substrate needs to be well deeper than 10inches. There should not be any roots, rocks, stones etc. inside the substrate so remove those. Not even twigs. The female may dig several test nests, if this happens then your nesting area isn't working. If it were working she would have laid them at the first time. Powerful hind feet will dig the hole, wide and deep and then cover the nest so well you may not notice she has laid the eggs. There are pros and cons for leaving the eggs alone but I suggest you don't touch them. Leave them in the nest instead of incubating them unless you are highly experienced with the procedure. In hotter climates, eggs should hatch in about 60 days. Hatching could also take up to more than a hundred days if the temperature is colder.