- Slider turtles becoming sexually mature when they reach about 5 years old and the females grow to 5 or 6 inches in shell length. These turtles mate between the months of March and July, and must undergo a cooling off period first that begins in January and lasts from six to eight weeks. During the cooling off period, the hours they bask under a heat lamp or direct sunlight is cut down to only about 10 hours a day. Neither the males or females will eat as much during the cooling off period as they would at normal temperatures, but once they are returned to regular warm temperatures, the females must start an optimal feeding schedule. They will need to store as much energy and nutrients as possible to help them through the ordeal of carrying and laying their eggs.
- Some male slider turtles will try to mate during the cooling off period before breeding season actually begins, and may even be successful at it. But usually courtship and mating take place once the turtles have been returned to warmer temperatures. Courting starts underwater, with the male slider turtle swimming toward the female and flicking his claws out to her face. Sometimes the male will also swim circles around his intended mate, or strike her front shell with his claws. This process can take up to 45 minutes before the female will prove receptive or decide she is not interested. If that is the case, a fight may occur if the male continues to persist.
If the female slider turtle proves receptive to the male's attention, she will sink to the bottom of the water and allow him to mount her. He may bite at her neck during mating, though these turtles do not participate in such behaviors as much as other species. Once the male slider turtle has mounted, he will move his tail underneath the female's so that his vent will align with hers. Fertilization of the eggs for slider turtles is done internally through copulation. The mating process normally takes around 15 minutes. - It normally takes a slider female two months to gestate her eggs. During this time it is usually best for her to be separated from the male turtle, as he could disturb her or make her nervous. When the female becomes close to her laying time, she will normally stop eating and become more inactive than normal. Egg-laying will occur within a day or two of when she loses her appetite, and most often occurs in the late spring or early summer. Unlike some reptile species, sliders can lay several clutches of eggs per breeding season, spaced a half a month to a month apart.
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