Posted: Sun Apr 02, 2023 3:25 pm Likely RES (10 yrs old) aggression if I add a baby RES ?
Hi, our pond is a converted 15,000 gallon swimming pool. Ms. Honu (RES) moved in 10 years ago when she was a baby (came up on our hill her own from a nearby stream) and she never left. Her choice as she can get out of pool and often does to sun. She holds her own with the koi at feeding time, but prefers to be hand -fed to outwit her competition. She has attacked toads (bufos) who sneak into the pond to lay their eggs. She eats their legs off. Not a pretty sight. She has a fondness for frog legs (perhaps a bit of French ancestry in her? ) So she is not shy in any way. At 10 years old her carapace is about 11 inches in length from front to back. So she is a big girl. My question: A neighbor today saw a baby RES - also apparently wild born and adventurous, on the road while he was walking. He put it back into the rain forest, just a few feet. I wondered if I should try and find it to protect it from getting run over or eaten by cattle egrets if he wanders back into the road. My husband is positive that Ms. Honu would kill it if I added it to our pond. I think he is right but I don't want him to be so just doing a reality check with you guys. Capturing this little guy might not be a kindness despite my good intentions. I read on here that RES often are aggressive towards other species. Would she recognize another RES and welcome him OR eat him? (note: when Ms. Honu first moved in I put her in a wading pool to protect her from the big koi and she refused to eat so I think if I put this one in a small enclosure he too might starve himself. She wasn't happy until she went back into the pond that she had chosen (it had to have taken her hours to climb up the hill). She not only thrived, apparently tougher than the koi and is still going strong. So, in your experience, would she likely kill the little one ? Thoughts?
