General Care Discussion

I have my 2-yr-old RES in a 40 gallon breeder and he is four inches.
My local pet store has baby turtles the size of a half dollar that
they are calling yellow belly cooters, I'm pretty sure they are yellow
belly sliders, though. I'm wondering could one of these baby turtles
and my RES coexist? Please advise.

simple answer yes..

Would I have to get a bigger tank or would the 40 gallon breeder suffice w/ my fluval 205? And I don't want to get a female, so I can avoid mating... Is there any way to tell what the sex is that early in life?

you will need a bigger tank eventually, but not untill the smaller one gets bigger. being the size of a half dollar he/she aint gonna take up that much extra room.

you should be good for 6 month to a year depending on how fast they grow. youu should consider a 100+gal tank for the future.

theres a breeding section and an anatomy section on here that will tell you how you can tell the difference between male and female. however if i remember rightly, its hard to tell when theyre young.

You won't be able to tell until they are around 4" long.

As for multiple turtles, I would advise against it. Please read this page: http://www.redearslider.com/cohabitation.html

Our RES, Wizzle is turning more aggressive by the day and we are contemplating giving him away

((((

If I were to replace him with a baby yellow belly, could I get two yellow bellys or would that eventually be trouble? I mean all of them are in the same tank living in harmony at the pet store now...

Even if you replace your res with a yellow belly you will probably run into the same problem when your yellow belly gets older. Just because the yellow bellies are living in harmony now while hatchlings that is no guarantee that they will when they get older. A hatchling should not be housed with another turtle unless it's a hatchling also. Turtles that are housed together should be around the same size.

Both yellow bellys are hatchlings... same exact size and everything.

Turtles can live peacefully together for years and then turn on each other. If that happens you have to be prepared to have two large enclosures. They really are solitary animals and don't need company.

This is the baby we fell in love with... What should we do!!!??

Any chance you can setup a second habitat?

I second the second habitat. He's adorable.

I know, he's perfect... when I took him back to the store he just stared at me through the glass... so sad.

AND

We literally have no room in our one bedroom apartment. We are looking into a two bedroom, but there is no guarantee we'd even get it. And I don't have the money for another enclosure, let alone filter, lights, etc. And I'd love to get a bigger tank and maybe even put a separator in there of some sort and maybe eventually the two could coexist, but my stand is made for the size of my 40 gallon breeder. What should I do!!??

You don't need a lot of room for a hatchling, and things can be put on the floor or arranged creatively.

How fast do they grow, though, steve? And I really don't wanna clutter up the place. My girl will kill me, but he's just so awesome. The store has a special that includes the light and a ten gallon tank I believe with a basking surface, some sort of external filter. and the turtle all for 99 bucks, but like I said my girl will kill me lol. We don't have enough room as it is. She did fall in love with the little guy, though :/

And not to mention, I'm going on a vacation with her this coming Wednesday for a week and would have to trust my neighbor with a new guy along with my RES.

Ahhhhhh lol!

General Care Discussion :: Can my 2-yr-old RES coexist w/ a baby yellow belly?

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