thank you for your very KIND advice..I was more offended by being called ignorant...id like to apologize for the attitude and misunderstandings...I know what this place is for , i dont want any problems ...anyhow i do appreciate the advice...sometimes it seems like people are trying to sound like experts.... have a great week...
untsmurf wrote:This site is here to help turtle owners, new and experienced alike. Some people aren't aware that they are putting their turtles into harmful situations, so we have to do what we can to offer the best advice. All anyone was trying to do was warn you about a bad possible outcome. Ultimately, it is up to you how to deal with your situation, but it's better all around if your 100% informed. Humans tend to have issues with personification and their animals. Like saying that your turtle is happy to see you and wants you to say hi. When, in truth, turtles don't have that emotion. When your turtle swims towards you excitedly, he's begging for food. Another issue is the fact that we think turtles feel things like loneliness and companionship. When, in fact, they don't. Turtles, RES especially, are territorial and prefer to live alone (unless there is enough space for everyone, like a pond). Now, occasionally some turtles can live together harmoniously, but this is the exception not the rule. They learn to tolerate one another, it has nothing to do with friendship. In general, RES get aggressive over space and food. You may never see any aggressive behavior like fluttering or biting, but that doesn't mean it isn't happening. I'm speaking from experience on this. I originally had two turtles, thinking my little Mikey needed a friend. I got to turtles from the same tank and put them in one tank at my house. They never fought or anything, but what I didn't realize was that my Mikey was slowly starving the second turtle to death. It took almost six months, but the second turtle did die from starvation caused by aggression. Again, I'm not saying this WILL happen to you, but I would rather you be fully informed of what you could be dealing with. A good way to avoid this is to feed one turtle in a separate tank and to supervise their eating. This will ensure that everyone is getting enough food and if there isn't any other aggressive behavior, you should be fine.
Also, make sure to watch the tank size. You'll end up needed at least a 200 gallon tank if they can live together peacefully as adults.
Please don't take offense to any of my advice, or the advice of the other members. None of it was meant as an attack to you. We're just trying to look out for what is best for your new little turtle.
