General Care Discussion :: Adding a baby turtle to existing adult turtles

[MonaTurtleFriend]

Hi! I have a male Red Ear Slider and a Female Yellow Ear Slider, approx. 3 years old, living in my outdoor 145 gal. pond (in Atlanta, Georgia). A teenager has approached me to adopt her baby RES turtle (approx. 3 Months old +) because the care is too cumbersome for her. My questions are: Is it safe to incorporate the baby with the adults? Is it too dangerous to put the baby in the outdoor pond (it has so far lived inside)? Will it upset my existing, hormonious two-some? Any additional info I should consider? This is somewhat urgent, she wants to get rid of the baby ASAP. Thank you so much.

[steve]

How big is the pond? Normally people keep hatchlings indoors at first.

[MonaTurtleFriend]

It is 90 Gal., I believe. Your typical pre-fab, plastic, pond form (Lowe's).

[MonaTurtleFriend]

Ooops, just went on-line to check capacity of pond liner and it is actually 145 gal not 90.

[steve]

As your male is becoming more mature, it's likely he will be more aggressive... so there is already a potential problem. I would also keep the hatchling indoors for as long as possible. I guess it depends on your potential ability to separate them or rehome a turtle (or two).