General Care Discussion :: Baby Red Eared Slider

[OyerbidesJ]

i recieved four baby red eared sliders from a friend yesterday they range maybe from 1.50 inches to 2.0 inches i have them living in a 20 gal. long tank. i'm just wondering if they are all fine being in the tank together. they all seem to like to hang around together or on top of eachother, i also have small clay pots in the tank where they go into so they can be by themselves. is having all four of them a bad idea, or will it be in the future or is this fine as long as they all have spaces of their own?

[cam722]

The recommendation is 10 gallons of water for every inch of shell, so already your tank is too small for 4 turtles. Each adult female can be up to 12" and each adult male up to 9"... So at some point you're going to need a HUGE enclosure for all 4 to be in one space. That's IF they don't have territory issues. That would be 120 gallons for each female and 90 gallons for every male. So, if you plan on keeping them all, you'd better start saving up money for major upgrades. Just a word of advice on something must of us have learned the hard way.. go as big as you can afford to go when you do upgrade otherwise you'll have a lot of unnecessary equipment hanging around Good Luck!!

Oh the hanging around on top of each other? Is that while basking? If so, that's perfectly normal.. it's called stacking, it's just to get closer to the heat

[Boston_Zhao]

i know each inch requires 10 gallons of water, bu I dont understand, why 4 one inch RES need 40 galons of water instead of ten gallons. I have 3 one inch RES, and the tank is 15 gallons, with 10 gallons of water, the space seems adequate to them, they dont bother each other

[cam722]

Not yet they don't.. Another reason for the 10 gallon rule is because of waste and water quality issues. 3 or 4 turtles going in the same water means more waste in the water.. etc.. etc. You have to make sure to keep up on cleaning, more water means less frequent cleanings for one, more space for them to move around and exercise, less chance of behavioral issues. At some point you'll probably end up with feeding issues beacause one will inevitably end up a bully and eat most of the food.. been there done that.. as have many people in the forum who kept multiple turtles in the same enclosure.

[sneakyburrito]

Boston_Zhao, even though it may seem like its enough space for you, you have to look at it from a turtles perspective. Look at it this way, say you live in a very small apartment building with 3 other people, you are going to have problems with those 3 other people being in your personal space and you are goin to wish that you had a bigger house. Or say, someone put you in a walk in closet and expected you to live in there.Yes, the closet is a big enough space for you to move around, but to live in there comfortably is not possible. It is the same with turtles. you put 4 of them inside a 10 gallon tank, they will start to be territorial, if you put one 3 inch turtle in a 15 gallon tank with 10 gallons of water, then that turtle will never live confortably.

[Shavannah]

i know each inch requires 10 gallons of water, bu I dont understand, why 4 one inch RES need 40 galons of water instead of ten gallons. I have 3 one inch RES, and the tank is 15 gallons, with 10 gallons of water, the space seems adequate to them, they dont bother each other

1" turtle = 10 gallons of water
1" x 4 turtles = 4" of turtles
4" of turtles x 10 gallons of water = 40 gallons of water

You'll need a 55 gallon tank, filled with at least 40 gallons of water to house 4 one inch turts. This size will only last a small amount of time, so as stated above by cam722, the bigger you can afford to go now, the more $ it will save you later.
Most new turtle owners think (as I did) that turtles are social and love each other's company, the more turts the better. This is because we always see multiple turts in the wild in ponds etc. But, most ponds are big, and can accomodate those turtles, unlike our captive habitats.
It's a lot of work to correctly house 4 turtles, but if you do your research and a lot of shopping around, it is possible, and very rewarding.
Check these sites for give-aways or cheap habitats/accessories:
www.freecycle.org and www.craigslist.com
Let us know if you have any more questions. Good luck and keep us updated on your progress! Also, we love pics!

[Boston_Zhao]

thanks guys, will upgrade their tank

[OyerbidesJ]

okay thanks, in the long run i'm only going to be keeping two of them because from the beginning i knew i wasn't going to be handle all four. someone else is supposed to be taking the other two. but if the person backs out whats anyones reccomendation for finding them a new home?

[Shavannah]

You could post it under 'Other Turtle Discussion' as a new topic like "need a home for 2 of my 4 turtles" or something like that. Someone on here might want them, and they will be educated on everything, since they are reading all the info on here, so you know they will most likely go to a good owner. If that doesn't work, you could check around your area for a reptile/turtle rescue organization.