General Care Discussion :: introducing RES

[crush323]

i had a RES since she was tiny for about 4 years now. I just got another RES who's prolly about 3-4 years old, and only slightly smaller than my other turtle. the first time i put them together the old turtle has been attacking the new turtle. does this mean they wont ever get along or is the old turtle just trying to show dominance over the new turtle? i just worry about leaving them alone and the old turtle will hurt the new one.

[flutterby]

What is your set up like and did you quarantine the new turtle before putting it in with your first one?

[steve]

What are their shell lengths and how big is your tank? Are they both females? Where did the other tutle come from (another owner, petstore???)

[crush323]

they are both females...the new turtle is about 5 inches and the old turtle is about 7-8 inches. the tank is a 40gallown breeder tank 36" x 18". i got the new turtle from the pet store

[Kallistos]

First of all, females are larger than males. To start out the old turtles that's 7 inches long is already in cramped space. Getting a new turtle was a bad idea. If you can return the new one, or plan on getting a gigantic tank. Currently, it's hard to tell the psychology of your old turtle, the fighting could last for just a few days or it could persist. Or it could stop for awhile and come back later, it's hard to tell, imo..

[crush323]

they are both females, just differnt ages hence the size difference....i know that females are larger. i also know that male turtles longer of nails than females and the cloaca is located differently on their tails.

[megcornell]

I think one of the main issues here is the apparent lack of space. 40 gallons is much too small for a 7 inch turtle, let alone making her share with a 5 inch turtle. Without adequate space you'll never be able to determine whether the cause is that the two turtles really don't want to live together. As it is, they are just fighting for enough room to move around. You really need to get a bigger tank. Even two separate rubbermaid containers would be better than what you have right now. If this seems like a lot of committment for you (2 set ups are a lot of work, as is the size tank you'd need) you may want to think about giving back the new turtle so you can focus on giving the turtle you've had four years a home.


Turtles are solitary to begin with, there's no reason to "get them a friend," they don't want friends and it just doubles the work, the money, and the mess.
To get two turtles takes a lot of planning and committment, please make sure you have the means to care for both before keeping this new turtle.

[industrial_girl_2000]

i had a RES since she was tiny for about 4 years now. I just got another RES who's prolly about 3-4 years old, and only slightly smaller than my other turtle. the first time i put them together the old turtle has been attacking the new turtle. does this mean they wont ever get along or is the old turtle just trying to show dominance over the new turtle? i just worry about leaving them alone and the old turtle will hurt the new one.

Turtles are not social animals and don't need a "friend" so the old turt is prolly thinking her space is being invaded. Turts like having their space and if you have them both in a 40 gal tank, that is just too many turts for that tiny tank. If you can, get a bigger tank or separate them into their own tanks.

I used to have this problem a long time ago too (when I had 2 turts) and eventually had to give away the 2nd turtle because they both kept picking at each other.