General Care Discussion :: 2 different sized turts in the same tank?

[tauc87]

I have my baby Greeny in the tank and I went to petsmart and they have big RES that are like 3 inches +. Would it be a bad idea if I bought a bigger one and put them in the same tank? ((Of course I would buy a bigger tank))

[marisa]

Yes, it would be a bad idea.

Your little one isn't lonely (trust me on this).

You'd have to quarantine the new turtle (at least 90 days, longer is better) in a separate set-up to see if the new one has anything your turtle could catch.

Big size differences between turtles (how much bigger than 3" are they?), can lead to bullying and potential injury.

You'd have to spend more money for an upgrade now.

If the two were put in a tank together, they may not get along (then you'd have to have two separate set-ups).

Why do you feel the need for a second turtle?

[tauc87]

The only reason why I wanted a second turtle was because:

1. I love animals, why not?
2. I thought Greeny might be lonely.

But to make a long story short, I found out I can't buy an RES anymore anyways.
I love in Florida. For 3 weeks I have been waiting for Petsmart to get new RES and today I went in and they said that starting July 1st it would not be llegal to sell RES at all in the state of Florida. No matter what size. You can own just not SELL. So I guess greeny is gonna be my only baby.
When I bought her I picked her out of like 20 RES in one huge kiddy pool. She was always surrounded by other turtles so I thought she missed that.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Turtles dont have feelings like that. They do not feel lonely, they cant feel lonely. They like it by themselves. And a bigger turtle kill her or hurt her. They are reptiles, not mammals. They do not enjoy having other turtles around, in the wild the only time they come together is to mate or bask, and even then they can ward off other turtles. It wasnt greeny's choice to have 20 other turtles in the same tank as her.

How I wish they could love us back the same, but I guess ya gotta face the truth sooner or later..

I'm actually kinda glad they are going to stop selling RES, I live in FL too. I know there are still going to be people selling them here and there, but atleast the main pet store chains are going to stop, maybe people will start adopting RES , I guess it's a start..

[RunninWideOpen]

It looks like the size difference is only 1"? Your turt is 2" and the ones at the store are 3"? That wouldn't be a big deal. Much more than that and it wouldn't be a good idea. I wouldn't put my 3" turt in with my 6".

But, I do agree don't worry about the lonely factor. Sometimes they don't get along and you end up having to buy a whole new setup.

[jenaero]

They'd still have to be quarantined even if they were of similar size. So that means 2 full setups for at least 90 days.

[Threepwood]

I honestly would never consider getting another turtle.

I didn't go out and buy the one I have now -- I kind of "rescued" it. Right after I got everything set up, I thought about buying another one, for some reason, but I couldn't find any for sale around here. I should be glad, too...because after taking care of this one for a while and reading up on everything that would need to be done to maintain two separate turtles (and all of the potential problems that come with that)...just one is good enough for me.

[industrial_girl_2000]

I would stick with just greeny. Turtles don't "get lonely" like people think they do. They are actually very territorial & don't like it when another turtle "invades their space." 2 turtles in the same tank can cause fighting between them as they try to establish territory!

Honestly, once Greeny grows up & is 9" long, you will be really happy you don't have another turtle. Trust me. I have a hard enough time keeping Sheba sometimes! She can be a handful. I can't imagine having 2 turtles as big as her.

[Tenodera]

I only got 1 since turtles here cost $50!

[tauc87]

I pretty much got it. I won't get another turtle.
I don't like thinking any animal would not have feelings.
To me they do. She does. She loves me :]
I guess she's not lonely. She has me.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

If you want another turtle you can always set up a seperate tank, a nice sub adult RES might be nice (adopted) as long as you have the money and space for it, I'd say do it. If not, maybe you can get another species of turtle and set up a seperate tank. Cooters are realy cute, just look at kevins little serra (the user above your last post)

That way greeny can enjoy all her space to herself, and maybe you can even put the tanks close together so that greeny can look and flutter at the other turtle through the glass, I'm sure it'll interest her. And guess what? No biting involved!

[SpotsMama]

Cooters are beautiful. Just keep in mind that they get really big - bigger than adult RES. An adult Cooter will be upwards of 12" long.

[Tenodera]

I read that females max out at 16 inches...

[alexis_906]

I love animals as well and I seem to "collect" them. But I don't have my two turtles together because of their size difference. I have let them meet in the bathtub a couple times. (I thought it might be neutral ground, this way no one is upset about the other being in their space) But even then they didn't want anything to do with each other. They just hid on opposite sides of the log.

I think that ALL animals/creatures have feelings, they just can't express them the way that we do. They are happy when they are well taken care of and healthy. They also can get bored very easily. So even though your turtle can't say "I am lonely" being bored is the same thing.

So I give them plenty of tank mates...the edible kind of course. This way they always have something to do. And I have more to look at as well.