General Care Discussion :: social skills

[greenwave]

both of my red ear sliders have been living together since they were really little hatchlings. they might even be siblings.

lately however they have been seriously going at each other. they will just all of a sudden start biting each other.

i feel really helpless and i would like to know if i should separate them or if its just some usual sibling rivalry.

[threshold]

turtles like there space, separate them immediately because they will hurt or even kill each other

[SpotsMama]

I'm not trying to scare you, but threshold is exactly right. Turtles can be very fierce and once they start biting each other, they won't stop until some serious damage is done. Sometimes turtles live together in harmony for years then suddenly they start fighting and have to be separated. Here are a couple of recent examples:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16789

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... ht=#153203

You'll need to separate them right away. You can put one of them in an inexpensive container like a rubbermaid tub if you don't have two aquariums. Check them both over for injuries.

[industrial_girl_2000]

turtles like there space, separate them immediately because they will hurt or even kill each other

Exactly. It's time to separate them into their own tanks & if I were you, I wouldn't wait too long to do it.

[zoologist]

Adding to what everyone else has already stated, RES are known to be a very agressive species and seperate tanks are a must. If you feel like they will miss each other, try putting the tanks next to each other on a table or something. Also, if they continue to fight but you are short on money think about getting a tank seperator until you can afford a new set up. It will not fix the problem, because then the tank will be too small, but it could help a little.