General Care Discussion :: Are turtles better off alone or with a friend?

[carolyn17603]

I am deciding if I should get 1 baby red ear slider or 2. Do you think turtles can get lonely? Will they interact more if there is another? I know that it would be double everything and more expensive in the long run. Right now I do have a 30 gallon so that would be big enough for 2 for now. But im just weighing my options please let me know

[industrial_girl_2000]

Stick with one for now, especially if you are a new turtle owner. Baby sliders grow really fast and before you know it, they will be fighting in the tank. I have witnessed this many times in the past and it is extremely frustrating as an owner to have to deal with it.

RES's are the most aggressive form of "painted"-style turtle and they are VERY territorial. If there is another turtle around, they can fight to the point where they hurt each other. I used to have 2 RES's in the tank and the fighting would literally wake the dead. I had to dry dock one of them for 8 hours to have peace because I couldn't keep them in the same tank during the day. At night, because it was dark and they were sleeping it was fine. But I would have to get up early to separate them EVERY day. It sucked if I didn't make it there fast enough and when one turtle came up with a dislocated arm, broken tail, bite marks, etc. Don't even get me started on when the female started laying eggs too and the male would do the mating dance on her till she bit his long nails off.

Trust me, start with one.

[vear]

ONE. They don't get lonely. The 30 gallon wouldn't be good for very long.

[carolyn17603]

I ended up just getting 2 but that was before I read all this. So we will see how it goes for now. I have the baby pellets but these are hatchlings. Will that be ok to feed since they get mushy in the water anyways or is it better to get the hatchling food? How long do they live? I plan on getting the turtle bone. I also plan on getting an algae eater. Will any algae eater do? or is there some I need to stay away from? thanks guys

[marisa]

Alone. (You're better off, too.)

[hill]

I would suggest that you have only one unless you have the money to buy a second tank. It is a real crap shoot to try and get two that will get along. The are reptiles and don't get lonely.

[my.lovely.turtle.]

Yes, i agree with everyone, just get one, but since you already have the two you will have to get a bigger tank soon. they grow so so fast! Its been five months having my turtle and he has already out grown his tank. WHen they get larger you will have to be prepared to separate them if any aggression starts to show. I wanna see pics of the little ones some say algea eaters make more mess thqn good because of their poo but it's up to you. I have one and it still gets messy in there. So if you're getting it just for cleaning, I wouldn't bother.

[savage Rock]

if you want fish for cleaning i highly recommend cory catfish.
they do well in groups so at least get two. my two are best buds and swim together. they never leave each others side.
they are also small, very peaceful and fast ( so it won't get eaten ).

they make my tank sparkling clean.

(theyre also cheap... well, they are here in my area at least)

[Spike 7.62]

When they get bigger your options will be A) one very large habitat and the ability to seperate them, B) two habitats or C) rehoming one of the turtles, and keeping the other. There are a lot of old threads here from multiple turtle owners, browse them when you're bored. Good luck and enjoy your babies.

-Spike

[carolyn17603]

thanks now do the cory catfish get big?

[Jaysea]

I went through this same thing when i got my turtle. My original plan was to buy 1, then while i was in the pet store i saw the aquarium with them all swimming around and thought well i can't get just 1 he will get lonely. I ended up buying 2. During the next week I watched the 2 of them go from being buddies to constantly attacking each other. They both ended up having bite marks on their necks and booboos that were pretty bad. I ended up returning one of them when i told the store what was going on, they had no problems taking it back. Save yourself the trouble and just get 1, that way you can give that one more attention also. Cody seems so much happier now that he's alone and he likes being the only spoiled turtle in the house

Bleh i just actually finished reading your post and saw you got 2. Hopefully you'll have luck with yours and they will love eachother. Mine were both about 4" big when i got them so maybe since yours are just little guys they will be more accustomed to being around another turtle. Good luck with your new babies

[novroz]

@Jaysea I have the same problem as yours. I have Kame for a year and decided to buy another one to accompany her...but they never get to like each other. I have to buy another tank to keep Kroten, otherwise they will continue biting each other. They get well together sometimes. But I didn't return Kroten back because I grow to love her too.

[carolyn17603]

Thanks guys. Im hoping since they are so little (about a inch) that I wont have problems. It would be nice if they got along forever but it sounds like that is not likely. But hopefully it wont be for a while if they will have probs.