General Care Discussion :: Adding a new turtle?

[Maxtegroom]

So I have a happy healthy 4in res 8-9 months old in a 65 gallons of water. I was approached by a friend who asked if I wanted a 3in spotted turtle. I was wondering if this is either a good or bad idea? Will they get along or fight each other? Do turtles like the companionship? I have a good thing going on with this one turtle not sure if I should even try to start something new? Any suggestions are welcomes

[Tampa Bay Turtle Fan]

You can always see simply by introducing them to find out if there is any signs of aggression or overly dominance behavior. It is mixed feelings between the members on this topic. Some people experience through observations aggressive and dominance between their turtles, others have not. The larger they get and the larger their environment or enclosure is, the more territorial they become, males especially. Now regarding the red ear sliders and spotted turtles in general, normally they are compatible species in the same communal environment.

The only issue I have faced with my red ears primarily was competition for snacks at times however for the most part, I feed them separate. For no more than 2 days once my new albino red ear slider came into the aquarium, one of my larger albinos was being a bit of a bully more in curiosity but not is aggression. I seen the smaller one get intimidated a bit and had to separate the smaller one to calm it down some. I re introduced it back and they have been doing okay since then. With more turtles coming to me in August and the original two getting sizable to the point of the outdoor enclosure, this will help the situation a lot.

[Maxtegroom]

Ok so they'll probably be ok. Now how about my tank I have approx 65 gals in there I understand 10gal/inch of shell does that double for two tanks?

[Tampa Bay Turtle Fan]

That is the standard rule of thumb but I myself disagree with it and I will explain why. Take the largest waterland tubs available for instance. Many breeders have groups of red ears successfully breeding and laying of eggs in the largest waterland tubs available.

These large tubs are 16 inches water height, 200 gallon capicity that is divided by 3/4 water and 1/4 land which breaks down to be close to give ot take 160 gallons of water and aproximatly around 40 gallons of land equaled space.

So when you average it up, you are looking at maybe two full sized adult females and a sub adult male if that according to the general rule of thumb for turtle owner, however it truly is debatable based on who you speak with.

Now measurements on this same waterland tub are 100 inches long so around or close to 8 1/2 feet long therefor just over 6 feet in lenth swimming area and just over 2 feet in land area by 50 inches wide (4 feet and 2 inches) by 32 inches high ( 2 feet 8 inches high).

Breeders have successfully bred up to 6 full sized adults in each of these tubs, meaning a 2.4 ratio. Though I may go with a 1.4 group per large tub myself to eliminate male turtle conflicts. The manufacture and owner at waterland has proven his theory in his successful turtle and tortoise breeding groups. If you take there theory on the matter, there is no way the general rule of thumb applies. I do agree, the RES get large and the more space the better but I guess the discretion would be up to the turtle owner their selves on which way to go. The 65 gallon tank and based what you have now and their sizes in my opinion is a suitable size without question at the moment for both of them.

[Maxtegroom]

Ok thanks man I think going to try it out I should have more questions to follows. Thank you much for your input so far!!!

[Tampa Bay Turtle Fan]

You are more than welcome. I wish you the very best overall . Have a great evening.

[steve]

Spotted turtles are very cool, but they require shallow water levels and more land area than RES. This is a marsh-type turtle, RES are pond turtles. Spotted turtles are extremely cool, I wouldn't mind having one but don't keep them with RES.

Do you know if your turtle is a male or female? 4" at 9 months is pretty large, you might need to adjust the diet too.

[Maxtegroom]

ive decided to pass on the extra turtle. upon what steve said my setup is not really good for a spotted turtle anyway. i have a happy healthy turtle as is i dont really want to mess it up. and far that the 9months that was kind of more a guesstimate. we have reviewed is diet last month and i have learned a good diet and sticking to it and in just a month his shell has started to flatten out and look a little better.

[Tampa Bay Turtle Fan]

Gotcha, I noticed in the wild, the smaller turtles like this tend to be found on underwater ledges so I can see where steve is going with this that determined your decision. I never had a problem with communal set ups with a small variety of species . But yes it makes sense on the swimming areas needed. The water ledges I found them in were 10 to 20 feet of overall water sources for the larger species hang out areas yet the smaller ones such as spotted or muds were always almost found in the same area on the ledges between 1 foot to 3 foot down on the ledges as well as the marsh areas. This area slipped my mind all together.

If you all ever wish to see many fresh water aquatic species in the Wild, I recommend some of the Florida Springs. Ocala seems to have some of the best clear springs around, parts of Crystal River, and Weeki Wachee. During the winter months, the manatees and turtles are all over the place and you will see plenty of alligators. Overtime, I have snorkeled all these areas however during my teenage years, traveling was limited obliviously and I was one of the crazy teens who dived in the Everglades from my jon boat with a friend in Miami (which is highly dangerous and not recommended even today).

[Maxtegroom]

Nice thanks I'll have that out next time I'm down there my parents live in bradenton

[Tampa Bay Turtle Fan]

Ahhh not far from me. I went through the Police academy there in Bradenton many moons ago. Yes check out Crystal River if you can, there is so much to offer along the river. Shell Island in St. Petersburg for the sea turtle hatch times as well . You would enjoy that.