General Care Discussion :: Strange biting behaviour

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2022 7:16 am   Strange biting behaviour

First time owner. 5 months ago I rescued two red-eared sliders. According to the previous owner they're around 10 years old. Everything was good up until two weeks ago when the smaller of the two turtles started biting the other turtle in a strange (?) manner. I wasn't able to find anything like that discussed elsewhere. Basically he will NOT bite the bottom, legs, or arms, instead he'll attempt to bite the other turtle's face ONLY if the other turtle looks at him (he obviously can't bite down because it just glides). Otherwise they're peaceful in both water and basking area. What does that mean? Should I be looking into separating them?
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Post Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2022 2:35 pm   Re: Strange biting behaviour

Unfortunately you're looking at separating them. Biting of any sort, any where is aggression that will escalate. Its likely the smaller one is male, and most male RES will need to be separated.
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steve
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Post Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2022 6:59 am   Re: Strange biting behaviour

I believe they're both male. I don't believe the previous owner that they're the same age, because one of the turtles looks considerably healthier (the one that tries to bite that is). Unfortunately I don't have enough space for a second tank, so I'll have to give away one of the turtles and that will take a while in my country. Is there any temporary solution in the meanwhile?

PS: the turtle that is being bitten has gotten much healthier in the past few months and some of the retained scutes are falling off. However she has these little holes in her shell https://imgur.com/7M7s58F, did she used to have shellrot in the past?
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Post Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2022 11:19 am   Re: Strange biting behaviour

IMO those pitting is caused when bacteria grows under the retained scutes. Water and debris get trapped and stay there, causing an infection. If they are healed, then they should become less pronounced after a few more sheds.

As for other solutions... look into stock tanks as they can be great turtle habitats. They are cheaper and much more durable than a glass tank.

The white areas might be more fungus. Its likely that caused the retained scutes to begin with, so its a cycle that will continue until completely treated.
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