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I'm looking to buy a buddy for Rush, a different breed of water turtle. Anything I should be aware of before getting another turt?
I'm thinking a Softshell, or a painted turt...

some info here:

http://www.redearslider.com/index_basic_care_1.html

Please be aware that they may not get along. If that happens you will have the added expense of needing another setup for the new turtle to live in. Turtles really don't need buddies.

Why do you think Rush needs a buddy? Rather than a friend, he's more apt to view a new turtle as an intruder on his territory and if the space they're in is not adequate, problems are even more likely to result.

Having more than 1 turt is OK, but don't do it for the sake of the turtle you have, do it because you want one are are willing to take on the added responsibility. If you want another one, upgrade the habitat (if it won't support two), and keep the new one quarantined for at least 90 days to make sure it's healthy (not a 100% guarantee, but much better than just putting them together). And be prepared to separate them and give them their own set-ups if they don't get along.

Softshells not only need a different setup, but are known to be quite vicious. I'd stick with one turt for now. Also, there's a quarantine period (90 days) so you'd need 2 full setups for a while even if you got another res, map, or painted.

Rush wrote:I'm looking to buy a buddy for Rush, a different breed of water turtle. Anything I should be aware of before getting another turt?
I'm thinking a Softshell, or a painted turt...

DON'T put a softshell turtle in the same tank as a painted. Softshells are VERY aggressive & can hurt RES's.

I agree with what others said here. You may think that a turtle has to have a buddy, but they honestly do fine on their own (I can tell you firsthand!). If you want them to have a buddy, buy another tank & butt it up against Rush's tank so they can see each other without physically interacting.