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I recently aquired a second turtle and for a brief period of time the two were joined together in the same 80 gallon tank. One turtle is 3 inches long and the other 1 inch. I quickly realized that somthing was wrong and seperated the two when the older one chased the younger one around and fluttered it's claws, and still attempts to do this when it sees the smaller one through the glass. (I placed a smaller 10 gallon tank inside the larger 80 gallon one, but it still attempts to confront the smaller turtle through the glass.) Obviously the bigger turtle has more space than it needs, so I dont know what to think about this...

To summarize, I have two questions:

1. Is this a sign of aggression and will it eventually stop?

2. Is the act (fluttering of the claws) a male only characteristic or do both males and females preform it?

Any advice is appreciated.

-Brian

This is a sign of both agression and mating... And both males and females do it... No it will not stop...

My question to you is why is the 10 gallon tank inside the 80 gallon tank???

You are going to have to have two(2) complete setups- one for each turtle...

hope this helps and good luck

The 10 gallon has been placed inside the 80 Gallon because I have one water heater and no money. The smaller one had to be quarantined, but i needed to maintain the water temperature and basking area... so he's stuck there for now.

I don't understand the agression... I feed them seperately and they both have TONS of room.

Aggression in any animal is natural. It's their way of saying "get outta my turf" (NYC slang ).

Males can also get aggressive to females that aren't paying them any attention in regards to mating time. If the male feels the female is ignoring his attempts at mating, he can become aggressive. A female can become aggressive towards a male who wants to mate because .... well, I guess she's not in the mood.

Since your turtles are very different in size, the signs you're seeing is probably aggression based on "this is my tank". Unfortunately, once the aggression has started, it will probably continue as long as both are sharing the same tank. Even though you have them separate, the larger turtle sees the smaller one as still in his territory so he's trying to intimidate the smaller one to get him out of his territory. You'll need to keep them separate.

So there is absolutely no way I will ever be able to keep them together?

Probably not without signifigant risk to the smaller turtle. It is sad, but big turtles do kill smaller ones sometimes. I would seperate them at the first sign of aggression. The claw fluttering and chasing is a sign of aggression or territoriality. Once they are of a more similar size, if they hit that point, you might try it again, but I wouldn't count on it.

One risk that any multiple RES keeper faces is separation. I have two RES that have always been together, but I watch for signs of aggression on a daily basis and I'm prepared to separate them if I have to.

UPDATE

Both Helmholtz and Kachua have been living together in peace for several months now. Helmholtz warmed up to the smaller turtle after several controlled encounters and a little classical conditioning (Yes, I'm a psychology major). I guess he just needed a little time to adjust to a a roomate...

My reason for reviving this long dead post was to prove to other concerned owners that agression isn't necessarily permanent, although it will take a lot of time and vigilance to curb it. Feel free to post if you have any questions.

I think agression can take place any day any time.This is just like people who have gravel in their tank,they refuse to take it out because their turtle has been living with it for months or years and has never tried to eat it,but one day the turtle decides to gobble some up,then they find out the consequences and suffer the aftermath .

I had gravel in my tank, I removed it and got a $250 x-ray at the vet to be sure my turtle didn't eat anything.

I care about my turtles' health and I spent enough time with them to know how they behave around eachother, (even when they think I'm not there.) Agression is always a risk with any pair of animals, as is keeping high-voltage lighting around a tank of water all day... My point is the agression can be minimalized if you know what you're looking for and how to handle it.

Just because two turtles show agression once it dosent mean they have to be separated forever and you are out of options.

Even if agression is minimalized,you still run a very high risk.By looking at your default photo,it looks like there is a huge size difference,keep in mind smaller turtles are much more fragile than adult turtles.A hatchlings head can easily be torn off by a much bigger turtle.No one here is going to force you to seperate them,but they are going to suggest doing so.Simply because your not in front of your tank 24/7 and you can only control so much.

P.S. Dont think im mad at your or anything,im just telling you what i think .

My default picture is from their introduction. They are much closer in size now.

Oh ok,im sorry.I thought they were still like that.I guess your out of the red now.

I understand your concern, I just told someone to seperate their 6inch and 1 1/2inch turtle... I agree completely that hatchlings can be killed, but agression between two similar turtles can be solved.