General Care Discussion :: When to put two RES's together

[Betty]

Hi,

I have a RES Myrtle, that is 18 months old, we brought home another who we named Tiger 2, we have kept them seperate for 6 months now.

The reason for that is we had brought home another RES and put it in with Myrlte when it was only 2 months old and we came home from work to find that Myrtle had bitten it's head and it ofcourse died

We put Tiger 2 in with her today while cleaning it's tank and also to see how Myrtle would react while we were here to supervise. Myrtle ignored Tiger 2 for a while but than when she finally went to check Tiger 2 out she started snapping at Tiger 2's back legs, Of course we took Tiger 2 out.

My question is, when and how is the best time to put them together, should we wait till Tiger 2 is a year old and the same size as Myrtle Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Kallistos]

You won't ever be able to put the turtles together. Myrtle is obviously agressive so unfortunately they'll never be able to be put together. There's no way of "introducing" them together. Even when they're the same size, it'll just be a longer, more bloody fight.

What kind of enclosures are the two of them in?

[grey goose]

Sounds like Myrtle is antisocial. She see's Tiger2 as a threat to her domain. You could try putting Myrtle in Tiger2's tank and see what happens. But if one is biting the other you may have to keep them separated permanently....some turts are very territorial.

[Pizza]

Turtles are generally solitary creatures, except for the brief moment of mating. Most will show aggression towards others, some will not.

Best time to put turtles together is when they're both young and little (hatchlings). Only if they're both around the same age and size. This way they may learn to get along when they're young and when they mature, get used to one another. Of course, this way can also fail, as a lot of turtles, regardless of their familiarity with others, will grow aggression as they mature.

[industrial_girl_2000]

My question is, when and how is the best time to put them together, should we wait till Tiger 2 is a year old and the same size as Myrtle Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The answer to that question would be NEVER. Honestly, turts don't "need" friends. They like having their own space & can get very territorial! For everyone's safety, keep them separate.

[Betty]

I guess I should of asked before getting a second RES. Thanks for the opinions.

[CountryGirl68]

You're better off just keeping them separated. It's obvious Myrtle doesn't want to share her space.