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I have a female res; four years old. I'm considering getting a second turtle; male, 3 years old. How do turtles react to living together? I'm not really interesting in breeding anytime soon. Is there a way for me to set it up so they won't breed even though they would be in the same tank? I'm not even sure that my female is mature enough to breed. She's 4 years old, but only about 3 inches long.

This won't work unless some supernatural power intervenes. The female will be territorial and the male will want to breed, and the female probably won't be receptive. I've never heard of a method of keeping them in the same tank withouth them breeding, and neutering/spaying of turtles is uncommon.

Your 4 year old turtle is only 3 inches long? That seems awkward, are you feeding her correctly? I suggest you read the stickies under feeding or nutrition or RES Basic care at the top of the page which addresses diet.

I've wondered the same thing. I've been reading up (I just joined) and it seems like the only thing I'm missing is greens. I do feed her vegetables (carrots, zucchini, sqash, etc) but she's only been receptive to veggies for about the past year. For the past few months I've noticed her "shedding," something she'd never done before (at least not enough for me to notice) and somebody told me that meant she was growing--does that sound right?

From what I understand, turtles are solitary animals, and many can get territorial and can even injure each other. If you are going to get the 2nd one, keep them in separate tanks.

Hope this will help: www.redearslider.com/cohabitation.html

Can you provide more info about the size? At 3", you won't be able to positively judge the sex. And at 3"/4 years, it is very small to be a normal RES.

Thanks--that was really helpful. I really don't know why she (or apparently potentially he) is still so small. I took her 4 years ago when my neighbor bought her on a whim and decided she didnt want to take care of her. So basically the way I've been taking care of her is based on random things I've found on the internet. She has grown a little since I got her, but she is still only 3" long. I always thought that since they lived so long they must just grow really slowly. But, apparently, that's wrong and she's abnormally small. As far as I know, she's a normal RES. She has the same markings as the ones in the pictures I've seen.

Considering that there may be health problems involved, it's better not to introduce another turtle in your setup.

Do you think I should take her to a vet and have her looked at?

If YOU suspect that there is something wrong with your turt, take him to to a good herp vet......even if it turns out to be nothing, at least you can get a connection with someone who can give you solid guidance on turt care......

RESowner34 wrote:This won't work unless some supernatural power intervenes. The female will be territorial and the male will want to breed, and the female probably won't be receptive. I've never heard of a method of keeping them in the same tank withouth them breeding, and neutering/spaying of turtles is uncommon.

Your 4 year old turtle is only 3 inches long? That seems awkward, are you feeding her correctly? I suggest you read the stickies under feeding or nutrition or RES Basic care at the top of the page which addresses diet.

Heh the first part brought a smile to my face, but anyways I belive that your turts will get really agressive cause i was watching the turtles in the petshop and some of them where biting the other ones ( It was a big bath tub with like 6 or 7 small little res's in it)

I would suggest just keeping the turt you have & not adding another one. More than one is a HUGE responsibility & they will need their own aquariums to keep them from fighting with each other (I went thru this and both my turtles suffered injuries from the constant fighting....plus the female was laying eggs 3 times/year which gets to be a MAJOR hassle.....trust me, DON't DO IT!!!!). Turtles really don't need other turtles as "friends." They get along just fine without a buddy.

Ok, thanks for the advice--I think you're right--I'm starting to figure out I haven't even been taking adequate care of the turtle I already have.