Habitat - Indoor :: big turtle and small turtle

[joe91ny]

hi i have two RES turtles and one of them is about 1 1/2 inch and the other is roughly around 6 inches. is it ok for them to stay in the same tank???

[SpotsMama]

Unfortunatly it is not. The big one may kill the little one.

[joe91ny]

oh.... that is not good
so its better off seperating them

[GPRenegade]

I had a similar problem and I was able to eventually overcome it... but my turtles were much more similar in size. You will need to wait until the smaller one is at LEAST 3 inches, preferably 4. When you do introduce them to eachother, do it slowly in small steps. You will want to minimalize aggression and I found that this is the best way.

[zero_tails]

i have 4.5 inches male RES and a baby and theyre just fine, the baby is one inch. depends on the turtle i guess....some turtles ve less aggresive personalities. like when my female turtle was still around, she attacked the feeder fish first...than tails..the male would come to take whats left. hes just not aggresive and they seem to be bonding well.

[GPRenegade]

Zero you have to agree that a 6 inch and 1 inch shouldnt be together. The larger turtle could kill the smaller one without even trying...

joe91ny keep them seperated for now. If you really cant seperate them and you have no choice but to keep them together... introduce them slowly and keep your eye on them as often as you can. The only person who can judge if they are truly safe or not is you... just be careful.

[zero_tails]

yea that sounds reasonable, ur turtle's size gap is wayyy too big mine was like 3 inches this is 5!

[almmaaa]

THankfully I have a big i think maybe 4 or 5 inches with two little ones and thank God they are fine, I just love watching the little ones open their mouths to eat that is my favorite thing.

[crock1120]

i don't recommend putting them in the same tank, the big one will eventually get to the little guy unfortunately

[marisa]

Keeping them in separate tanks until the smaller one is closer to the size of the larger one would be good (you'll need a very big tank/container for the two of them then).

[IggyspudsMOM]

i got mine the same day they were babys they still live in the same tank. They are now about 2 1/2 years old .. they fight .. but the bigger one tends to sleep more .

[KellyP]

I would be scared that the larger one would kill the smaller one. Even two turtles that are the same size will sometimes fight and hurt each other. I wouldnt risk it.

[pumpkinsherbet]

while it is possible for the turts to get along, it's not something i'd chance. mine have managed to stay within ½" of each other, if the difference gets bigger i'll be prepared to separate them.