Habitat - Indoor :: The New Guy on the Site

[Care4Turtles]

Hi I'm Katie and I'm new here. I only own one turtle, a RES who goes by the name Chomp. To start off I have a couple of questions....

Since chomp is almost a year old I have been keeping him in a small tank by himself. However this summer my friend has offered to give me his two older RES ,they are not much older than Chomp, so I was thinking of housing them together.

Is this a good idea?

If so, I was thinking of putting them in a large rubbermaid tub. Where can I find a rubbermaid tub which is semi-deep but really long?

Thanks much appreciated!


Oh and one more thing..the new comers don't have any names..any suggestions?

[BullDog]

Generally, it's a BAD idea to keep multiple RES together. RES are notoriously aggressive, and can serious injure or kill another turtle.

If you still decide to keep them together, you need to put the new RES in a quarantine for at least 90 days. RES are good at hiding illness, so even if they seem fine, they could be seriously ill.

For 3 RES that are about a year old, they're probably about 4" each. That means you're looking at a 120 gallon tank (4" x 3 turtles x 10 gallons/inch). You won't find a storage container that large, but you should be able to find a stock tank. These are big plastic containers meant to hold water, and you should be able to find them at a farm or tractor supply shop.

Also keep in mind, that when they're fully grown, you're looking at about 300 gallons total of water. If they don't get along, you'll need three complete setups. Just something to consider perhaps before you take in your friend's RES

[pickerbp22]

honestly it all depends on the turtle i have 2 res and one western painted and they get along fine and they are in a 100 gallon tank. sometimes they are very agressive sometimes they are not. it depends on the turtles individual personality

[pickerbp22]

in fact they are all cuddling on the basking area now

[Chrisbarnett]

Nah. that's a bad idea.

That's not an offer... that's an undertaking.

[pickerbp22]

so your saying every single res is aggressive and one will wind up killing the other eventually?

[BullDog]

so your saying every single res is aggressive and one will wind up killing the other eventually?

No, but RES that get along are the exception, not the norm. Some people have better luck if the RES are raised from hatchlings together, but even that's not a sure thing.

[pickerbp22]

yea basically some get along and some dont

[Rubicon]

I'll take your western painted if your RES get aggressive.

[pickerbp22]

lol we'll see we'll see

[joeybsmooth]

Lost of people say don't put them with each other , and as yo can see other people say that you can keep them together . Most things people agree on here , but that is not one of them .

Personally I think that need other turtle, I know it is just transference but still . If you lived in a black that you can use a big rubbermaid are stock tank and really wanted on I would try. But just keep an eye out .

[untsmurf]

yea basically some get along and some dont

Actually, what we're trying to say is most RES do not get along with other turtles and few do.

There are several factors involved with housing turtles together. You need to make sure you have adequate space for swimming, hiding, basking, etc. You need to feed them in separate containers to ensure each turtle is getting fed properly. You need to have a constant eye out for any signs of aggression. And, often times, it helps when adding a new turtle to introduce both the turtles to a new environment. Basically, that means get a larger tank for both the turtles and introduce both of them at the same time so that the established turtle's feelings of territoriality will be lessened. The other thing you have to worry about as your turtles age is their sex. If your turtles are both male, the chances of aggression are higher than if they're both female (two females would require a much larger tank though). And if you wind up with a male and a female then you should separate them to avoid breeding.

[pickerbp22]

unless you want them to breed! right?! i see what your sayin though.