General Care Discussion :: Lonely RES

[sillyleisl]

I'm new to non-fuzzy animals so I know nothing. LOL! I have one RES in an outdoor pond (less than 50 gallons). Should I get him another RES or fish or something to keep him company? Maybe a toy or something? He likes to look for me ans swims to me whenever he sees me. He's cute and has so much personality which I must confess I didn't know they had!

[Tenodera]

Oh he doesn't need another turtle. Getting another turtle will mean spending more money on a another setup if they start to fight. Sure, you can get fish, but it will probably get eaten. Just don't put goldfish with him.

[sillyleisl]

So, they don't get bored or anything? Someone suggested getting a catfish to help keep the pond clean. Would that be OK?

[myrtle1123]

I feel guilty that I don't take Myrtle out enough when even I go into the room she always swims back and forth along the glass! I feel sad when I'm just in there for a sec and have to leave! I just don't have enough time to take her out everyday! Does she get bored? Sorry for re asking the question on this post but I need to know as well! Sorry Sillylesl I don't have any answers for you!

[urbancleopatra]

You could do things like putting a ping pong ball in there for her to play with. Or creating a little current with the filter output for her to swim against. Maybe a couple of fake plants and a few hiding places.

[steve]

I agree with urbancleopatra, make the habitat more interesting! Another turtle can lead to harassment and aggression (could you support 2 separate setups?) and most fish would either be eaten or ignored.

[Kayra33]

That's a neat idea with the ping pong ball!! I'll have to give that a try with Brooksie. I wish that I could put a couple of fake plants but she destroys everything and with the fake plants and decorations she picks up and rams them into the side of the tank I think that she moves the real plants too b/c they never stay in the same spot that I put them.

[cleopold]

I bought two turtles thinking they would keep each other company. Their cohabitation ended after one of my turtles started biting the other. When they were living together, they didn't seem to care about each other much. The only interaction I ever saw (other than the biting) was they'd step on each other sometimes.

[sillyleisl]

The only interaction I ever saw (other than the biting) was they'd step on each other sometimes.

LOL!

Well, I don't think I'd want to have two separate turtle habitats. Keeping up with one outdoor one is hard enough!

I like the ping pong ball idea. At least it's something that would stimulate her. One time I got her some live fish and she was zooming around the tank like crazy trying to catch them. But the other two times I've done it, she's left a couple. I feel bad for the fish because they come from a nice clean indoor aquarium to an outdoor pond.

[DavidY]

You can get some Rosy Red Minnows from a pet store and put them in with her. If you have enough live plants in the pond for them to hide in they should survive ok. Also the plants are good for the turtle's diet. Another idea is to put a fountain or waterfall on your pond. Turtle's like to play in the water current and the bubbles.

Emily, have you tried putting an air stone in with your turtle? Several people here have mentioned how their turtles seem to enjoy swimming in the bubbles.

[sillyleisl]

The Koi fish place sold me some flag fish that he said would help eat any insect larvae. I'll look for some Minnows for her too. I've got to go get some more plants anyways because she devoured the first batch faster than expected! I did notice the she absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED sitting in front of the submerged pump before. But then my bf put it in a homemade filter box because the pump kept getting clogged so now it gets diverted thru a tube and spits out over the pond for agitation. She seemed to like it better the other way though. I think I'll be redoing the filtration system anyways soon so she can have her toy back.

[Kayra33]

Brooksie eats my airstones and bubblers but she just likes to destroy things. I keep replacing them hoping that she will let them stay and get used to them. I opt to not have anything live only b/c of parasites and also when Brooks ate the fish it was a bigger mess to clean up b/c she seemed to enjoy decapitating some of them just for fun. I just buy a fish net to clean all of the crap on the bottom, it seems to get all the nasty stuff and it's cheap.

[myrtle1123]

Emily, have you tried putting an air stone in with your turtle? Several people here have mentioned how their turtles seem to enjoy swimming in the bubbles.

air stone..? I think I have one of those it kinda hisses and bubbles it doesnt last very long though. I never really knew what it was .. thanks I will go put it in and see if she likes it!!

[Safdar]

My filter makes bubbles =D

[sillyleisl]

I have a feeling my turtle will love bubbles.