General Care Discussion :: trouble in paradise?

[scriabin]

Just now Terra was at the surface looking out the glass at me, and Althea swam up underneath her, stuck her head into Terra's shell near the rear leg, and appeared to be biting her - they seemed to thrash around a bit and I instinctively reached in and pulled them apart. Now I wish I'd waited a moment longer to get a better idea of what was happening.

They've been shedding a good bit so part of me wants to believe Althea was just nipping at shed skin in a friendly way. Does that sound crazy? If they start to get nasty with each other I'm going to have to give one of them up for adoption - I don't begin to have room for a second setup.

What does everybody think?

Thanks,

Jonathan

[Daniel3507]

sounds like they are starting to fight

[TupacTheTurle]

alot of this seems to be happening lately...maybe the turtles are getting more territorial because of the change in season....?

[SpotsMama]

they're starting to fight. Best separate them right away until you decide how to deal with the situation permanently. I wouldn't wait for a serious injury. If you saw what looking like biting followed by thrashing about, then your first instincts were most likely right - it was a bite.

You can get a nice big rubbermaid tub for little expense (my 50 gallon one was about $17 at Lowes) and it would make a good temporary home for a turtle. Just be sure the basics are covered - temperature, basking spot, cleanliness, no way to escape. I've heard that the tubs sometimes split under the weight of a lot of water, so inspect it regularly for cracks/splits.

If some of us are pretty quick to advise separation at the first sign of aggression, it's because we've seen too many sad threads where one turtle has killed or seriously injured the other. It can happen very fast, even with turtles that have lived together peacefully for a long time.