General Care Discussion :: old turtle keeps biting baby turtle

[Pugness]

we have an older RES hes 2.5 yrs old and we got two new baby RES' but the older one keeps biting one of the smaller ones. And one of the smaller ones is really small and for some reason its neck doesnt come out that far and it likes to keep its limbs inside its shell. on top of that it just basks it had a hard time getting on the log for basing when we put it in the water looked like it was weak or something.

They are in a 20 gallon tank but the big one is going away soon. Were going to buy a 55 gallo next week but for now its all we have. I used to have one water heater and now I have two to see if it will help the turtle be a little more playful if you will. Im not sure if its sick or whatnot. And we have a water filter designed for 40 gallon tanks.

thanks you all is appreciated.

[TinySlider2]

Maybe the older turtle has already hurt the little one or maybe its sick. What is your water temp? Do you have a UVA and UVB light?

[Pugness]

well i took a closer look at the turtle and the shell looks like it has dents in it and as for the water temperature i cant find the thermometer right now but the two water heaters are set at 78 degrees and as for the light its a 50 watt UVA spot lamp.

[TinySlider2]

You will also need a UVB light. UVB is what they would get from natural sun light. (someone correct me if I'm wrong). I really don't know what to tell you about the dents. I'm sorry I have not been much help. But I know someone will be along shortly that can help you, better than I can.

[sonyj]

It's never a good idea to put smaller turtles in with older/larger turtles. This is what usually happens. There have been posts on here of injury to the younger turtles to the extent of death because of putting turtles of different sizes together. Please separate them immediately. They will each need their own space. It sounds like either the smaller one is already very injured or traumatized by this.

[marisa]

The babies sound like they're really stressed. They should be in their own set-up until they're of comparable size to the larger one before they're put together (and then you'll need a really big enclosure).

You said the larger turtle is going away soon--where is the larger turtle going?

[Pugness]

The larger turtle is going back to my brothers girlfriends dorm. Im taking the little ones with me on base.