Other Turtle Discussion :: I need a RES slider education- Q's about socialization

[minmn]

Two female red eared slider females (D.O.B. 2002) arrived at our Humane Society this week. I take the photos and do the write-ups on the pets that are available for adoption. After 2+ hours searching and reading on the Internet, I still have some questions.

a. do the turtles like living alone, or are they social creatures and live in pairs or 'families' ?
b. if they have been living together all this time and a person wants to adopt only one turtle, do the separated turtles get depressed after not finding their companion?
c. do turtles recognize their care giver/owner? Respond to them?
d. do turtles play with anything? Do they need mental stimulation?
e. do turtles seek out contact with their owner, when taken out of their water and allowed to run around?
f. do turtles respond to voices or music?
g. how do you know if a turtle is bored?

Thank you

[steve]

Their personalities will vary, so some of these are based on personal opinion/experience. Welcome to the site.

a. Alone is fine. They might become accustomed to other tank inhabitants, but they are generally not social unless mating. They also like to bask together, though I think it's because they feel safer that way.

b. I don't think they will become depressed. As I mentioned in "a", they might become accustomed to other tank inhabitants.

c. Yes, to a very limited extent.

d. People have previously mentioned that their RES like to: play in bubbles from an air stone/wand, be pushed by a filter outlet, repeatedly dive off their basking platform, rearrange/push around river rock in tanks. I think they like to explore, so they may be curious about certain things but only for a limited time.

e. Varies on individual turtle personality. They won't seek them out, for example if they escaped from an outdoor enclosure.

f. Not directly that I know of. They can sense vibrations very well.

g. You don't, just like you don't know if they need your interaction. Give them a large tank, let them have room to swim and zoom around in.

[minmn]

Thank you for your kind reply

[Nadine]

a/b) I learned the hard way that turtles aren't sociable creatures. I had 2 RES living in a tank that may have been a bit small for both of them, but not bad, and ended up having to give one away when they got to be adults because they were constantly attacking each other. It was heartbreaking to let one go, but even more heartbreaking to see them hurting each other, so I definitely wouldn't suggest adopting turtles together. The one that I kept seemed much more calm, happy and relaxed when they were separated and they lived together for like 8 years, so no depression for sure.

c/e) my turtle is very sociable, he doesn't like coming out of his tank, but will come up to the glass and "say hello" when I have guests over, and always greets me in the morning with splashing around and pawing at the glass (I pretend he is being friendly, but I know he really is just begging for food :p). He will also follow my finger across the glass, and seems to respond to my presence more than other people's, although that being said, I don't think he would care at all if I suddenly went missing as long as food kept appearing.

d/g) I am not sure if my turtle gets bored at all, I have heard that they like pushing shells around their tank. Mine likes to pile up all of the rocks in his tank on one side, bites at cuttle bone, and goes nuts sliding on and off his basking area whenever I change things up in his tank or clean it. He also loves climbing stuff (oddly enough he constantly tried to climb the stairs in my old house when I was cleaning his tank and set him on the floor), and seems to like looking out of the glass to see what is happening when people walk by his tank. You can't really put stuff in the tank that could be knocked over or wrecked in any way because turtles tend to be fairly destructive, breaking and eating anything that they can get their little mouths on.

f) I have heard that turtles don't have very good hearing. They don't actually have ear holes, though they can hear low sounds and vibrations. I am no expert about that, just what I have heard.