Other Turtle Discussion

Hi,

I have a 2.5' RES and wanted to buy a buddy... what should I get...how about a Mississippi Map Turtle? any suggestions...

does anyone have a res and other species? :mrgreen:

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I'll give you the same advice I recently gave someone else on this forum about the same thing. There is a lure in keeping multiple turtles, but resist. There is a saying, "live simply, so that others may simply live". Let your turtle enjoy a habitat of his or her own.

-Spike

really? alone? just with the fishes ?

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Turtles bask in groups, but aside from mating, they are very solitary animals. They are also territorial and will fight with one another if too cramped. If a male and female are kept together, there could be endless harassment. Your turtle will be more than happy by itself as long as the environment and conditions are correct.

-Spike

Yeah allot of problems can occur if you have 2 males and they start to fight or a male and a female. I think keeping a female an female is the best way to go if you alrady own a female. My RES does fine in his tank alone adding buddies like fish and snails might be an option but will soon be food.
Also with an extra turtle means buying bigger tanks, bigger filters and having to do water changes more often.

If you want another turtle- then keep it in its own enclosure. Having multiple turtles in one tank always has its risks. Right now you don't even know the gender of your turtle so adding another now could mean a future problem.

Turtles don't really need tank companions as long as they have you to care for them.

I agree 100%. An extra turtle is an added expense and a danger to itself and your current turtle. Like Spike said, turtles, especially RES are solitary animals and can be extremely aggressive. If you do want a second turtle, then start saving up for a second setup before purchasing the new turtle. This way you can enjoy having multiple species but you won't be risking harming either turtle.

I speak from personal experience, we originally had two RES but our second one was killed by Mikey. Since then, Mikey has eaten every single living thing we have added to his tank. So don't add something to your RES's tank if you don't want it to get eaten.

Uhm...true.... i read about turtle bitting each others shells off and fights and separate enclosures... so, only at younger ages they get along uhm... and i dont want future problems......
any suggestions for snails and fishes then?

TartarugaVerde wrote:Uhm...true.... i read about turtle bitting each others shells off and fights and separate enclosures... so, only at younger ages they get along uhm... and i dont want future problems......
any suggestions for snails and fishes then?

There is nothing wrong with keeping several turtles together, as long as there is enough room in the tank, and you're prepared for the worse case scenario.
Before adding turtles, just make sure you have a spare enclosure ready so you can separate them in case of aggression.

Snails or fish will most likely end up being food, so never spend more than a few dollars for them.

yeah i get the .10c fish....
i have a cori catfish, a .15c goldfish, and a shinner I used as live bait when i went fishing...lol...

Spiky eats the small fishes... all other are as big as him and he does not bother a bit.... for them...

the cori catfish eats the left overs on the bottom of the tank $5bucks for Mr.Cleaner

Multiple turtles are more costly and you have to be prepared if any aggression has occured but I think if you keep them in a big enough tank where they all have PLENTY of room there shouldnt be a problem. I have 5 turtles my two oldest RES are in a tank and my two youngest RES are in another, and Samus my river cooter is in his own enclosure partly bcuz he's an adult.

I heard that if you do decided to get multiply turtles maybe you should get a map or a painted together, turtles that arent has aggressive and dominant than an RES. Good Luck!

thanks for the advice....
if i get a bigger tank... i might do that..... . . . . . .
i got some fish hahahahah my turtle ate 3 already lol

Getting a new turtle depends on how willing you are to take care of a second turtle. Not just financially, but, emotionally, too. I have three, one large RES, one small RES, and one small hybrid. So far, my little ones have gotten along fine.

People on this forum have mixed different non-slider species with sliders and have had no problems. Others have had instances where an RES still attacks or, my in opinion, tries to eat a non-slider species (in this case is was stinkpots). I have heard more stories of sliders and non-sliders getting along fine, versus them fighting.

The favorites to house with RES are any type of painted turtle, second favorite being one of the map turtles. Maps are very sensitive to their environments, and from what I have heard, Mississippi Maps get bacterial infections very easily since their tank needs to be sparkling clean.

If you do not want to house another turtle with the one you already have, then, I recommend almost any aquatic, semi-aquatic or terrestrial turtle species out there.

I do, i wanted to get a buddy to swim with spiky.... while he is still young you know...
spiky tries and does eat my finger... he bites rocks, the filter, he tried to bite everything he comes across... but he does not keep on doing it. i dont see him eating the dock station or rocks etc... he is very calm and swim a lot, slides up and from the dock all the time...

He does not care for fish.... really, he eat them if they are slow, lol but you won see him going crazy after them...

but i've been thinking and i saw a huge RE yesterday at the Lake...and if they do get this big ---uff i would have to convert my room in a habitat, lol

Other Turtle Discussion :: I want to buy another turtle, which one? I have a RES...

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