redearslider.com

i recently rescued 2 turtles from a friend, i knew nothing about turtles before i got them so did a lot of reading on the net.
at first i thought they where both RES but then noticed no red behind the ear!, but now i think one is a yellow bellied slider and the other possibly a map turtle
before i got them they were in a tiny 30 litre tank with a tiny floating basking dock and a small filter, had no UVB light and an old flourescent heat lamp. i spent every spare penny i could get and managed to get a 60 litre tank, which i know is still way too small but its all i can afford right now and i am saving for a BIG tank, to give them more space i made an atba and equipped it with a 5.0 UVB light and a 60W basking heat lamp and have ordered a new filter for the tank, pleased to say they both love the basking area and took just 1 day for them to be basking on the new atba, they seem very healthy and active during the day and i think they already recognize me (had them 1 week now)
could someone please confirm what breed they are from the pics i supplied below

this is what i believe to be the yellow bellied slider, its about 3 or 4 inches long across the shell



these 2 pics are what i think may be a map turtle, its roughly 6 inches in length
the first pic is of today , the 2nd pic is from the day after i got them

first is a YBS i think
and second is a Mississippi map

thanks, they seem to get on fine, the ybs will sometimes sit on the maps back when basking but they do snap a little at feeding times

I thought a yellow bellied slider had the yellow "s" near its ear mark?

I can post these on another forum i frequent and see what they come up with for you.

yeah that would be great, how can i tell the sex of both turtles?

Both females, and the second one is a False Map, not a Mississippi.

Here's a link to the thread i've created for you in case you wanted to see what was said

http://www.turtleforum.com/forum/upload ... pic=134820

Your first turtle is female based on that picture you posted. It's tail is definitely female as the cloaca is about even with the shell mark and its front claws are the same length as the rear ones.

The second turtle I can't tell from that picture, i'd need a better picture of its tail to tell.

Also if they are nipping at eachother while feeding you might want to feed them in separate containers just to stop any aggression.

1st turtle is Cumberland Slider...identified by the yellow ears

2nd turtle is a False Map...identified by the hockey stick markings on the head

thanks to all who helped identify them,
just one other thing, do they look healthy?

They look healthy to me

Overall, they look very good though the shells could be a little smoother.

how can i improve the shells?

Their shells will improve over time with proper diet and uv lights for basking. Overall they don't look that bad, actually a set of pretty nice turtles in my opinion.

Could you get another picture of your map turtles tail, kinda just hanging down. In the first picture you posted of it it makes it look male, but the second it looks female. I'm still curious to see what it actually is