Habitat - Indoor :: HELP, turtles have started fighting :-(

[neil20055]

i have 2 RES, nearly 3 years old. They have got on fine up until now but the bigger one Gepeto keeps biting Terrys tail and chasing him round the tank. Thankfully he hasnt caused any serious harm yet so im not sure if they are just playing. Theyre tanks pretty big but i cant afford another tank to seperate them. What can I do, id hate to have to get rid of one of them and woudnt even know where would take one. I am in the UK by the way

[Rubicon]

Peice of plexi down the center could be a temp fix.

[Raphulk]

put more fake plants in

you're either going to have to get separate tanks or give one away if you really want to fix the problem

[seanwb]

How big is the tank? How big are the RES? (or as you are in the UK should I call them Red Eared Terrapins?)

[untsmurf]

If your tank is large enough, I'd suggest placing a divider down the center and providing two different basking areas.

also, make sure you are feeding them separately, that should help minimize the aggression.

Unfortunately, now that you've seen the first signs of aggression, the likely hood of them stopping is very slim.

[neil20055]

the tank is approx 1m long (40") 0.4m wide (16") so not massive put pretty big. Not big enough to put a divider down the centre tho. Its the biggest tank i can fit in my house unless I put them down in the cellar. They have got on so well up till now as well.

[seanwb]

You do not say how big your RES, but assuming your tank is 18" high, it is only big enough for one 5" RES. A wise move may be putting one in a bigger in the cellar (the biggest) and keeping the smallest where it is now.

If it is going in the cellar and appearances are not as important, a stock tank can be a very cheap solution.

[bradmeisel]

The same kind of thing happened to me. I would suggest separating them with eggcrate. Here's the link that might help you decide.

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... highlight=

good luck.

[pickerbp22]

i assume they are not that small. so you really should get a bigger tank. and if you have to seperate them you should get two bigger tanks. turtles are expensive

[neil20055]

the good news id they seem to have stopped fighting. I hope it stays that way or else I will have to get rid of one of them just as well because I definatley cant afford another tank right now.

[SpenceMasta]

the bad news, since you're just hoping they're not gonna fight even though they started, you wont have to get rid of one of them cause most likely one is going to kill the other

[grem89]

Spencmasta

Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 3:35 pm
the bad news, since you're just hoping they're not gonna fight even though they started, you wont have to get rid of one of them cause most likely one is going to kill the other

Have you had a turtle kill another turtle? Yeah they can get aggressive but i haven't heard of anyones turtle getting killed from another.


Neil,
I know many petstores will take adoptions sometimes if you cant care for both your turts. Even the petco and petsmart near me will adopt a turtle and then re adopt it out or sell it at a low price (technically they call it a donation)

[SpenceMasta]

Spencmasta

Have you had a turtle kill another turtle? Yeah they can get aggressive but i haven't heard of anyones turtle getting killed from another.

yes turtles do kill other turtles, someone i know who didnt listen to my advice had two 3 inch long turtles, and fighting already began, then he came home to find one turtle with its toes bitten off and its eye ball damaged and bleeding, it was floating and still being nipped at and eventually died from being weak to begin with, so yes turtles can cause enough damage that results in death

[mackadocious]

neil--i got rid of one of my two turts about 6 months ago b/c of fighting...the aggression was one sided and started b/c patsy developed a wound from an escape and hank would bite at the wound....it didn't stop even after i moved them into their new home that was 3x the original one....patsy developed another wound on her leg from the biting (superficial) and i separated them for 6 months to allow healing and hope the aggression would then stop...6 months later they were back together and fine for 3-4 months then it started again....same side of her butt which i found interesting....6 months later you can still see where she was injured...i wouldn't worry bout the bites themselves killing but potential infections b/c of open wounds, and of course very stressful for patsy...anyway, i would investigate where you would re-home one now, cause it does take time (took me 2 months) and good luck

[bradmeisel]

I have read many posts of turtles that were not separated with fatal results. It is very very common. Don't think it won't happen because it is just a matter of time.