Habitat - Indoor :: A question about RES (Cohabitation w/ other Species?)

[TurtleMomma]

I am new to the RES thing, we just got our little guy/girl a couple months ago--he/she is doing fantastic! Eats like a little piggy, and is very active. So, I am not concerned about that...
I know that he's fine on his own, and having him alone isnt 'being mean', so I am fine there, too.

I wanted to get another turtle, and I read somewhere (on another online site) that RES are more 'semi-aquatic', meaning that they spend time in the water, and spend a good amount of time on land, as well.
I have him set up (temporarily, until we buy our own house/he gets too big) in a 10gal tank. He is teeny tiny right now, so he ahs tons of room...he swims around and seems very happy. He swims up to us when we come anywhere near his tank, so he isnt skiddish at all. WHich, I would think, is a good sign, correct?

Anyway, I wanted to ask (and please don't think me stupid for asking this ), but could our little RES be safely enclosed with a Box Turtle
I read that Boxies like to get into water (shallow) as well.
The one we would be getting would be tiny like our RES, as they hatched at approx the same time--maybe a week or so apart. The same pet store guy has/had them.

Here was my idea: (Please dont cuss me for thinking about it, if its completely assinine )
I was going to get a large Rubbermaid container (this site said was a good tank alternative) and have a smaller container inside of that one, on one end, for the water to go in. Then, the rest of the tank would be the land area.

I am perfectly fine for having two separate enclosures, but I just had a flighty thought to see if anyone thought that this might work out.

Thank you,

[aal]

They can be housed together, but with a slight risk of fighting. If you provide ample space it should be good. How bout in the rubbermaid, you fix a wall to divide the water from land. RES require swimmng space, keep the water at about 5 inches high so you won't need to make ammends in the future. In the other half, fill it with sand, non-fertilised soil and dead dry leaves. I'm no expert with box turtles so thats it. Don't feel ashamed to ask questions
But yeah don't put a box. Divide with a wall instead (find a way to do that). Make the environment as natural as possible. Plant a small plant in the sand/soil mixture for a really natural environment. All should go well.

[Diamondbacks4Life]

That is somthing you would need to do outside. Res are not considered semi aquatic. They are fully aquatic. Semi aquatic turtles are wood turtles,spotted turtles, bog turtles and a couple others. They can eat in and out of the water and spend a month or more on land wondering around without water. A red eared slider cannot eat outside of water and cannot go months without water.

Sorry but like i said to make that work you need a huge habitat outside.

[TurtleMomma]

I ended up not getting the box turtle...they
re very hard to care for, and much more expensive to get...I am smart, I figure if I cant 'afford' to even buy the turtle, then I cant afford to keep one! Besides, I am really fond of our little RES!

[Linus]

I completly understand why you want another turtle. They're addicting.

Box turtles and RES would work outside. You would need a large 100+G pond with a very gradual slope that eventually got deep 1'+.

Im worried about your first turtle right now. You stated that Box turtles are expensive, but they can be bought for $39. http://market.kingsnake.com/detail.php?cat=39&de=736589

So what i'm worried about is that your RES is in a 10G tank. It will soon outgrow that tank and need a larger one. This new tank is going to cost way more that $39. $100's probably.

Anyway, I would recommend getting a larger tank before a new turtle.

For instance, if you wanted an RES, they need at least 125G when full grown. You could add another turtle, but imagine how big the aquarium or stock tank would be.

If you still really want another turtle. I would recomend looking outside the "slider" category. Map(males at least) and painted turtles all stay smaller than slider and could be housed together.