Urgent Care :: large female turtle fighting smaller male

[rlb626]

Hello, I have 2 red eared sliders that I have had for almost 4 years. One is a true red eared slider and is about 10.5 inches long, the other is a lime green slider and is about 7 inches long. I recently moved and now have the turtles in the main living area where I am always watching them. I just witnessed the female bite the little male's leg and not let go. I got really worried and started tapping on the glass but she wouldn't let him go. What should I do? They are currently in a 4.5 ft. long, 56 gallon tank. Is it just a matter of getting a bigger tank? (as of now she is fine with him and they are actually basking together, but I'm worried about it happening again). Thanks.

[steve]

Hi, it will likely mean separation through separate tanks or a divider in a larger tank. The main concern would be injuries... it can be particularly problematic if your male turtle was fanning (exposing himself) and was bitten there.

[marisa]

Just curious, what is a lime green slider?

It's possible this has been going on and you didn't see it...You could try a bigger tank---56 gallons is technically too small for even one of them. It would, however, have to be really big, and there should be plenty of objects to allow him to hide; plants to break up their sight lines would also be good. There's no guarantee that that would stop any aggression, however, and you'd be looking at dividing the tank or giving one turtle his own set-up.

[UniversityGirl]

I had the same problem. I have to RES and the bigger one bit the smaller one on the neck and actually wounded it. Well what I did, because I couldn't afford to seperate them.I started to feed them seperately in bowls and not in the tank and that helped a lot. Ours would bask together and sleep together but the bigger one still bit the little one. Try that. I'm not an expert though and just basing this on my own experience.