Re: red ear slider and catfish 10/16/07
I want to thank-you for your response.
<You're welcome! We all truly enjoy helping>
Since sending you my letter, I did some MORE online reading and realized (and how obvious) how beneficial it is to feed your RES outside of it's tank in another container.
<You'll read many different opinions on this. On one hand it's a nice way to keep the tank clean, on the other if feeding becomes a hygiene issue in the main tank it means that you're over feeding her and how soon the tank needs cleaning is a good indicator of how well she's being kept.>
I decided to do this every evening when I get home from work now. Speedy goes in a special bowl for a private swim and dinner. She loves it! (I think she is a she the bottom of her shell is caved in) Also, now, since I started this Speedy has become more active in her regular tank.
<All sounds well!>
Another question I now have is that she seems to REALLY like a picture of other RES on a box from her floating dock. Is this a good thing for her? I have heard in the past that sometimes this isn't good for birds because then they get depressed realizing it's not real. Could this be true for turtles as well? If not then do you suppose it would be ok to put up more pictures?
<Turtles don't get depressed that way, so I don't think that will be an issue. As far as more pictures are concerned keep in mind that Speedy would be most 'at home' in a tank that was like her natural home>
As far as the catfish goes I have not relocated it yet, however, since Speedy has been getting some "free time" in her special bowl she now swims right along w/ that catfish and she is sooooo.... very attentive to anything that moves. Even the cat watching her! (of course I have a secure lid on things)
<As long as Speedy and Doinkus (I just made up a name for the catfish) are happy and you're happy, then all is good>
Thank-you again for your input! I think I might be at a turtle owning point now that a discussion board might be good for me!
<There are many good ones to choose from -- a surprisingly common hobby>
My sons birthday gift has turned into a new love for myself! Who ever would have thought!
<A lot of us think that! http://www.lantera.com/wwm/ >
<best wishes to you and ... keep in touch>
<Darrel>

Baby Map Turtle and Juvenile RES in Same Tank?   8/23/07
Hello?
<Hello?>
We have juvenile RES (about 1 ½ yrs) in a tank. We have purchased a Mississippi Map turtle that is a baby and would like to put them in the same tank. Do you think this would be a problem? The RES is about 5 inches from the top to bottom of shell and the Map turtle is about 2 inches.
Thanks!
Hope
<It is generally recommended that you don't mix species for a number of reasons. One big difference between them is that the Mississippi Map turtle (Graptemys sp.) is much more aquatic than the Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) and consequently much more sensitive to poor water quality. Things that don't really bother Sliders, such as small mounts of ammonia in the water, can prove fatal to Map turtles by promoting bacterial infections. So you need to make sure the water in its vivarium is very well filtered and changed regularly (I'd suggest 100% weekly). Your other big problem is that the two species have entirely different diets. Sliders are omnivores when young and almost entirely herbivores when adult, so juveniles need 50% green foods when young to 90% green foods when mature. Map turtles, on the other hand, are specialist predators that feed on snails, crayfish etc. Finally, there are differences in temperament. Map turtles are pretty snappy, while Sliders are more laid back. If you have a really big vivarium you might choose to give it a go anyway and see what happens, but otherwise best keep them separated. Good luck, Neale>

Question... Can two fire belly toads and a red eared slider turtle live together in the same aquarium?  8/10/07
I think the tank is 20gals and is a terrarium. we have a filter, heater and a filter/water circulator. I have had some bad experience with previous turtles and don't want the same to happen. A few years ago two of my turtles that I had for approximately 2 years were eaten by a craw fish that was supposed to be a treat for my painted turtles. the crawfish was living under a rock eating the turtles fish and other food sources for a couple months, ate one turtle then a few days later the other. It was a big surprise when I drained the tank and found a crawfish about three times the size it was when we bought it. Especially since I thought it was already eaten because I didn't see it for two months. Anyway if I put the two toads in the same tank as the turtle which is about 2 and a half inches will they stay away from each other and be able to live healthy? I know the kinds of environments they both need and am just wondering about having a variety of species living together. Is there any species that can coexist with a red eared slider?
<Greetings. No, you must not mix frogs/toads with your sliders or for that matter crayfish. Sliders are largely herbivores and 75%+ of their diet should be plant food, particularly when they are adult. But that doesn't mean they aren't opportunists, and in the confines of an aquarium they will catch and eat anything. Even if they don't manage to kill the toads, their nipping are likely to damage them and let fungus or some other infection set in. Furthermore, your terrapins are very messy animals and pollute the water heavily; the toads, by contrast, are largely aquatic and require good, clean water. Bottom line, you can't mix them. Now, you're mentioning feeder fish, and I'm just going to remind you that [a] sliders don't need to eat live fish; [b] live goldfish and minnows especially are a source of thiaminase, a substance known to harm reptiles in the long term; and [c] your terrapins should be mostly eating greens anyway. I mention all of this because of your story with the crayfish; if I'm feeling charitable I'd suggest you hadn't done your homework on how to keep terrapins in captivity. Crayfish don't mix with anything, period. Not even each other. Terrapins and turtles cannot be mixed with anything but other terrapins and turtles of comparable size. Please understand a red-ear slider get to the size of a dinner plate, so before adding "tankmates", consider whether you have space enough already for the ones you have. Realistically, you're after something around 55 gallons for one or two specimens. So, be sure and read the articles here at WWM about keeping red-ear sliders; there are several of them, all good, and brim full of useful information. Cheers, Neale

Red Eared Slider and a Fiddler Crab  8/2/07
Can a small fiddler crab survive in the same tank as a small red eared slider. We purchased the fiddler crab today and wanted to know if they would both survive in the same tank before we try to combine them.
Thanks in advance for any knowledge you may lend us.
Sonia
<Hello Sonia. No, fiddlers and red ear sliders cannot coexist. Fiddler crabs require brackish water conditions to live for any length of time. In freshwater vivaria, they die after a few weeks or months. They need something like 25-50% seawater to do well (SG 1.005-1.010), and that water needs to be made up with marine salt mix, not "tonic salt". Too many people try to keep them in freshwater set-ups, and they're disappointed when they die. If you want companions for fiddler crabs, the best choices are salt-tolerant or brackish water fishes that are too small to cause them harm. Guppies and mollies are ideal, but small gobies work well, too. Fiddler crabs are sometimes mixed with mudskippers, though this tends to have inconsistent results, the mudskippers sometimes bullying the poor crabs. Red ear sliders are sometimes found in (low salinity) brackish water in the wild, but like many opportunistically brackish water reptiles they will regularly make use of freshwater for drinking and so cannot be safely confined to a brackish water vivarium unless there way, perhaps, a brackish water pool at one end and a freshwater pool at the other. Bottom line, no, you can't mix them. Please do enjoy your fiddler crab in its own vivarium. Kept in groups they are lively and fun animals. Not difficult to keep, though many people mess up by not giving them the conditions or food they require. Cheers, Neale.>

Slider and Cichlid together – 07/26/07
Help Please!!!!!!!!!!
<That's what we do here!>
I have a Red Ear Slider named Dave. He's been alone in a 25 gallon tank for 2 1/2 yrs. I have never put anything else in there with him, until now and except the little feeder fish he eats.
<Turtles do well in groups, but they seem perfectly happy to be alone as well.>
I recently purchased a Red Devil, without knowing it's history.
<We here at WWM are assuming that you mean a Red Devil Cichlid Fish (Cichlasoma labiatus) as opposed to something else, right?>
She's very aggressive, do you think she'll survive? Or will Dave eat her? Or I fear she'll eat him!!!!! What do you think????????
<Well first, I think you should conserve on the use of multiple exclamation points and question marks. You never know when there will be a shortage of punctuation and you'll wish you hadn't wasted them.>
<Seriously, it's best not to try to keep fish and turtles together because their needs are quite different. While fish can be part of a turtle's diet, they are so BAD at catching fish that it's almost comical. I tossed some feeder goldfish into my outside turtle pond 8 years ago and they've grown to be almost the size of small Koi and on the rare occasions that the turtles try to catch them, they scoot away without even seeming concerned.>
<In your case, if it came down to it, I'd bet on Dave. Turtles are tough little guys when it comes down to it. My main concern is to see that Dave is so well fed that he just can't be bothered going after Victoria (You didn't tell us your Red Devil's name - so I just made that up). The same goes for her. If she's otherwise well fed and well cared for, she'll probably just think of Dave as an annoyance and nothing more.>
<With that said, Diana, wild things are wild things and when you keep them together you'll always run the risk of something unexpected happening.>
Thank You
<I hope that helped. Here's a link for you to read -- the first paragraph applies.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/RESCareBarton.htm>
Diana
<Darrel>

Good Plant - bad pun, turtles eat plants...   7/13/07
Dear Crew,
<HYA Susan (The pun will become evident in a second here)>
My red eared slider is eating my water Hyacinth.
<Get it? HYAcinth?>
I feed him pellets and fresh fruit daily.
Am I using the wrong plants in my pond??
Thanks, Susan
<Not at all, Susan -- they love to eat the Hyacinth the same as Koi do. It's a problem for keeping the plants though. I finally gave up and made a small pond adjoining my waterfall so I could have these beautiful plants ... but it's not unhealthy for the slider in any way.>
<regards, Darrel>

Mixing turtles 6-29-07
Hello, Crew
<Hello Pat -- Darrel here today>
I have owned Box turtles for at least 6 years now. I have added 3 Red Eared Sliders to the large outdoor pen. So far so good, they all get along fine. Should I be expecting some change?
<Not really. I have a large pen that's half pond & half land and I keep my water turtles, box turtles and Russian Tortoise together without problems. Two things to keep in mind (1) Their dietary issues are very different and (2) even though the SPECIES are compatible, that doesn't always mean that individuals are -- many years ago I have a big, belligerent male box turtle that tried to attack and kill all the other MALE turtles (Box and water turtles alike) so keep in mind that these are, after all, wild animals and strange things happen>
I also have a 20-gallon tank which holds 1 Red Eared Slider and 1 Box. They are both a couple months old. I put them together this morning. Was this a good choice
<Not really a good choice, no. At this point the Slider is primarily aquatic and needs just a basking area, while the baby box is terrestrial and needs room to roam. The footprint of a 20 gallon tank would be the minimum size of a small box turtle's roaming area.>
and what do I feed them? The Red Eared Slider eats feeder fish and the Box eats banana right now. Should I change their diet?
<Yes. Please do. The Red Eared Slider (actually, ALL of your sliders big and small) needs a good basic food such as Koi Pellets or Repto-Min (by Tetra) with an occasional treat of night crawler (earth worms) -- All three available at your local pet shop. Feeder fish are not nearly as much of their natural diet as you think and aren't really all that good for them. The BOX Turtle, on the other hand, needs a VERY mixed diet. Bananas aren't a good source of nutrition and they can very easily fixate on only one food (like Strawberries or Bananas) to the exclusion of all else and then you have a real problem. Strawberries, Bananas, melon, collards, carrots, green peas should be offered either in mixture or in rotation and then .. as a REAL TREAT ... some of the same night crawlers you feed the Sliders.>

Regarding some turtle question, RES fdg., comp.   – 5/13/07
Dear crew, I have several questions and I hope you can help me.
Recently I tried feeding my red ear slider with new food, dried Red Shrimps, or at least that's what the bottle said. Anyway, after I fed the turtle with it , it appears that it refuse to eat the usual turtle pellets. My turtle will only eat those pellets if I haven't fed them for some period. If I throw in some shrimps , they ignore the pellets, is it normal ?
< Your turtles are actually quite fond of the shrimp. It is in their best interest to feed them the pellets first. As they start to slow down you can add a couple of shrimp. An all shrimp diet is not good for your turtles overall health.>
Could I introduce a new turtle or different species to my turtle? Is there anyway I could do it safely , assuming their size varies greatly?
Thanks for ur time and reply
< I would recommend one turtle per container. RES's are very aggressive turtles and see other turtles as competition. Smaller weaker turtles would be hiding from the established turtle and not be getting enough food.-Chuck>

Comments & Questions, Turtle/RES comp.   5/15/07
Good Morning Gentlemen & Ladies
And ... as always ... many thanks.
<As many welcomes>
First a comment about Red Eared Sliders.  I've been raising them and breeding them for almost all my adult life and I can tell you that all types of sliders, cooters that you're liable to run into in the local pet store will live together famously if they have enough sun, enough food and enough clean water.  Although I wouldn't normally put hatchlings in with adults, eggs that I missed collecting have hatched out and the babies spent as long as a month with the adults with no ill effects as long as the adults are happily fed.   Heat 'em, Feed 'em & Clean em.    As far as food goes -- forget the packaged turtle foods in the cans and remember two words:  "Koi Pellets."   From hatchlings that have to take several runs at even a small one to adults that can eat a dozen in one gulp ... they'll live, thrive, grow and reproduce on that one staple.  Softshells & Mud/Musk turtles, too.  Once in a while when I'm at a pet store I'll buy a container of night crawlers (worms) and toss some around and they seem to like the treat and it rarely affects their basic appetite.  Once in a while they get finicky, but after a week or three they'll give in and eat again.  Box turtles are another story -- I've seen them 'fixate' on something like strawberries and go as long as a YEAR refusing any food at all if they can't have their favorite.
<Thank you for this input... Please do consider joining us if you have time, interest... if for nothing else to help with such captive Chelonian questions> Darrel
<Thank you for writing, sharing. Bob Fenner>

Turtle's Shell Is Bitten And Damaged – 4/13/07
Hi. I bought two red eared sliders about 2 years ago and for about the past 8 months I've had them in a pretty large tank with two fish that I got from my brother. The turtles and the fish get along fine and I've never had a problem with them so when I realized that my sister's baby turtles were not happy in their small place I volunteered to bring them to my tank for a while. Well, it was a big mistake. I left for work one day and when I returned both baby turtles had pieces of their shells bitten off. I separated them immediately, but I'm wondering what I should do to care for the turtles. I later found out that the area that was bitten off is called the bridge (between the carapace and the bottom portion of the shell). Does it hurt them? Or is it like nails, that cause no pain when they are cut off? Will it grow back? I will keep them separated from now on, but when they get bigger, can I  put them back in the tank with the other turtles?  Thank you very much for your time.
<The bigger turtles took the smaller turtles for pieces of food. Depending how deep the bites went there could be blood flow to the damaged areas. Keep the areas clean and watch for fungus. Keep the tank clean until they shed a couple of times and then the area should be healed over. It is best to keep one turtle per container. They don't get lonely and in fact view each other as competition. When the turtles get older and close to being the same size you can try to put them together but I think there will be problems.-Chuck.>