Other Turtle Discussion :: Aggressive Turtle!!!

[frankt]

Good evening guys,

I have two redear sliders they're almost 5 years old. One is significantly bigger and the smaller one has long front nails, which I believe is the male, is that correct?

Well, my issue is that in the past several months the male turtle (long front nails) has been very aggressive, always following the other turtle who's just minding her business. The turtle keeps following her and even biting her at times. I'm sure he's horny but why so aggressive? The female turtle is always swiming away and getting on the rock just to get away from him. Why is that? can anything be done?

Appreciate any advice.

[BullDog]

I'm sure the first question everyone will want to know is:
How big is their tank?
How big are they? (Shell length, head to tail, without the curve)

[frankt]

Well, they had a 30 gallon tank until about a month ago. Now they have a 55 gallon breeder tank. The smallest turtle is about 6"x4.5" and the biggest one is about 8"x6", shell length.

[steve]

Even with a 55 gallon tank, it just isn't large enough for your two RES. A larger tank (we suggest 10 gallons of tank per inch of shell) will not necessarily solve the situation. Some RES are just aggressive and you will have to consider separating them before a serious injury occurs.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Turtles like their own space & 55 gal tank is too small for those two turts. They may get along better if they are in a larger tank.

[marisa]

Since your turtles are sexually mature and the male is pestering the female, by keeping them together in a tank that's too small, life is probably becoming a living hell for the female. Males can get agressive when females rebuff their advances. With a tank that's too small, the female can't even get away or find a place to hide. With the sizes you're talking about, consider a pond or large stock tank.

[frankt]

I'm glad I opened this forum, it really opens my eyes to the space necessity of my turtles. I really appreciate everyone's input. I'm starting to think that I may only have space in my NYC apartment for one turtle. Has anyone had to go through that?

[industrial_girl_2000]

I'm glad I opened this forum, it really opens my eyes to the space necessity of my turtles. I really appreciate everyone's input. I'm starting to think that I may only have space in my NYC apartment for one turtle. Has anyone had to go through that?

Yup. At one time, I had Sheba & another turtle named Nelson. They cohabited in the same tank for a few yrs, but after they both grew, the tank became *way* too small for them. Nelson was constantly bugging Sheba, fluttering his nails in front of her face when she was trying to sleep, etc. He would do it for hours on end, and sometimes she would finally just snap at him, at times breaking off one of his very long nails!!!! For a while, I would rotate them in/out of the tank....one would be in the tank, the other would be walking around the living room so that they weren't in each others' space all the time. This worked for the short term, but the long term solution was that they needed to be separated so I eventually had to give Nelson away to one of my friends.

I should mention also that having a male & female in the same tank makes the female lay eggs too. Sheba used to lay eggs about 3 times a year which was a big royal pain in my butt (and a big mess too!). After I gave Nelson away, Sheba still laid eggs for a few yrs after that, but eventually (thankfully) she stopped, & hasn't laid eggs for 8 yrs.

[steve]

Thats a lot of interesting info Kristin! I'm in the early stages of a similar situation...

[frankt]

I'm exactly in the situation she was but who can I trust in NYC to take over my male turtle? Cuz I'm definitely keeping the female!!!

[Ellic]

I have found males very difficult and while res are a very social critter it is better to have more than two. two get sick of each other wear as three or in my case four works great, you can actually notice them hanging out with differnt turtles over the months. if more than two turtles is not practical due to the size of the tank try putting in a toy. this may seem odd but when I first started introducing other turtles in with my baby girl years back she would not leave the other turtles alone and instead would try to bite them. then i put a piece of drift wood in the tank and she immediatly took to it. She would get under it and bounce it up and down for hours. She still does and the other turtles do as well. It was just enough to distract her long enough for her not to be territorial. also with a male it is better to put them in with more than one female. I have three females and one male. The male is smaller and outnumbered and still he can be annoying to all the girls. luckely there are enough of them to distribute his attention.

[Pizza]

I wouldn't recommend it, turtles are in most cases, solitary reptiles, and usually show aggressive behaviour towards each other.

In some cases, the turtles will get along fine, but it's a real hassle if your turtles relentlessly strike at each other, possibly causing serious injury, or even death.

I also have 3 females and one male, and I'm not sure about what to do about my male (no takers for it, as well no space and money for s second set-up), but it has bitten one of my females several times now on the neck, usually not releasing her for several minutes. My female now has a patch of white where there used to be her skin of black. My largest female also likes to snap at that particular female all the time, it could get rowdy at anytime.

[Kallistos]

I have found males very difficult and while res are a very social critter it is better to have more than two. two get sick of each other wear as three or in my case four works great, you can actually notice them hanging out with differnt turtles over the months. if more than two turtles is not practical due to the size of the tank try putting in a toy. this may seem odd but when I first started introducing other turtles in with my baby girl years back she would not leave the other turtles alone and instead would try to bite them. then i put a piece of drift wood in the tank and she immediatly took to it. She would get under it and bounce it up and down for hours. She still does and the other turtles do as well. It was just enough to distract her long enough for her not to be territorial. also with a male it is better to put them in with more than one female. I have three females and one male. The male is smaller and outnumbered and still he can be annoying to all the girls. luckely there are enough of them to distribute his attention.

I have to disagree completely. Red eared sliders are most definately NOT social animals (except for the brief moment of mating) RES will fight with each other relentlessy, whether it's over territory or mating. I wouldn't reccomend more than 1, and definetely not more than 2. If they're all males, then you've got a territory war, if one of them is male, you've got mating fights, and all females leads to territory once again.

Sure toys might distract the turtles. But they'll start fighting again, that's more of a very temporary fix, that is, if it even works. Since the male is small and outnumbered he'll be bitten or physically hurt some other way be the males. 4 RES are very very very hard to keep, we're talking custom indoor aquariums or mammoth ponds outside.

All my information is from fellow members, online care sheets, RES care books and some conversations with the MPZ zoologist...

[industrial_girl_2000]

I agree, RESowner34.....I never had any success with having more than one turtle in a tank (of course, my "babies" were bigger than most by the time I got them). Toys are a temporary fix & turts have a short attention span.

My mom can tell you all about these mating rituals & territory war issues since she was a stay-at-home mom & constantly had to deal with this kind of stuff while I was at school & dad was at work. It was a constant ruckus all day long while my 8-9" female fought it out with the 4" male who was constantly bugging her. It was so bad that they couldn't even SEE each other in the tank or the fighting would start anew. We had to turn the lights off at night THEN put them both together in the tank; in the dark they couldn't see each other. Then we had to try to separate them as SOON as day broke or else they would fight in the early morning when it became light again. I had to get out of bed & the first thing I did was go to the tank to take one turtle out to walk around our living room. It was stressful to *constantly* have to think of my turtles day and night.

And then there were the eggs that Sheba would lay....constantly....3 times a year this poor gal was constantly making a mess in our living room (under the beanbag) or in the tank (there was no information on egg laying back then). Eggs eggs eggs!!! No more EGGS!!!! Eeek. I am so grateful she does not lay eggs now that the male is gone.

I am not exaggerating with the above stories. I am telling them in the hopes that no one has to deal with this male/female turtle thing like I did!

[marisa]

Being "social" is, I think, a relative term, and it just may be that compared to other species RES are (although to me it seems like more like agressiveness than anything). I have one RES and multiple painteds so I can't compare interactions. I do think Ellic makes some interesting points, though, and what he's(?) done has worked for him. A lot depends on the turtle/s in question and on the size of the habitat they are provided with.

I have also been told that the "best" combination is one male RES with two/multiple females for the reason that was mentioned.

A female will lay eggs whether or not a male is present. If egg laying stops/becomes erratic, it could be due to age (the need to lay eggs may not be as great for an older female) or even diet.