Feeding and Nutrition :: Should I separate my RES turtles?

Turtle diets and eating habits discussed here.

Post Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2020 7:11 pm   Should I separate my RES turtles?

Hi all,

I'm new here and came in since I have a slight concern. I have two red-eared sliders that are roughly one year old. After some research, I believe my larger one to be female (Smyth) and the other male (Wes). Some behavior background:

- Wes has absolutely no problem basking when I'm around and will typically only dive into the water when he's hungry, swimming towards me for food. Smyth will occasionally bask with Wes with no issue, but still panics and dives into the water when she notices me (sometimes causing Wes to dive a second or two later).

- Both of them will swim towards me when hungry but will sometimes retreat for a few seconds if they have their heads out of the water and notice my hand about to drop in some pellets.

- I use feeder rings for fish so that the pellets don't float all over the place and to attempt making their lives easier when feeding and it seems that they've gotten used to looking towards the rings for their food.

- Outside of feeding, they seem to have no issue at all living with each other. Their tank is heated throughout most of the day, potentially over-filtered (90 GPM filter in a 10 gallon tank), and their water is treated with multiple aquatic water treatments (i.e. anti-chlorine, food/waste breakdown bacteria, ReptoGuard health conditioner).

The issue I'm having is that Wes typically follows Smyth to whichever ring she is using, usually not realizing that there's more food a few inches away. Smyth often times will try to push Wes away when she's aiming for her target pellet(s) (often times pushing his face). Smyth can sometimes gorge two pellets at a time and make quick work of them while Wes occasionally struggles with just one. Wes doesn't seem to be growing all that fast while Smyth seems to be growing noticeably pretty quickly. I'm no expert of course, but I also often see her with, what I think, is lots of skin shedding on her limbs and shell. Smyth does seem to get full after a while so there should be plenty for Wes to eat.

Should I start separating the two when it comes time to feed? (They don't really care for being handled just yet). Should I separate them into different tanks in general?

Sorry for the long thread but I'd like to have as much context out there as possible while waiting for a response. These turtles are also new to me since my mom had to give them up and nobody else was willing to take over their healthcare given the startup costs for proper RES habitats.
ItsChowda
 
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Post Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2020 10:24 pm   Re: Should I separate my RES turtles?

If Smyth is a female and outgrowing Wes, then there's no reason to think that she's eating more than her share even though it may be possible. How big are they now? I would probably take Smyth out and give Wes some time to eat on his own. How much are you feeding them?
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steve
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Post Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 12:37 am   Re: Should I separate my RES turtles?

Thank you Steve.

Smyth is about 4" now and Wes probably around 2.5". I'd like to measure them for better accuracy, but like I said previously, they're still getting to know me so don't like being handled just quite yet (although I haven't tried for a few weeks now). I'd like to be able to take them out for some "play time" but I don't think they're quite there just yet.

They seem to be happy enough sharing space both in the water (~7 gallons) and on the basking platform that I've set up. I get the feeling they're that way since for the first half of their lives they lived in the little carrier that came with them. My mom really didn't know what she was getting into when she got them.
ItsChowda
 
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Post Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2020 12:14 pm   Re: Should I separate my RES turtles?

You don't need to take them out for play time, though if you have a yard, a temporary enclosure during warm weather is very beneficial.

As for the water, 7 gallons is far to little. They need closer to 70 gallons at this point, and their requirements will grow a bit. If either is indeed a male, you will likely need to separate them, maybe with different tanks. You have a bit of time, but behavior can change quickly.
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steve
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