I have a juvenile yellow-bellied slider. He's around 4-6 months and 3-4 inches long. I've enjoyed caring for him but now I have a problem. My neighbor gave me another juvenile yellow-bellied slider, around the same age. She' found it on the road drying out here in the Georgia sun. She's elderly and can't take care of it so she gave it to me. I took it in ( for about 5 months) and they don't get along. My first one is larger but gets bullied by the little guy. How can I stop this? Where could i get rid of the little guy? ( not meaning dumping him, but any places that would take him)
Turtle help.
- Thread starter Tristan's 6000 Fish
- Start date
I don't know anything about turtles, so I can't help you with the aggression other than perhaps giving them two separate tanks.
In regards to getting rid of one, see if any reptile stores in your area would be willing to take them. That would be your best bet. I wouldn't ask a fish store, as they probably do not have the equipment for a turtle unless it's a shop that happens to double up and also do reptiles. Also, perhaps you could call some rescues or shelters in your area and see if they would be willing to take in a turtle. Finally, if all else fails, you could also try selling it/or giving it away on Craigslist or a site like that and see if someone locally can pick it up (this is the least safe option, though).
Good luck!
Thanks! I don't have any reptile stores near me, unfortunately. The only pet shops would be Petco or Petsmart and both are around 3+ hours away. I could try Craigslist if the aggression doesn't stop.
Well,depending on your setup you could probably install some sort of divider using egg crate/light diffuser....it may not make for the most visually pleasing display but at least the turtle would be safe.The only other things I can think of is to get a few more turtles as that could temper the dominant turtle's aggression....or set up a bigger enclosure in which the two would have much more space to get out of each other's way.
Thank you! I am intending on setting up a larger pond when the turtles increase their bodily mass. Both are under 5 inches long ( only around 5- 6 months old) so I have them in a 25 gallon pond, planted, with a filter + waterfall as well. I didn't want to make to big a pond until they were larger due to predaceous creatures lurking in my backyard... racoons, water moccasins and herons. I have a massive koi/ goldfish pond they can go into when they're older. I'll try to make a separating device to keep the aggresion down until they are larger. If that doesn't work I may have to get rid of the aggressor, unfortunately.
Oh I can relate to the predator problem.Ive had night creatures murder my trio of diamond backed terrapins years ago.I thought the pond would be deep enough to protect them but, in gruesome detail I learned otherwise when I went to check on them in the morning.....anyhow,good luck with your project and looking forward to seeing photos of your ponds.....turtle and koi.
Pretty sure the yellow bellied slider is native to your area, in which case you could simply release back into the wild. Choose a body of water like a lake or pond large enough that you know has a good population of fish, etc. already living there.
I used to keep native turtles for years when I lived in the US. Even a completely domesticated turtle will do fine when released in the wild as far as learning to find food and surviving. Though they usually are more people friendly due to their time spent in captivity.
I used to keep native turtles for years when I lived in the US. Even a completely domesticated turtle will do fine when released in the wild as far as learning to find food and surviving. Though they usually are more people friendly due to their time spent in captivity.
