Yellow Bellied Slider Needs A Friend...

[Mmathis]

Welcome @Mmathis ( aka Turtle Mommy ) can probably assist you.

@Tula Thanks for the referral! My area of expertise is somewhat limited to box turtles, but posts like this one are challenging me to broaden my knowledge base regarding other turtle species. Box turtles, considered land turtles (but not the same as tortoises), only require enough water to periodically soak in. Turtles like sliders are considered semi-aquatic, meaning they spend the majority of the time in water, coming out to bask, relocate, breed...... Their diets and feeding habits differ, as apparently, so do their social habits (speaking in general terms -- I don't know about other semi-aquatics). I don't know if he's posted in a while, but @Marshall runs a turtle rescue and knows a lot about sliders, and such. I'm hoping he'll pick up on this conversation. But despite my lack of knowledge and experience, I'm always happy to help!

And to @Psk8684, happy turtling! I know how you feel, wanting the best for your baby! FYI, if you are on FaceBook, there are a LOT of turtle groups.

 

[DutchMuch]

Your slider is in way to small of a tank, generally 60 gallons and up is the Minimum for them. a healthy female can reach up to 13" in length. Here is an Ok link i recommend you read http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Tur...Some-Tips-All-New-Turtlekeepers-Need-To-Know/

 

[brokensword]

Just to add what I know about water turtles; most are not really that social and are usually solitary unless in breeding season so there's no real advantage to personifying a turtle's needs. Males can be aggressive toward both other males as well as females when they are in season. Even two females can have issues. As mentioned, females can get quite large and you really should provide as much space as you can. Also, the bigger they get, the more quickly the water can be fouled, so more area is better all the way around. A huge reason I built my pond is because my two painteds (both were about 5") needed more space. I went from a kiddie pool on the driveway to a full fledged pond. If you have room and desire, I'd suggest you put in a pond of your own; you'll enjoy it and so will your yellow-belly. Marshall hopefully will chime in as he IS our resident expert when it comes to water turtles.

Oh, and don't put any fish with the turtle unless you're prepared to see them as meals. Especially in a small area as the fish will probably not escape. I've found my painteds do okay as long as I keep them well fed and the fish are large. Once, long a go when I was less educated re turtles, I put in a frog and had to quickly rescue him when the turtles when after it. With enough room and space, an equilibrium can be had but an aquarium isn't the way to do that, but a pond is.

Hope this helps.

Michael

 

[DutchMuch]

about water turtles;

sorry i had to correct this;
there are Turtles, Then Tortoises... Not "water turtles"

 

[brokensword]

I know that and you know that but most lump them all together, so I was just trying to be colloquial.

 

[Mmathis]

True "water turtles" are the ones who live in the oceans. Semi-aquatics are ones like the sliders.

 

[Nyboy]

I have a natural pond at my country home, with several different types/ breeds of turtle. They often bask together in groups on logs in the water. When one spots me they all dive in water.

 

[Marshall]

I currently have a yellow bellied slider turtle. She is alone in a 40 Gallon tank. I've been thinking about finding her a tank mate. Everything I've heard points to her probably eating whatever I put in there with her. But then I thought if I got a koi fish that is on the big side, it would be good big for her to eat. I'm torn as to what to do. Leave her alone in her tank? Or buy a bigger koi in hopes she leaves it alone and has a buddy in there with her?

Honestly you would be much better off leaving her alone as in my experience which is vastly majority of keeping sliders, maps and other semi-aquatics as well as a handful of dry landers (boxies, tortoises) and only recently in the past few years keeping Koi and goldfish I can say that they really are not a good match in general. If in a rare setup like in the rescue I have you hatch the turtles in the same pond as the young fish then mostly they get along but if you take a large fish like a Koi and put it in a tank at all let alone a tank with a turtle I don't think that will be good for either of them. I recommend you get a map turtle for a companion since one such as a Mississippi map will not get much larger than the size of a human hand (or at least my hand) they will get on well since they have enough in common to survive together yet be unique enough to not drive each other mad ( different tank column preference). I would say that a 40 gallon tank is not enough for one turtle though. I can almost guarantee that if you go to a pet shop they will say a 40 is fine but don't forget they also want you to hand them 20 dollars for a turtle too so they have a vested interest in you believing you can care for it. That turtle you have is going to rapidly grow to around 8 inches and then slower rate will get upwards of 10 to 12 so it is not hard to imagine how that tank would quickly become a small holding cell. If you can get a 75 or 125 gallon tank and get a map or even another slider as a tank mate. Don't use substrate unless you really wanna clean it every week and if you buy a water filtration setup make sure you realize that if it says it will clean 75 gallons of fish tank that translates to only about 35 gallons of turtle tank since turtles are so far as I can tell the most disgustingly dirty animals on earth and I mean that in the most loving way

 

[Marshall]

PS: If you get another yellow as a mate do not get a male. Trust me. You do not want to have a breeding situation on your hands because semi-aquatics are endlessly demanding when breeding in captivity. They will require so many things just to lay a clutch and then even more to hatch. I have personally only had success with breeding in outdoor and very large indoor setups of 500 gallons and larger and everything under that is tricky and under 300 is near impossible. Also even if they don't breed the male will not cease to attempt to do so and your entire relationship with your pals will be reduced to watching the male follow the female around and get endlessly pimp smacked around all day long. Two females can in fact get on okay in a tank you just have to be sure you feed them enough and they should for the most part just tolerate each other.