All Turtles Message Board

Gind · Guest Joined: 24 Jul 2006 Posts: 3

Hi,

I bought 2 baby red eared sliders for my son in December, Speedy and Shelly. Shelly was ill when we bought her and died almost immediatly. A month later we bought another baby turtle, Shredder. Soon after buying Shredder, Speedy (the older of the two) became much less 'speedy' and confident, and became very shy.

6 months on, Shredder has grown much bigger that Speedy, and Speedy is still very shy. Yesterday when I went in to feed them they both got very excited as they usually do at feeding time! Before I had put the food into the tank, Shredder bit Speedy's back foot. He/she wouldnt let go of the foot, despite me trying all sorts of poking and pulling! Eventually (after about 2 minutes of furious struggling on Speedy's part) he/she did let go, and they went about their business as normal.

I'm concerned about this, as although they do occaisionally fight over food, nothing like this has happened before and I hadnt even put the food in the tank. We do not know what sex they are, but are guessing from info on your website that Speedy is male, Shredder female.

Do I need to seperate them?

Thanks

turtle_grl77 · Level 4 Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 985 Location: Florida

Sounds like you need to.

Gind · Guest Joined: 24 Jul 2006 Posts: 3

Thanks.

Thats a shame, I was kinda hoping to hear that its normal adolescent turtle behaviour and they will eventually get on!

deesygirl · Moderator Joined: 12 Sep 2002 Posts: 1231

It ususally gets worse. Just be glad you caught it before one of them was seriously injured or killed.
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http://www.anapsid.org/reslider.html

dixieee · Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 12:19 pm Post subject:

feed them separately. my turtles did the same a few times only when it's feeding time. i put the smaller one is a separate container now when they're eating. that would help ensure the other smaller guy is getting enough food cz that might be a main reason why he isn't growing as much. it's not the only reason though cz he might be a HE and the other one a she that's why she's growing faster
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Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

Gind · Guest Joined: 24 Jul 2006 Posts: 3

I do always make sure that the smaller one eats as much as the big one, and sometimes if they are fighting over the last piece of food, he gives as good as he gets. Feeding time is the only time that they dont get on.

I'll try feeding them seperatly, and watch them closely for now. They both seem to be constantly hungry, and get excited whenever I go into the room. I feed them enough, and am considering lessening the amount that I give to them after reading the feeding guidlines on your site. Is it normal for them to want food so much even if they are not hungry?

trtlduv · Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 11:41 am Post subject: