Shadow, the biggest male in my red eared slider tank, is biting all my other turtles. We will have to donate him to the Marsh Center in Torrance or the Turtle and Tortoise Foundation.
The first time I noticed Shadow biting Sky, so our family and I thought it was hunger. I fed him a bit early, but the biting did not stop. This morning, he nearly tore Soldier's paw off, he would not let go. I had to pry his mouth off, as gentle as I could. After he finally let go, I checked Soldier's paw, it had a little mark, thank God it did not pierce the skin. I will treat Soldier with some antibiotics for his small cut.
I figured, if Shadow could do that to Soldier, who is almost as big as Shadow, he would almost surely kill or seriously hurt baby Jimmy, the smallest turtle in the tank. I am thinking Shadow is getting territorial.

I will miss Shadow, but I am doing this for the sake of my other turtles.

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There's no such thing as an aquarium that's too big!

~My Herps~

3 Red-Eared Sliders- Jimmy, Sky, and Soldier

~My Fish~
Betta-Peach
2 Mickey Mouse platys- Flower and Zaphod
And countless platy babies!

~My Wishlist~
All the herps in the world!

Shadow is the one at the left, baby Jimmy is at the right side.


Shadow has grown a bit more, these were from some time ago.

__________________
There's no such thing as an aquarium that's too big!

~My Herps~

3 Red-Eared Sliders- Jimmy, Sky, and Soldier

~My Fish~
Betta-Peach
2 Mickey Mouse platys- Flower and Zaphod
And countless platy babies!

~My Wishlist~
All the herps in the world!

What you just posted is the exact reason we suggest you have additional enclosures handy. You shouldn't have to give your turtle to someone else, you should have had an enclosure on standby to place him in incase anything like this happens.

When anyone decides to house multiple animals in one enclosure, they need to be prepared to separate them as quickly as they placed them together.

Each of those turtles should have their own enclosure or should have one prepared incase anyone else decides to become the dominant turtle in the tank. What do you intend to do when they are all full grown?

The red ear sliders carapace will get to a length of 8-12 inches. The size of an enclosure for one adult RES should be at least 55 gallons though some have stated that 40 gallons can work on males as they are smaller than females. I am not surprised that one of the turtles has started to show aggression. You have too many turtles in one tank. With this one leaving, if your signature is correct, you will still have 3 turtles in one tank. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is not going to be an isolated incident. As those turtles grow, pending you have proper lighting, heating, and diet needs being met, there is going to be additional aggression displayed.

I hate sounding rude, but I really hate reading threads where people blame the animal when THEY have to give it up. This turtle isn't leaving because it is aggressive. It is acting as it would in the wild. It is leaving because you do not have the proper setup for these turtles and the enclosure is becoming too cramped.

If these turtles were being housed properly, he wouldn't be leaving as he wouldn't be biting his cagemates. Why? Because he wouldn't have cagemates.

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I am sorry to say that I would have to agree with Rich,, I hear that a lot with iguanas,, I have to give him/her up because they dont get along. Well captivity is no different than being in the wild,, other than in the wild they have somewhere to go to escape the other ones aggression. Caged animals do not.......... That is your responsibility to ensure that all needs are being met.
I realize you are a young kid,, I just hope that you have learned something from the experiences you have had with your sliders.

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I have sucker tattood on my forehead

Too late now, Shadow is at the Turtle and Tortoise Foundation.....Where hopefully he's in a pond or something. But thanks for the advice.

Is 15 years old really that young??

__________________
There's no such thing as an aquarium that's too big!

~My Herps~

3 Red-Eared Sliders- Jimmy, Sky, and Soldier

~My Fish~
Betta-Peach
2 Mickey Mouse platys- Flower and Zaphod
And countless platy babies!

~My Wishlist~
All the herps in the world!

In the grand scheme of things,....
Yes.
When you consider that many of us have been keeping these animals for much longer than you have been alive!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Hmmmm...Should I be offended?

Well, I've started to love herps this year, so I will probably still love them for the rest of my life. In other words, I have started my love for herps while I am still "young", and I will continue loving them for the rest of my life.

How long ago have you guys started loving/keeping herps?

__________________
There's no such thing as an aquarium that's too big!

~My Herps~

3 Red-Eared Sliders- Jimmy, Sky, and Soldier

~My Fish~
Betta-Peach
2 Mickey Mouse platys- Flower and Zaphod
And countless platy babies!

~My Wishlist~
All the herps in the world!

Now that the most dominate member of the tank is gone another turtle will likely step up and assert him (or her)self as the alpha and the problem may just start over.

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"If you're not falling, you're not trying." - Sonni Trotter

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

I have been keeping reptiles as pets now for almost 24 years.

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I sincerely hope not.
That was not my intent. I merely answered your question.
I remember being your age and I thought I knew it all. As Will Rogers once said, "When I was a kid I thought my old man was dumber than a stick. What surprised me was the older I got, the smarter HE got!
Oh, for me, that would put it back about 1963!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!