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Post by touie on Sept 9, 2004 3:32:53 GMT -5
Thanks to csurfleet for all your suggestions I thought I'd post in the proper place this time!
I got a male mississipi map turtle to keep the cooter company. I'm a bit worried about the size difference 1" map and 3 1/2 " cooter. They are both in my 50G at the moment and seem to be ok, the little guy is active, inquisitive ansd feeding well! The cooter is very placid and lazy (hes hardly moved from the basking log since his siblings have gone except for a bite of greenary!) the cooter actually seems scared of the baby at the moment (tucks into its shell when it sees the baby!)
Do you think they will be ok together or do you think a tank divider is nessessary because of the size difference?
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Post by Chez on Sept 9, 2004 12:49:27 GMT -5
Hey touie, I'd be cautious and watch them closely. I had a 1.5" RES, and my bigger map who was about 3" at the time shredded the little guys neck. Thus I named him Brutus, but that's beside the point.
The cooter might be "protecting" his territory (the basking spot), and that may be why he's not moving. Do you ever see the map basking? Is he and the cooter ever up there at the same time?
[glow=blue,2,300]:Chez[/glow]
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Post by touie on Sept 9, 2004 15:05:28 GMT -5
When I came in today they were sharing the same basking log though there are others in the tank. I watched them at feeding time also, the map got trodden on a couple of times but there was no aggression. If there was going to be conflict do you think it would have happened by now? Like I said I can't imagine the cooter being a problem but if the general concensus is that there may be trouble I'll use a tank divider. I bought one today but didn't put it in when I saw them basking together !  |
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Post by csurfleet on Sept 10, 2004 3:15:16 GMT -5
I would suggest not putting the divider in for now. You may see them nipping slightly at each other at feeding times if they both go for the same bit, but the smaller turt will almost always make way for the larger.
Its if you see the cooter actually attacking the other that you have to worry. Putting in a clear divider now will just make the cooter interested in why he can't get at the map, so when you take it out he may be more likely to attack....
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Post by touie on Sept 11, 2004 6:59:20 GMT -5
Thanks I was hoping someone would suggest something like that because they seem to be getting on ok at the moment, the cooter doesn't seem in the least bit bothered by the little guy, but then he was used to being with other turtles anyway! I'll leave the divider out and keep an eye out for any potential problems!
I posted this on another site and got very negative comments about mixing turtle species, though I thought the map and cooter were from the same area anyway?
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Post by csurfleet on Sept 13, 2004 2:32:17 GMT -5
Are the Turtles both captive-bred? If so there is no problem except for final sizes relative to each other.
If they are wild captured you do need to take them both to the vet and get them checked for illness as they may have differing immunities. (Something that one turtle can deal with could harm the other)
TBH you should be getting 6 month checkups on your turts anyway...
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