Reptile & Amphibian Forums

just bought a florida red belly cooter on saturday and on monday i went to buy a tank and light and everything i would need, i also bought another turtle on that day, i got a red eared slider. anyway the red belly cooter seems all nice and you can hold it and it just sits there and moves slowly, and when you go to pick it up it doesnt do anything, just basically seems calm and not mean. but the first day i got the red eared slider i picked it up and it like hissed? im pretty sure it hissed and it was sooo hard to pick it up, it kept swimming real fast whenever i got close to catching it. So i thought, i should just leave it alone and let it get used to its cage, so today i went to pick it up to see if it would eat lettace and it took like 15min to catch it, and it like jumped in my hand and hissed again! so now im all scared thinking it doesnt like me and it will always be mean and right now its just little like about 2inches is all, so will it be mean? should i take it back and get a different turtle? ive read all about aquatic turtles since i got them, they are my first pet, yes i know im 21 and this is my first pets, but im scared that this red eared slider will turn mean and ill be afraid of it. i read also its better to separte the turtles when feeding to a different cage to maintain cleaness, is that really needed? ive just noticed also that the slider gets to the food first. the red belly cooter is much smaller right now, so okay ill stop but should i be worried about the hissing and how its so hard to hold it?
anything from anyone would help so much!
tomorrow im calling the pet store to ask also maybe to give it back?

first of all.. you really should have kept the turtles separated to make sure neither of them has any diseases or viruses that they can spread to each other. because if one is sick.. they may both end up sick and possibly even die. second... i introuded my 2 different sized turtles SLOWLY, and they havent fought or anything. but sometimes when you throw 2 diff sized turtles in the same 'cage' they may fight and possibly even hurt one another. so please, keep a close eye on them to make sure they dont injure one another! and considering your turtles are 2 different sizes, i suggest that you feed them separately to insure that both turtles get an adequate amount of food. you may also want to look back through the forum to read about feeding and other things. you should only feed your turtle the pellets about every other day (unless the turtle is younger than a year old) and you should offer greens the rest of the time. most people make the mistake of overfeeding their turtles and that causes the turtles many health problems in the future, possibly even death. a good source of calcium is cuttle bone (which is what i use)... it's found in the 'bird' dept of a store. all you have to do is break off the hard backing on it, which i do with a sharp knife. then break a large piece off and let it float in the water. even if your turtles dont eat it right away, it still dissolves into the water and they can absorb the calcium that way as well. i cant help you out with the "mean" turtle... mine are so used to being held for feeding container switches and such that they dont even run anymore. so maybe your turtle will get used to you as you handle it more?! i wish i could help more.... well i hope i have helped you a little bit... i know what it's like to be a first-timer! if you have any other questions, please dont be afraid to ask. there are many intelligent people here that can help you with almost any questions you have! so enjoy your turtles...
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~ Evie

Pets:
0.1.0 German Shepherd {Dusty}
0.1.0 German Shepherd/Collie mix {Shadoe}
0.0.2 RES turtles {Booger and Snot}
1.0.0 African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
0.0.1 Snail {Gary}

thank you soo much for replying with all the knowledge!! thats what i wanted some answers, cause last night i was worried! today everything seemed fine, ive decided to keep them both, id feel bad if i took one back ya know, then the poor thing would think " no one wants me" and i think the red eared slider the one that hissed is just curious and wants to move around alot, the slider seem much more active! so hes just full of energy!
thanks again
jamie

The bottom line is turtles are not social animals. Some may tolerate handling, and some won't. I have had mine for 5 years, but I never handle them. I have to use a fishnet to catch them when I change their water and they will hiss and try to bite. That doesn't bother me, they are display animals, not cats or dogs. If you want a social animal that you can play with, turtles are not really a good choice. You RES may settle down over time, or he may not.
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today the res seemed fine didnt do any hissing!
but thanks for replying to my questions!

Turtles are not ment to be pets in the traditional sense. They are essentially wild animals, and for the most part don't like to be handled. It's possible that your slider lived a wild life in a stock pond at at turtle ranch until it was caught for the pet trade, so it really is basically a wild animal. Learn how to hold your turtles properly, and you shouldn't have any problems. All turtles can bite. And your rebelly could end up growing quite a bit larger than your slider, up to 14" total.

Usually with reptiles, unless it's an animal that is well acclimated to people, if it doesn't get upset with being handled, it's probably sick.

Katrina

How big is your tank? If it's not big enough, the two of them will fight more and more as they get bigger and fight for space in the tank. Just a thought. Oh and I have a really good filter so I don't feed in a seperate tank.

the tank i got is just a 10 gallon which i know isnt going to be big enough, when i asked about it being mean i ment more towards if it could hurt me? the two of them seem to be happy, the cooter is sooo much smaller but today i was watching them and they like sit by eah other it was cool i think everythings fine, im for sure keeping an eye out for the bigger one so he doesnt harm the little one.
jamie

thanks for replying i was worried last night, today i called the pet store though and im fine now, also after reading all the replys, i wish i could hold the turtles and what not but i also wish they could talk it would be, but ill let them be and not mess with them i like to sit and watch them though, just like a little kid......lol
thanks again
jamie

I'm just a bit curious as to what a turtle sounds like when it hisses? Is it snakelike? I've had my two RES' for over 10-11 years and I've never heard them hiss at me or eachother before.
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Spike- Male RES 12 years old.
Leena- Female RES 11 years old.

Jeff,
It was a snake like hiss, really......lol
I called the pet store today to ask about it, first off i asked if turtle hissed or if i was hearing things, but the guys said its normal yes they sometimes hiss. I also asked if when the red eared slider get larger if it will be able to hurt me say when im handling it, but he said no, so ya it hissed it was weird, but today they both seemed happy.
jamie

Yes you need a bigger tank. A 10 gal is not big enough for one babby turtle let alone two of them. When they are both grown you will need at least a 55 gal just the RES (depending on how big it is going to get, 10gal per inch of turtle) and I don't even know how big your other turtle will get. You might need at 120 gal tank when they are both grown.
My turtle hisses at me all the time. He didn't use to. I raised him since he was a hatchling size and he was my college dorm's mascott and everyone would play with him. We would take him outside to walk around and he would walk around the common room in my dorm. Now when I try to touch him (he's about 5-6 inches now) he hisses but then calms down. And if they bite you when you aren't expecting it it might hurt. It will deff. hurt when they get bigger and stronger so watch your fingers. They think they are food lol.

Ah, snake hiss, that can't be too inviting.

Once your turtles get bigger, they could hurt you but the chances are low. To pick up my female I need to use both my hands, and after holding her for too long, she starts to kick with her back legs, and those claws back there are pretty large. It feels like they're about to rip into your skin, but never do for some reason. She'll stop after a few seconds and act like nothing has happened though. My male however is very timid, just lays in your hand with its neck stretched out looking at stuff. Never scratches at all.
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Spike- Male RES 12 years old.
Leena- Female RES 11 years old.

I might be a little concernd over the health of your cooter. most little turtles when held will either pull themselves into their shell quickly, or try and move about, and escape.
Do a quick once over.
Check the eyes, make sure they open, their clear and bright.
gently press on the extreamities of the carapace, especially near the head and tail. It should be firm
if you can get a hold of a leg, take it between your fingers. If it doesn't with draw it's leg emediately, very gently pull at it, and if you still get no response i would say that it's a bad sign.

I hope the little guy's healthy and strong

They've been like this for years. They're healthy as can be too, just very timid I guess.
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Spike- Male RES 12 years old.
Leena- Female RES 11 years old.