Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a lot of small turtles sharing a 70 gallon tank. A few of them are now missing tails, though I don't k now which turtle is guilty of tail biting. Is there any real danger to turtles getting their tails bit off? Will they get infected? More importantly, will they be able to BREED without a tail? (I want to breed a few spotteds). I really like having lots of different kinds of turtles (15 different kinds) living together but I am trying to forsee any problems other than the tail biting. Can someone help?
Andrew

I've got 5 individuals from 3 different species together in a 40, and it seems to be alright. One of them is a snapper, but he seems to be a pacifist. Once I get some money to throw around, I'm gonna break that happy family up, though, because it isn't a good idea to have too many turtles together.

Usually, turtles beat the living hell out of each other, especially the males. I don't think spotteds are noted for their nasty disposition, though. But sliders and painted turtles are pretty bad about biting each other and anybody else. Tail nipping can be a problem, especially if the water isn't kept clean. I have a painted that got a fungal infection when it was younger, causing half the tail to rot off. The turtles can still breed, so long as their cloaca is still ok. The best thing to do is get a bunch of tanks and split them up, especially if you have a problem child or two.

Obviously, the species is the most important thing. Snappers are pretty vicious, and will most likely eat whatever they can, including roomates. I guess I got lucky with mine, especially since he is wild-caught. Softshells and painted/sliders are also notoriously mean spirited. Musk turtles and spotteds seem to be less so, but it all depends on the individual. If you keep a close eye on them, you should be able to figure out who is the biter and seclude them.
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That's not just a woman; it's a way of life!
-Roland T. Flakfizer

.. you just drop an Adult female in amongst them.. and see what you get..

Love those Spotted turtles.. Terry

WHY do you have your spotteds mixed with anything else? Spotteds seem to do best in shallow water. Plus, they are a threatened species in most of thier range. Mixing them with another species is asking for trouble, IMO, especially if they didn't all come from the same breeder. Keep them seperate in a habitat designed specificially for them, and practice good anti cross-contanimation protocols.

There is a Yahoo Group specifically for the keepers of the former Clemmys genus (woods, spotteds, western ponds, bogs) if you would like to talks specifically with other spotted keepers. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Clemmys

Do you have lots of hiding spots/plants (real or artificial) in the tank, so that the turtles can hide when they have the chance? Artificial silk plants from the dollar store, Wal-Mart, or craft store can make good but very inexpensive hiding spots and decoration in any turtle or tortoise tank.

Katrina

(hopefully Katrina reponds...)
I didn't know that it's not good to keep spotteds with other kinds of turtles. But why not? I'll tell you my setup and you can all tell me what's right or wrong:
I have 17 hatchlings together in a 70 gallon. 2 spotteds, 2 diamond back terrapins, 1 barbours map, 1 common map, 1 miss map, 1 stinkpot, 1 euro pond turtle, three painteds, 1 northern red belly, 1 fla red belly, and a whole bunch or various sliders. So far, I have noticed NO PROBLEMS other than a couple of tail nips (not on the spotteds, thank god). They all seem to eat about the same, no fighting, etc. What do you think of my set up? Of course, when they get bigger I will divide them - but for the fisrt year I find it fun to have them all together. I would LOVE people's comments.

OK, I'll preface this by saying that I don't keep spotteds, and have never kept spotteds. BUT, I do chat with a number of people that have them, and a few institutional keepers of the species. I would highly recommend the Clemmys list on Yahoo Groups to learn more from people with first-hand experience. I've learned from their mistakes, which they freely share to better the care of the species.

Spotteds are not deep water turtles like the sliders, cooters, and terrapins. They tend to move slower than these other species, thus getting less of the food. They grow slower as well, which will compound this problem as time goes by. You might be watching to make sure that each turtles gets his or her fill at feeding time, but if life gets hectic, you might not be able to watch as closely. From talking with keepers, is seems that those with mixed collections tend to loose more spotteds for one reason or another. The truly infuriating part is to have one keeper loose an adult spotted a year for the last few years, and still not consider to do a necropsy to find out WHY he's loosing so many.

Also, I've heard of a number of spotted keepers complain of drowned spotteds when kept in deeper water. This is especially problematic when males and females are kept together in deep water.

Did these turtles come from the same breeder? I ask because, as mentioned earlier, spotteds are, IMO, too important to risk cross-contamination. We don't think too much of mixing sliders with cooters and others, but those turtles are relatively common, and the loss of a few individuals isn't important in the grand scheme of the species. Loosing individual spotted turtles now, though, could make an impact on the species survival. One here and one there eventually add up for a small species with limited range and specific requirements. FYI, do you have a gram scale so that you can chart their weight?

As for tail nipping, mud and musk turtles tend to be very nippy. They also prefer the water to be on the shallow side, unless they have something to use to climb up to the surface.

Katrina

thanks Katrina. You know, they all seem to get their fill at feeding time - really fun to watch. I have no gram scale. My two spotteds seem very healthy though. I will put them in their own tank when the other species get bigger. Thanks for your advice!

Let me preface this by saying.. I do keep and breed spotted turtles.

I expect F2 (grandbabies) in '05.. Grandmas' are still making siblings' and cousins'.. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that I only have spotted turtles set-up in an environment similar to their native territory???? DUH!!!

You wouldn't believe some of the questions I get from those wanting to buy my hatchlings.. incomprehensible!

You're welcome to contact me direct.. Terry.. please do.