Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok ive been thinking about this for a while now and still havent found much information on turtle compatability, i am sort of leaning torward an eastern or western painted turtle but am not sure of their compatability with a false map turtle and an RES ive just been looking around sites but havnt had much luck.
are painteds compatible with any of my turtles or are there any other turtles with similar temps, feeding, etc.?

i dont want any interbreeding(i dont want any breeding)
i know mixing of different species isnt successful at times but this is just thinking, if i where to get a third what would it be?
any suggestions>???
thanks

A painted and a map should work out just fine. RES get kinda big and sometimes are nippy.

A painted and a map should work out just fine. RES get kinda big and sometimes are nippy.

I have a western painted with a false map and a RES in a big tank and so far so good. No problems. They are all right around 5-6 inches so far, but it's going well.

n/p

I would imagine an eastern painted would do just fine. The only thing to watch out for is that they stay a little bit smaller than westerns, so there may be more of a size difference between that and the RES so be very watchful of aggression between the two. But provided there's enough actual aquarium space or even a small pond, they'd probably be fine.

ok here goes,
1. what should i look for in an eastern painted, hatchling or the size i want it to be?

2. if i find a hatchling how long would it take to grow to 5 inches? or an appropriate size to live with my other 2?

3. ive gone through the whole process of growing a hatchling(with my RES) and had more luck with the relation ship, so should i look for a hatchling and search in the garage for my 20g long? or look around for an adult?

4. finally, i know a family freind who has a turtle pond with cooters or painteds i think they are peninsular cooters since we live in south florida. she has offered to give me a couple since she gets new hatchlings every summer and she would have crowding of hte pond soon. should i look into getting one of these instead? i saw only one hatchling so far but she has like 5 adults,a while ago she offered to give me one if i wanted, either way i have the set up to get a hatchling or even a separated(separated from the other two) set-up for a 4-6 inch.

hopefully these are my last questions before making any decisions

Ok, that's a lot of questions. Let's see if I can remember all of them... If you get a hatchling I would definately set it up in the 20L, that should last it until it's big enough to go in with the others, which I would guess would take around 3-4 years. I wouldn't go for the cooter simply because they can get HUGE, and housing one of them makes for a BIG expensive aquarium with a lot of room. Hatchling mortality rate can be kinda high, but they are fun to raise.. it's really your call as to whether or not to get an adult or a hatchling. What to look for in either is relatively the same. Make sure their eyes are clear and bright, they have to be swimming straight (not lopsided). Their shell should be nice and hard, no soft spots or pussiness. I usually ask if they are eating well and what they are eating. I think that's it. Good luck with your decision.