Red-eared sliders’ aggressive behavior is not uncommon. Living in captivity, RES turtles become possessive of food and territory which frequently leads to bullying and picking fights with other tank-mates. While aggression is predominant in adult males, it is not restricted to one gender. Both young and mature turtles as well as male and female ones may display different levels of aggression for a number of reasons that may or may not overlap. As a rule, larger and stronger turtles are likely to bully smaller ones; sometimes turtles become aggressive toward new tank-mates as well as females resisting male turtles’ breeding attempts.
Why are Red-Eared Sliders Aggressive?
In their natural habitat, red-eared sliders are predators. It’s their instinct to pick fights with any living creature that gets in the way of food or disrupts basking. Their bodies are equipped in large front claws and strong pointed beaks capable of shattering other small animals’ body parts, biting into their necks and inflicting all sorts of physical damage. When red-eared sliders find themselves in captivity, they are likely to use their physical strength against other turtles to compete for food, basking space, females, or anything else. Captive habitats that house multiple turtles in the same tank are highly competitive environments in which RES turtles’ carnivorous, aggressive character is triggered further by limited aquarium space, decreased physical effort and boredom.
Is Fighting Dangerous for Red-Eared Sliders?
The short answer is, yes, it is very dangerous for your pet RES turtles to fight. Aggressive turtles can bite off other turtles’ claws, tails, and inflict all sorts of physical trauma. Injuries easily develop into turtle eye infections, minor disabilities, lack of appetite, apathy, and avoidance of basking or food. Fighting among turtles should never be ignored, because it tends to deteriorate with time.
How to Deal with Aggressive Turtles
Aggression and fighting among red-eared sliders needs to be remedied immediately. Here are some useful tips on dealing with aggressive turtles:
- Separation – it’s the quickest way to protect your turtles from bullying and physical harm. Aggressive turtles should be relocated to separate tanks where they won’t have to compete for food or space. For bigger aquariums you can use an egg crate as a budget solution to divide the tank into two while using the same substrate, heaters and lamps.
- Adding new tankmates – do not add smaller turtles to aquariums already inhabited by large, adult males. More often than not, newbies will be bullied by the others, especially if they’re smaller in size.
- Increasing tank size and aquarium decorations – large aquariums can help soothe your turtles’ territorial frustrations and adding more aquatic plants and decorations may prevent your turtles from having too much eye-contact.
- Increasing basking platform size – if small or not easily accessible, the basking platform may become another territorial annoyance for your turtles. Red-eared sliders who get thrown away or pushed down from the basking area may become withdrawn and avoid coming out of the water which will inevitably cause serious health problems.
- Feeding turtles separately – provoking your turtles to compete or fight for food is the fastest way to make them act against each other. Turtles should be fed either separately (with one of them fed in an additional tank), or at reasonable distances from each other. Learn more about turtle feeding safety tips to avoid provoking aggression in your turtles during feeding.
If you decide to purchase multiple red-eared sliders, be aware that, at some point, it may become absolutely necessary for you to allocate them more space by housing them in a bigger aquarium or even placing them in separate tanks. In general, it is not a very practical idea to add new, smaller turtles to an already existing habitat.
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