Can turtles live together?

[Aeon]

Hi

I have a Red cheeked mud turtle in a large outdoor pond habitat all on his lonesome....
So....
I would like to add a musk turtle and a razorback ...

Can they live together in an outside pond 1.22m x 1.22m 23cm deep with a 40cm x 60cm planted basking area ?

Ps... I have seen videos on youtube with a razorback and a red cheeked muddy living together and another with a musk and a razorback in the same indoor tank habitats.

 

[Yvonne G]

@cdmay Would be the one to help you with this question.

 

[Markw84]

Most turtles do well together, and I feel do actually better than alone. However, a razorback musk will be territorial towards other "bottom" species like muds and musk. The common musk (stinkpot) is much less so, but can be a tail nipper with other turtles. Since you pond is quite small, I would be concerned about the razorback.

 

[cdmay]

Markw84 is correct. There are indeed many gregarious basking species that do just fine together. But there are many bottom walkers that are territorial and tend to be foot and butt nippers. Or worse.
Listen to the voices of experiences and be cautious.

 

[Aeon]

OK guys thank you for the advice, and is well taken into consideration and duly noted.
No Razorback Turtle going in with young Roger.

Musk turtle you say will be OK ?
I will be gettin as a hatchling at around 5cm so they can grow together.

@cdmay you say a basking turtle or two would also be ok ?
I was also thinking something along those lines too. Surface and bottom should have enough space to get out of one and others way.
I have been thinking of a pink bellied side neck.
I live in the very South of China practically next door to North Vietnam so it's pretty warm all year round.

Do you think they will be fine together?

Aeon

 

[cdmay]

OK guys thank you for the advice, and is well taken into consideration and duly noted.
No Razorback Turtle going in with young Roger.

Musk turtle you say will be OK ?
I will be gettin as a hatchling at around 5cm so they can grow together.

@cdmay you say a basking turtle or two would also be ok ?
I was also thinking something along those lines too. Surface and bottom should have enough space to get out of one and others way.
I have been thinking of a pink bellied side neck.
I live in the very South of China practically next door to North Vietnam so it's pretty warm all year round.

Do you think they will be fine together?

Aeon

Here is the thing Aeon...basking turtles usually get along with other basking type turtles. Usually.

On the other hand, most mud and musk turtles (that also bask but are not generally referred to as ‘basking’ turtles) are more aggressive and caution must be used when housing them with other turtles.
There are exceptions though, in general female mud and musk turtles can be kept with other females without issues. But not males with males. Having said that, there can be exceptions here too. Sometimes a particular female is the aggressor and will bully other females—and even a male of the same species.

My experiences with keeping ‘basking’ turtles is limited to more benign species such as various Mauremys, some Pelusios and Trachemys and I never had problems with aggression.

Markw84 is one of the members who has vast experience with so called basking turtles.

It’s great that you are asking questions first!

 

[Aeon]

OK @cdmay I see.
So if anything I need to be asking for females over males and not taking potluck chance.
Thank you

May I also know your thoughts @Markw84

 

[Markw84]

OK @cdmay I see.
So if anything I need to be asking for females over males and not taking potluck chance.
Thank you

May I also know your thoughts @Markw84

Agree with @cdmay 's comments.

I have a fairly unique pond in that my whole patio side of the pond is windows that look into the pond. So sitting in the patio, is like sitting with a huge aquarium surrounding you 270°. That allows me to spend a good deal of time actually watching the behaviors of my turtles and fish much more than normally would be seen. I have used windows in my ponds for over 30 years now, so that is a lot of watching!!

I limit my pond to native US turtles only. I like to have them live in the pond year round and not worry about tropical species over our cooler winters. So i can speak directly about most of them. With basking turtles - Chrysemys, Pseudemys, Graptemys, Pseudemys, even Malaclemys, I never see aggressive behaviors. They all do well in a group situation. (I would not keep Malaclemys in a fresh water pond, so not saying they are a good mix into a fresh water environment, just not aggressive. They do need brackish water to thrive long-term) I do find especially male Trachemys to be aggressive on many if not most occasions. I will not keep them in my pond. In fact, with Trachemys, the different species, the further south you go in their native distribution - the even more aggressive they get. Females tend to be OK. But the overaggressive mating rituals of the males can often be directed to others.

Clemmys do well, and are never aggressive to other turtles. However, mature males can battle other males, and pester females unless good diverse hides and barriers are present. They also prefer shallower water and need to be able to climb to the surface in cooler weather, as they are not strong swimmers. I have never had aggression problems with Emys, and they also tend to do better when able to climb to the surface. Actinemys do well in a pond. However, some males may attempt to mate with absolutely any other turtle that is rather plain colored and smooth shelled. My conclusion is that since they are native to areas where there is no other species of turtle, they have not developed the discriminating mating identification of specific neck striping, coloration, etc, as all other turtles have. They are also one of the most skittish turtles, even more so than Graptemys. Most will never "tame down" to the point of coming over for food when you are feeding.

Cdmay knows Kinosternon much better than I. I will leave his comments stand.

Sternotherus are a fun turtle for me. I love watching them lumber along the bottom, patrolling their territory and looking for food. I have seen little aggressive behaviors from my odoratus, except some male heirarchy. The are definately tail nippers, though. Especially in a tank. Any other turtle with them will end up with a shortened tail. I think it looks too much like a worm - one of their favorite foods - as opposed to aggression. When raising baby odoratus, I have to keep them in a separate tank. Once in the pond, it seem the tails are just not dangling temptingly and I don't have a problem there. With both carinatus and minor I do see territorial defense. They will often not let any bottom-walking species near what they consider their territory. The seem to ignore basking turtles browsing the bottom, but a Clemmys or Actinemys that gets close is immediately chased away. The do keep a fairly small zone as their own in my pond, perhaps a radius of 6 feet or so.

 

[Aeon]

Thank you guys this has helped save a lot of future heartache

 

[Pastel Tortie]

This is a great thread, lots of really useful information and considerations. I have two hatchling three-striped mud turtles that I have been keeping separately (each has a dishpan placed inside the same 20 gallon long aquarium), but I want both of them to be able to make use of the entire 20 gallon long tank. Depending on how they get along, in the future I may have to consider an additional tank-mate or separating them.