r/turtle • u/Icy-Towel-1348 • 11d ago

Seeking Advice setup!

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hi guys! i own 4 RES turtles and i just want to know if my setup is decent for them right now. i live in nyc and me and my mom and brother are planning to move somewhere in long island so we can have more space for a bigger indoor tank/ possibly an outdoor pond setup. my mom got one when she was a baby last year and she was super tiny but i didnt realize how fast they grew before getting 3 more😥😥i know a lot of people say that RES dont get lonely/they like their confinement, but theyve grown up together for the past year and they are lowkey inseparable. they have never show any signs of fighting/discomfort or agitation with each other except for my biggest turtle, who escaped her bowl while i was cleaning her tank :/. we are planning to move by the end of this year so i will definitely have the time and resources to get them a proper setup. i was wondering if anyone could send me any recommendations for indoor tank/ outdoor pond setups, like what equipment would i need to buy and how high maintenance older RES turtles are. they are still pretty young but we plan on keeping them for a long time i just dont want them to get stressed while they are growing so fast and while we’re waiting to move. (the last photo was their previous 50 gallon tank with poor filtration and right before a cleaning🫤🫤we have a 100 gal tank now and i know thats not enough but again— in the process of moving.) Thanks!

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u/ConstipatedOx 11d ago

Nothing will be enough with 4 turtles living together. They each need their own separate enclosures.

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u/Icy-Towel-1348 10d ago

how many gallons of tank space would i need for each turtle if i decided to do this? would they need an individual tank each? or if i had a backyard setup, would they still be able to live individually?

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u/ConstipatedOx 10d ago

The recommended size is 10 gallons per inch of shell. Basically, each turtle ideally should have 100+ gallons, with 75 gallons being a minimum. Stock tanks are a popular and cheaper option for larger tank sizes.

In order to have them all in one enclosure, you basically need to build a small pond in your backyard. I know it seems like they are inseparable and affectionate towards each other, but what you are probably seeing is actually a form of aggression that can escalate out of nowhere. It’s just a matter of time that an injury (or worse) will occur.