Can A Painted Turtle Live With A Red Eared Slider?

A red-eared slider is as common as a painted turtle as a pet. But have you ever wondered can a painted turtle live with a red eared slider? As I am a turtle lover and painted turtles are one of the most favorite species of mine, I have done detailed research about their companions. In this particular article, you will get to know if a painted turtle can live with a red-eared slider or not.

Well, the answer is yes! Painted turtle and red-eared sliders may live together. This is because they have a lot more similarities in terms of their lifestyle, need, want and demand. When you are about to select companions or tank mates you should make sure that both are comfortable.  As there are similarities in between them they both can live peacefully.

Differentiating between the two

In order to rear painted turtle and red-eared sliders both as companions, it is much important to differentiate between them. If you don’t have a vast knowledge about turtles then you might not know that there is a particular difference between the two, which is usually left unseen.

Red-eared sliders are higher doomed compared to painted turtles.  The upper shells of both the turtles are similar and often they grow of the same size. (Sometimes the red-eared slider may grow bigger.) Moreover, there is no color wise difference. The two ways to differentiate between a red eared slider and a painted turtle are:

• The upper shells of a red-eared slider is a bit steeper in compared to the upper shells of painted turtles.
• There is a red earmark behind the eyes of the red-eared slider which is not present in painted turtles. (The red-eared mark behind eyes may not always be seen in adult sliders.)

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How to care for both and the aquarium setup

You should be caring the same way for both the turtles. It is to be noted that painted turtles and red-eared slider both prefer spacious living area, particularly spacious basking area. So, when you are going to select an aquarium you should try to get the largest one you can.

Make sure that both of the turtles can bask with ease. If you want to keep them together then you should place such an accommodation that is capable of at least 75 gallons or more.

The similarity in Feeding

At a young age, both the painted turtle and red-eared slider live on both plants and animals. But as they grow older they become herbivorous.  Therefore this similarity makes a good situation for being ideal tank mates.

Be Sure to keep in mind 

As told before, a red-eared slider and a painted turtle may grow of the same size but not always. Sometimes some female red eared sliders may grow up to 13 inches or more whereas adult female painted turtles barely grow up to 6 inches.

In this case, your painted turtle may become prey instead of a companion. If you see a major difference in the size of the turtle or any kind of aggressive attitude, it’s better not to keep them together. Moreover, turtles can bare parasites from the local environment that can easily be transmitted. Before putting any turtle species you should do a detailed check.

Lastly, painted turtles and red-eared sliders can live together peacefully if there isn’t any negative aggression and the sliders and painted turtles coincide in size.