Turtle Thursday: Can't we all get along?

When I used to be a moderator of the turtlesale forum, one of the lies we were supposed to enforce was that you shouldn't mix breeds of turtles as none of them get along.

LIES. LIES. LIES.

While, it's true there are some more aggressive breeds that should be mixed, they are, by far, the minority of turtles. Logically, you wouldn't mix a soft shelled turtle up in a tank with an alligator snapper. However, I have found my red eared sliders, map, cooter, and diamondback terrapin all get along very well. In any breed you can find a some with a bad attitude, but they seem docile towards other breeds in my tank.

HINT: It's a good idea to have a big tank to allow the turtles space to spread out. I think most aggression comes from crowded conditions.

Pictured above, Snappy the red eared slider chilling in the basking area with Jay, a Mississippi map turtle. Pic taken by Mrs. Bax0jayz on he phone cam.