should I get Taylor a friend?

Question
Hey Mark, I recently acquired a red eared slider. He is about 4 inches and I feed him in the morning about 4 pieces of each: krill, shrimp, mini sticks and I feed him fruit (without much success). I have been wanting to get him a friend but I am worried that he will be territorial. And if I should get him a friend what sex, breed, and size should I get. How should I introduce them and should I arrange different feeding schedule's or any other such thing. Is a 50 gal big enough for two? I just don't know, I have done a little research but I have not received a clear answer. Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi, Brittany. Like it says in my profile, I really don't do water turtle questions, and I think you would get a better answer at one of the sites I listed, but...

- Water turtles in general do not eat fruit. In general, young turtles want a meat/protein-based diet with some plants, and will switch to more plants as it gets older.

- Sliders are somewhat territorial, but do OK if there is enough room. Figure about 10 gallons of water per inch of shell length. A 50 gallon tank, mostly filled, is about 40 gallons, so can handle about 4" worth of turtles- we usually say a 50 gallon is about right for one medium-small Slider. Sadly, since they can get 12" long, you really need a pond or something for the adults.

- Type? It is usually best to stick to one species in a limited habitat so you'd get another slider of about the same size so the big one does not easily bully the small one. You really cannot tell sex reliably until about 6" long, so that would just be a guess.