different turtle

Question
hello,I know a lot about reptiles and my friends always ask me questions about turtles and such and i just want to make sure what i told her was right!O-kay well she just got 3 turtles from our friend and she has a red-eared slider,a soft shelled and what i think is a yellow bellied slider(i havent actually seen it but she described it to me).She asked if it was ok to keep them together,i told her that she couldnt keep the soft shelled with the sliders and i also told her that she couldnt keep them in the small space she has them in.(a bowl)please correct me if I'm wrong!!!!they are a little bit bigger than a silver dollar.

Answer
Hello Sophia,

You are absolutely right about the bowl. It might work if you want a goldfish as a pet, but for a turtle...nope.
She would need at least a 30 gallon - tank (That's the minimal size)
for one single adult.

However, I don't exactly agree with you about keeping different turtles together. Yes, it's usually not recommended to keep a several species in the same tank, but it is possible if:
- All of the turtles are healthy (Especially from respiratory infection)

- They are able to get along, without fighting

- You're careful when feeding them (Make sure they don't have to fight over the food. So it's usually better to feed them small portions a couple of times/day than giving them plenty of food 1 time/day).

- You're ready to put some extra work in taking care of the turtles. Different species kept together usually need some extra supervision, for example.

- You have a bigger tank. Mixed species needs more space - so a bigger tank is definitely a must!

Best wishes
Sara