types of painted turtles

Question
I was recently given a pair of painted turtles that have a crimson slashes on each side of head. I have two other painted turtles that are mostly green and black patterned. If you could help in iddentifing what specie of painted, that would be great. Also, what is there social status?

Answer
It sounds like a Red-ear slider (Trachemys scripta elegans).

Social status? Turtles establish a small pecking order based on size and aggressiveness. Red-ears, being a naturally bigger species tend to be dominant. Keeping the turtles in a very large tank will minimize any aggression in most cases.

You can learn more about the Red-ear at http://www.redearslider.com or about pet turtles in general at http://www.austinstutlepage.com