How do I bond a 1 1/2 year old Painted turtle and a baby Mississippi Map turtle?
Sorry to say, but you can’t. Turtles are not sociable animals and prefer to live alone without other turtles. Often when housed with another turtle they will fight which can lead to serious injuries and sometimes even death. Trust me, your turtle does not need a friend and you will have to house the two turtles separately. If turtles are together they will start “fanning” each other in which they will shake/vibrate their claws in each others face – this is a sign of mating behavior but more often it is a sign of aggression. Once you have seen your turtles nipping at each other than you should definitely remove them quickly and permanently. Each of your turtles need a large tank – a 120 + gallon tank just for one of them! So to house two turtles together you need well over a 200 gallon tank and even than it is not guaranteed they will not fight. So if you are keeping them in a small tank then they are definitely displaying aggressive behavior towards each other. It may look cute and fun
