Other Turtle Discussion :: How fast do turtles grow?

[jdub1107]

Let's say I have an 80gallon tank with 3 - 1.5/2inch turtles. How fast do they usually grow? More specifically, how long would it take for them to reach about 4.5/5inches? Thanks

edit: Also, are there any species of aquatic turtles that don't grow very large? Maybe around 7 inches at maturity?

[marisa]

Growth depends on the turtle's genetic make-up (some just get bigger than others, and females are larger than males as adults), but also on the diet and other factors such as warmth. So, it's difficult to say how long it would take for a turtle to reach a certain size.

Mud, musk and spotted turtles are three that come to mind when you ask about smaller turts. A good article to help you make up your mind about what you want is

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Articl ... turtle.htm It gives a lot of info on the pros and cons of different species, including the average sizes, difficulty of care, etc.

Let us know what you decide.

[jdub1107]

My gf just bought 2-1.5 inche res. So now we have 3. I read skimmed the article and I think res is still the way to go. They look nicer and I like the fact that they swim in deeper water.

[flutterby]

I think my mom's and my turtles grew about half an inch in the past month. So they grow pretty darned fast.

[bradhart]

1.5 inches? that's crazy. I've had mine since christmas and it's barely grew at all... is there something in my setup that may be stunting its growth?

40 gal long tank, basking/UVB light, reptomin sticks,water lettuce in tank, assorted veggies,filter,fake plants/decorations (no gravel--took that out last week)

turt is about 1.5-1.75 inches

[marisa]

What's the temp of the water and basking area? Actually, slow, steady growth is better than fast grow. If your turt is healthy and at one year is 3.0 - 3.5 inches, that would be fine.

[cam722]

ok, I've had my three turtles for a year, (oh wait, only 2 now, flutterby has the other) when I got them they were about the size of a quarter or a wee bit smaller. yes, they grew about a half inch in the past month but a lot of changes were made. They've been getting fed better .. better lighting.. and well quite honestly they may not have grown that much, maybe I just didn't measure them properly the first time?? Not that I think I did it wrong but it is a possibility. This time I had 2 sets of hands doing it

Also, though I've not read up on this and I could be totally wrong, maybe they do more growing in the warmer months?? You know growth spurts like kids and other animals have..??

[marisa]

Yes, heat encourages growth (and in the wild they'd spend part of the year in hibernation not growing).

Cam277, do your turtles tuck their heads into their shells easily? If they do, stick them between two phone books, for example, and measure their shell lengths that way. (My RES usually refuses to go into his shell, which makes this sort of thing difficult for me.)

[cam722]

yep, they do... actually one of them tucked her head so far in it looked like she lost it.. most of the time their eyes/nose are still sticking out, but yesterday she totally tucked in.. it was freaky looking.

I had flutterby hold them the other day when we measured them.. so 2 sets of hands, 2 pairs of eyes made it MUCH easier.

[djaaconn]

i have had my res for a little over a year and bought them when they were a bout an inch and now the are about 5 inches

[bradhart]

marisa, basking temp is around 90 F and water temp is 78. he's just shy 2 inches

[marisa]

How much do you feed him? Don't know if you do, but you don't have to adhere to that head-size guideline for veggies...

[bradhart]

head size for pellets...there's veggies in there all the time (well, most of the time)

[marisa]

Does he seem really hungry for more pellets after he's been fed? If so, every once in a while, I'd give him a bit more (not regularly, though). Are you feeding Reptomin?

[bradhart]

I don't think so. He'll scarf what I give him, then lounge about. He'll beg if I stoop over the tank, but I'm assuming all turts do that. Feeding him reptomin