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hey, i got two RES for Xmas, and they are doing well. but, one of them has been growing more rapidly then the other. one now is approx 2 cm bigger than the other. the smaller one is eating well, stops when it has had enough. the other one, if there is food left, will continue eating all the left overs. i remove the left overs, but if i dont, it will eat it all up. also, i read that the males are smaller, is that right, or did i read it wrong? i am starting to think the bigger one is the male, as he has a dark blue, purple "thing" protruding from the rear. they are both healthy, getting plenty of light, UVB, because its winter here. just any info will be useful.
cheers team

Correct, males will grow slower and ultimately be smaller in size than the females. The males also have much longer claws than the females.

Females will ultimately grow to be larger than males, but the rate of growth is also affected by genetics, diet, warmth, etc. The bigger turtle with the purple thing coming out of it (and retracting?) sounds like a male.

yeah, i thought the bigger one was the male, until i saw the little protruding thing that was retracting. they do the little dance, too. is quite funny to watch. oh well, so life goes. is it possible that they might not be from the same brood? i bought them at the same time and they were the same size. no worries though, i still love them to bits. people cant believe that i have turtles, but everybody loves them to bits....