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I have hatchlings and they are tiny. I was wondering how small they are when they are first born? Is there a way to tell how many months old they are by size?

You really can only be sure how old they are if you knew when they were hatched. Size can be affected by factors such as genetics, diet, and general living conditions. When got my RES he was quite small, and looked only a few months old. But by finding out when he had been bought by the previous keepers, I'm figuring he was at least several months older than he looked, --his small size was in part due to his living conditions (pitiful). But, he's getting to be a really big boy now.

I've read on one site that they are "around" an inch when born, which is very general. And from another site, I've heard that they are anywhere from .8 inches to 1.25 inches upon hatching. But as Marisa said, there's no way on knowing for sure how old they are unless you know their hatching date due to all the factors that affect growth rate.

so when would you count the age of your turtle?? would you count it from the day you got them or would you add a few months and tell ppl from there?

well for me, i know he is a couple of months old because he is only around an inch and his shell is still soft so i'll just count it from the day i got him and add a + sign to it ..ie. 2 weeks +

I was trying to calculate the overall age of my turtles and figure out when they were hatched. Well, it sounds as if I got Bert & Ernie when they were just a few weeks old! I've had them for about 3 or 4 months and they are still under an inch. Poor things. I cant' believe that I was so uneducated on their proper care until last week. Has anyone charted their turt growth? I'll take some photos when I get back into town. I called home tonight and learned that they are chasing the baby guppies. Those are only 3 days old and perfect chomping size! I'm glad to see them get the exercise, but sad to be missing out on the show.

My husband and I got our first turtles May 05'. The first thing we did when we got them home was measure them and take pictures of them and started learning about them. We have a little log book for them. It is so amazing how much they have all grown since then. We just consider their birthday as the day we got them. Our biggest turtle was about an inch when we got him and now he is pushing 4in. He is a monster. Its just nice to have all the memories of raising them. Kind of like raising a kid.

my turtle is only 1 1/2 inches....i got him since last summer, so how do i know how old is he now?

There is no way to know how old he is, unless you know when he was born. I've already answered your question on another post. Please try not to double post. This isn't a chat room, so don't expect an immediate answer. People will post if they want, when they are available.

angelkoko, you've had your turtle almost a year and he's still only 1.5 inches? (This is the shell length down the back not including the curve, right?) If so, this is rather small. What are you feeding him, how much and how often?