General Care Discussion :: Question about age and size

[Tortugasmom]

Ok, people I have a question I was just curious about.
I have a female RES who's about 3 years old.
She's approx 4 and a half inches long.
Is she around the right size for her age? Or should she be bigger?

[SpotsMama]

She's small for her age. There's quite a bit of variation in the speed at which turtles grow, but yours is pretty small. What does she eat and how much? Has she ever been checked by a vet for internal parasites? One of the common reasons for slow or no growth in a turtle is internal parasites.

[Tortugasmom]

She's pretty much been eating pellets, just a few every day. I give her Small shrimp every now and then as a treat.

No, she's never been checked for parasites...do you think this could be the cause of her being so small?

She is very active and seems perfectly healthy, aside from her size.
I track her growth on a piece of paper by tracing her and I've noticed that she grows more in the spring and summer months.

[imderanged]

Tortugasmom, I'm not too sure about your turtles size, since my turtles only 2.25 inches...but I just had to tell you, your signature really cracks me up!

[Tortugasmom]

Hehe..I thought so too! Thanks Imderanged...how old is your turtle?

[SpotsMama]

You may be able to feed your turtle more. He certainly needs some variety in his diet. Read up on this and then let us know if you have questions:

http://www.redearslider.com/index_nutrition.html

On the check for parasites, I'd have it done if I were you. It shouldn't be expensive - it's pretty easy for a vet to do. The vet just needs a fresh stool sample.

[imderanged]

You know, I'm not entirely ure how old my turtle is...I got him as a gift just this past Xmas. I *think* my friend who gave him to me told me that the WEBSITE he ordered the turtle from SAID that the turtle was hatched "in the spring" so that would make him around a year old, I guess? I posted some pics just today of how much he has grown since I got him:
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15852

[Tortugasmom]

Ok, Thanks Spots mom..I'm looking into a Vet...Can't seem to find one in my general area though. I shall keep looking.

[TheComputerGremlin]

A normal vet should be able to do the stool sample test, not just a herp vet. Usually those types of things are sent out anyways. It's going to be hardest to find a fresh stool sample.

You said she eats a few pellets each day, is that all she's interested in eating? You should encourage her to eat a head sized portion every other day or half that portion daily. She should also be eating veggies regularly at this point.

[VanishingReality]

I'm not sure but I have had my turtle for three months and he has grown from just under 2" to just over 2.25". Besides the scuts he had when we first got him that he rapidly grew out of, he is growing at a constant rate.

[Tortugasmom]

She really isn't interested in eating anything else. Picky little bugger she is...I tried carrots, which she really seemed to like.

I was wondering about collecting stool samples.
Should I leave the filter off for a while?
I never see any in there.

[TheComputerGremlin]

The easiest way is to feed her pellets in a separate smaller tank. About a half hour later, she'll likely go poo. You'll have to watch her like a hawk, though!

It's good that she likes carrots, try some other food like boiled sweet potato, mango, apples - all of these can be fed in thin strips. Dandelion greens and green/red leaf lettuce seems to be the favorite lettuce of turtles, so try those. I tend to feed the veggies in the evenings (and pellets in the mornings) because my little guy seems to be getting hungry around then.

[Tortugasmom]

Thanks Gremlin...I will try that, and the food.