General Care Discussion :: Fast Growth?

[Mauk]

So I had bought three RES hatchlings like the mid of November. At the end of December I had to leave them with my sister to watch them as I had to go away for three weeks. I had just come back a few days ago to find that that they have grown tremendously the three weeks I was away. One guy is like almost 2inches now and the other is 1.5inches and they are much darker shade of green now which I know would happen as they got older.

I'm guessing she over feed that but I am just worried it will affect them permanently in a bad way.

I have already changed their diet a bit adding even more greens and only feeding every other day.

Is there anything I should look out for? They both are very active since I took them back.

[megcornell]

At their sizes they should still be getting fed every day with pellets.
Underfeeding them now won't compensate for the three weeks of overfeeding. Instead, the best thing you can do is give them a balanced diet like you've been doing since your return.
A few weeks of overfeeding may cause a little growth spurt but if they've been properly fed for the majority of their first year I'd doubt you'd see any adverse affects in their shell health.

[TheComputerGremlin]

When my turtle was little, she experienced growth spurts, rather than gradual growth. She went from 1.5 inches to 2.5 inches in only a few weeks, then slowed down again, then jumped to around 3.5 inches, then slowed, then jumped to like 5 inches, now she's slowed down a lot. I fed her a constant amount of pellets daily, plus veggies.

Optimally, you want your hatchlings to be around 4 inches after a year, though that's assuming that you actually knew their hatching date. If not, they can be anywhere from 0-6 months old when you get them.

[SpenceMasta]

well since they were hatchlings a few months ago it would be expected that they would grow quickly, as with any baby animal, you're worrying over nothing if they are still active, its more likely a sign of good health and since they are still young they should have pellets everyday, you shouldnt underfeed them with more greens they need their protein

[speedylover]

heY mauk,
i feel the same way!

[Mauk]

Thanks everyone, they certainly look happy and healthy. I guess it's just I was away for 3 weeks and came back to a big surprise as I didn't even get to see them grow.

It's kinda cool after seeing them a few days now cause they are less scared when I am walking around and will just do what they were doing as if I wasn't there.