General Care Discussion :: Slow Growing Turtles

[lnahama]

My 2 turtles are almost a year old and are about 2 1/2" round
Is this okay?

I too may have to small of a tank 18x10 (3/4 filled with water, has basking areas, heater, UV lamps (for both summer and winter))

I feed them ReptoMin pellets in the morning (enough to fill their little head plus) and a full cube of blood worms or krill every night (1 each).

I keep their water and filters fresh and they seem to enjoy their habitat. I see them basking at night.

I also put a calcium turtle in for them.

I kinda like that they are small, but don't know if I should be doing more for their overall health.

[meltedspork]

That is about the right size for year old turtles... can you post some pics?

A couple of things:
- They shouldn't be basking at night, you should set them to 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark for as natural a habitat as possible.
- Those little turtle "calcium" things are NOT calcium... You should get some cuttlebone for calcium (just be sure to remove the backing - search for cuttlebone on this forum if you need more info).
- They are about a year old now, you should not give them protein daily (i.e. the blood worms and krill), but only as a treat. Instead, start giving them pellets every other day and leafy greens on opposite days.
- That tanks sounds way too small... I'm guessing it's a 10 gallon? Right now you should have about 40 gallons for them. You need 10 gallons for each inch of shell for the first turtle, and 5 extra gallons for each inch of shell for the second turtle.

Hope that helps.

[TheComputerGremlin]

2.5" is a little small for a year old. Optimally, they should be about 4" each by now. Your feeding schedule sounds fine, though, and turtles aren't limited in their growth by their environment (i.e. putting them in smaller containers will not keep them small, they'll grow at a normal pace). You may want to consider having their stool tested for parasites just to be sure. Normally any vet should be able to perform the test, so you won't need a herp vet for the job, and you shouldn't need a full out exam for it either. If they have parasites, they are easy to treat and will stunt the growth. Otherwise, you might just have genetically smaller turtles!

You can continue feeding them protein daily until they reach 4", though. Krill and bloodworms are a once-per-month treat, though, and you should try to get them on veggies as soon as possible. You want a head-sized amount of pellets daily for now, and when they hit 4", you can back it down to every other day, or a half amount portion.

[meltedspork]

Ok, haha, you can disregard my earlier advice about feeding since I thought that was about the right size for a one year old turtle... but I still say nix the frozen cubes and get them eating greens. And you do need a bigger tank and to get them some cuttlebone.

[VanishingReality]

My little guy is just over three inches and a little over a year. He is just a small guy though. If you are worried you can get them checked for parasites though.

[mike hill]

Be careful not to over feed. I would stick to the pellets and try some viggies every couple of days. Too much protein will cause pyramiding. When they get to three inches you should drop back to every other day with the feeding. Stick to the proper temps in the water and basking with uvb lighting. Good Luck. MH.

[theartbook35]

I have two turtles as well, same size, in the 10 gallon as well.

Every turtle has a relatively different growth rate on their own, and their growth is also unique to their gender, even when they are this young.

Are you using a UVB light? This will speed up their metabolism, and they'll probably start growing a little more because of it. I haven't actually got this far to test it out fully, but they certainly happier with the UVB light.

[SpotsMama]

UVB not only makes turtles happier, it's also essential to their health. Turtles have to be able to bask under UVB light in order to metabolize the calcium they eat. As you know, turts need a whole lot of calcium (usually provided by cuttlebone) for shell and bones.

[theartbook35]

UVB not only makes turtles happier, it's also essential to their health. Turtles have to be able to bask under UVB light in order to metabolize the calcium they eat. As you know, turts need a whole lot of calcium (usually provided by cuttlebone) for shell and bones.

Hurricane is basking right now. I put a vine around the area too, so he likes climbing onto it to get closer to the warmth and still feel secure. I also put some rocks and gravel there, which are absorbing some of the heat without getting too hot. He REALLY likes cosying up to them.

I just noticed some scutes getting ready to shed. They haven't come up enough for me to check under them yet, but I will check when it's physically possible.

[marisa]

Two and a half inches "round" is the circumference? If so, try measuring the length of the shell straight down the spine from the scute behind the neck to the ones above the tail and don't include the curve of the shell. The straight carapace length (SCL) would be more accurate to assess their size. Assuming they're healthy, I find it a little hard to believe that the shell lengths are as small as you say they are given what and how often they're being fed...Regardless, they need a bigger tank.

What is the water temp and basking area temp?