General Care Discussion :: Growth after horrible conditions

[DulcyDoll]

My RES is about 10-12 years old, and is only 4.5 inches long and 4 inches across. He was wild caught as a hatchlng, and kept in less than adequate conditions growing up. Since he was not given proper care, i assume his growth has been stunted. My question is, if he is given perfect care, will he grow? He has gone from a small tote with only enough water to cover him to a 55 gallon tank, eating only pellets to having a varried diet (i have had him 2 weeks, still finding out what he will eat) with clean water and a warm basking area. I don't mind him being small, he takes up less room, but if he will start growing, I need to be prepared with a bigger tank.

[jenaero]

I've never dealt with that myself, but I think it's safe to assume that with the right habitat and diet he will likely start growing again. If he's indeed a male, you may not need to upgrade anyway.

[jay2487]

A 55 gal isn't going to be big enough either. If you go by the 10 gallon per inch of turtle rule your at 45 gallons, subtract the amount you are short as you cant fill to the top to prevent escape plus decorations and substrate displacement your below the minimum. And that is a minimum. I would think that upsizing the tank would make it easier for him to finally grow.

[TheComputerGremlin]

With a male, you can squeeze a 55 gallon to last for life as long as you are prepared (should he get much bigger) to equip the tank with an above tank basking area. With a little creativity, it shouldn't be a problem, and as long as he doesn't get much past 8-9 inches, you should be fine.

I am going to guess that while he may increase a little bit, he's probably not going to grow much more.