General Care Discussion :: How young is too young!?

[davidthegreat]

So, is a 1 inch RES turtle too young to get? Or should I get a 2 inch RES turtle?

Is the 2 inch RES more likely to survive than the 1 inch?

Thanks!

[n00bEmpty]

If you have proper care for either then they'll survive granted that the RES doesn't have an infection or problem when you get it. For me then I started with a 1.5 inch RES that grew to 1.7 inches.
To me, they're just turtles, they'll behave like a turtle, it' just up to you if you want to get a turtle in different color variations.

[steve]

Hi, I would say yes that a 2" RES is more likely to survive. Unless you are intent of getting a hatchling, you can find plenty of older RES at rescues.

[MoreBloodWine]

Larger the turtle greater the survival chance, when I got Niko he/she was about 1" but I managed to get a healthy one. I've had Niko for about a year n a half now and he/shes doin just fine. It all comes down to luck of the draw as one might say.

Edit: Actually I stand corrected, I just check my growth chart.

When I first got Niko on 9/24/2008 he/she measured in at 1.5" and weighed 10grams.

12/15/2009 on last weigh in Niko was 74grams and 3.25"

Edit: Here's the complete growth chart.

9/24/2008 10 grams 1.5 inches
11/9/2008 18 grams 1.8 inches
1/1/2009 28 grams 2.5 inches
2/21/2009 36 grams 2.6 inches
12/15/2009 74 grams 3.25 inches

[Outlander]

Hey MBW my turtle seems to be on the same growth schedule as yours!

Where are you finding these teeny tiny turtles from? Here (BC) it's illegal to sell turtles under 3.5 inches. Mine was between 1.5 and 2 inches when I first got him, but my friend found him in the wild. He's a "de-introduced" species because they live in here but aren't native to the area!

Anyway, he's survived quite well despite the sub-par care I was giving him for the first few months (didn't know anything about turtles then). Over a year old now!