General Care Discussion :: Smaller turtle not growing.

[gdesigner]

Hello, I have a 4" turtle that I raised from 1" and it seems like I am feeding him steroids he is growing so fast. Now about 2 months ago I bought a little 1.5" and it seems like he is still the same size as when I bought him. I don't know what is happening. I am feeding him everyday, and following exactly what I did with my first one. It just seems like he hasn't grown at all. And mind you that I have had my first one for 6 months and he has grown 3" already.

[gdesigner]

Anybody have a similar experience?

[AllTheCandies]

hmmm I have no idea. :/

[gdesigner]

Has anyone heard of a turtle not growing much? He eats and has regular bowel movements, he is also active. I'm stumped, lol.

[blackforces get you]

well, from the size growth over that amount of time, he could be male. since males grow slower and dont grow as large, that might be why. keep the regular diet flow and just see

after a year or two my female went from 2 inches to 4. now shes at 5 on her third year.

on a male scale after 3 years, hed have to be about 3 going on 4 inches.

*EDIT*

ok whoa wait. im stumped a little too... maybe their just not sleeping as much or not having the right size of a tank. mine seemed the same size for a year but i think that as the turtle gets older, they grow slower.

[gdesigner]

My spike, I am assuming that at the time I purchased him that he was at least 1 month old. That would make him at least 7 months(at most old in the best case. He or she(I am uncertain now) is currently 3.5 inches. Would that mean that it is probably female?

[blackforces get you]

check for male and female aspects. long claws? fat tail? small size? (male)

short claws? small skinny tail? medium to large in comparison? (female)

[steve]

Are they kept/fed together? Is it possible one is eating more than his/her share.

[gdesigner]

I feed them separately so they get relative amounts for their size. If I fed them both together, Ike would be left scavenging on the bottom, lol. If I posted Top and Bottom pics of my spike, would anyone be able to sex him?

[theartbook35]

All turtles have different growth patterns. Even when they have the exact same diet. Both of my smaller turtles are females, and, Typhoon still grows at a slightly faster rate than Hurricane. There are rare instances when a female will have the same typical growth rate as a male, and sometimes, males will be bigger than females, but, this is very rare.

Keep doing what you are doing, don't increase the amount of food or change the diet, because there is no need to.

The larger turtle is still a bit to young to tell the sex of... Sometimes a male's nails begin to grow very long at 3 inches, but, at this growth rate, it's highly unlike that Spike is a male... (BTW, I have a cat named Spike).

[Spike 7.62]

As long as you're feeding them the right amount for their size, you're doing the right thing. Continue to do this and they will grow according to their genetics. Individual people grow at different rates, and to different sizes, as do animals, including turtles of course. We know what is common, but there is always variation within a species. I wouldn't mind if my turtle stayed tiny forever, as long as he was healthy

-Spike