General Care Discussion :: New RES Growing Fast

[Gryphon97]

I bought my RES early January and he/she was about one inch at the time. Now, almost 2 months later, he/she's 2 inches. I'm worried that he/she's growing to fast, also because the dark spaces that have grown between the scutes are quite large. I was feeding him about the size of his head in pellets once daily, and now I've cut back a bit. Is he/she growing too fast and/or should I change his/her diet? Any help would be appreciated.

[steve]

It's possible and it does sound like your RES is growing a little too fast. Cutting down pellets is a start, is there anything else you were feeding? Have you tried veggies?

Also, is there anyone else in your household that might be sneaking food to your turtle? They're pretty good beggars, so it happens more than you think.

[Gryphon97]

I've fed him a few veggies (meaning once a week I'll find some sort to feed him, though I've been meaning to go get some red head lettuce to feed him more often), though pretty much all his diet has been pellets. No one else around has been feeding him, that I am sure of.

What would you recommend as pellet to veggie ratio for him now and as he grows larger? Also, how fast does an average RES grow at this stage and as they get larger (just so I have a reference)?

[ytse411]

Sylvia was 1/4 lb when I got her...a few months later she was twice the size. Vet said she was probably under-nurished and is makig up for lost time now that she had a home. Her shell actually had ridges on it, from all the growing and stretching. she's a solid 6 lbs now, so she's done ok!