General Care Discussion :: when can i treat my turtles as an adult

[blind44]

im a noob and i have 2 turtles. one's shell is approximitly 2.5 inches long and the 2nd one's approximitly 2 inches. they are both from a chinese vendors in china town so there is no way i can find out when they were hatched.

so my questions is, how do i know when to consider them as adults? i know that feeding and water temp needs to change for adults compared to babies so im just curious when i should make the changes. they were also in that tiny, transparent cage when they were purchased and i heard that could have stunned their growth b/c of their crappy environment. Does that mean they might be lot older than they appear?

[ChocoTurtle]

I don't think that is true taht they can't grow when their still in the transparent cage cause my cousin has 2 turtles in that thing for 6 months together and they still grew

[Bumby's Mom]

Poor nutrition and environment causes a lack of growth.

[blind44]

I don't think that is true taht they can't grow when their still in the transparent cage cause my cousin has 2 turtles in that thing for 6 months together and they still grew

well, what i meant was that because of the lack of nutrient and also due to the terrible living condition, that it could have stunned their growth. those chinese street vendors dont care for them and im sure most of the turtles they sell are completely malnourished and sick.

[ChocoTurtle]

I don't think that is true taht they can't grow when their still in the transparent cage cause my cousin has 2 turtles in that thing for 6 months together and they still grew

well, what i meant was that because of the lack of nutrient and also due to the terrible living condition, that it could have stunned their growth. those chinese street vendors dont care for them and im sure most of the turtles they sell are completely malnourished and sick.

Oh that is true that the Chinese vendors don't care. My dad doesn't care about his turtles too...

[octpusgirl8]

The general rule is that at 4 inches they are considered adults.

[mikee]

Oct-girl - She is correct. I start feeding mine every other day when they get this size. If they have been well taken care of by that size they will do just fine. M.

[blind44]

I don't think that is true taht they can't grow when their still in the transparent cage cause my cousin has 2 turtles in that thing for 6 months together and they still grew

well, what i meant was that because of the lack of nutrient and also due to the terrible living condition, that it could have stunned their growth. those chinese street vendors dont care for them and im sure most of the turtles they sell are completely malnourished and sick.

Oh that is true that the Chinese vendors don't care. My dad doesn't care about his turtles too...

maybe one day your dad will see how much you care for turtles and change his way. never say never...

[blind44]

4" cool cool. thanx a bunch fellas....=)

[megcornell]

As for the chinatown history causing your turtles to be undersize, I don't think that's a really big concern. They have the hatchlings for such a short time and while it's plenty of time to come down with a fatal disease or infection, it's not really long enough to stunt growth. Not only that, but hatchlings grow so fast that once they are in appropriate environments they should be just fine.

[blind44]

As for the chinatown history causing your turtles to be undersize, I don't think that's a really big concern. They have the hatchlings for such a short time and while it's plenty of time to come down with a fatal disease or infection, it's not really long enough to stunt growth. Not only that, but hatchlings grow so fast that once they are in appropriate environments they should be just fine.

yeah...i hear ya. im not worried about their size being stunned or anything and plus i have created the best possible environment and got them on primo diet so im not worried at all... i was just thinking that if in anyway that their size was stunned/undersized, that it would be even harder for me to figure out the time i need to start considering them as adults.