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No Growth?!

PostPosted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:00 am
by Deon
Hi, I've had my turtle since early july/late june this year. The previous owner apparently had her for 2 years (started as a baby so 2years old) . She was living in a 1 gallon tank with minimal water, but she managed to survive.
When my turtle was given to me, she was only about 2.4 inches, even though she's two years old. During the 5 months i've had her, she has grown only to 2.7 inches. She only has a little of the baby scutes left now. She lives in a 40 gal now.
So my question is - Is her lack of growth due to the previous habitat? Will she grow anymore?

Thanks

PostPosted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 3:58 am
by Arisu
The improper care for the turtle probably suppressed her growth. However, she will probably become much healthier and happier with the new and proper environment. She is definitely going to grow more- given that you take care of her well :)

PostPosted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 5:49 am
by Deon
What im afraid of is that what if the time to grow has passed?

PostPosted: Sat Nov 01, 2008 11:22 am
by TheComputerGremlin
Turtles continue to grow until full grown, generally 5-7 years old. So she has only lost her initial growth spurt which would have gotten her to about 4-5 inches. She'll probably not make it to be 9-12 inches, but 6-8 inches is perfectly reasonable.

In the first year or so of life, turtles grow to about 4 inches length. After that, they should grow at a rate of about 1 inch per year until they reach 7-9 inches for males and 9-12 inches for females.

You've had her for about 3 months and she's grown 3/10ths of an inch, which is perfect for gaining an inch per year!