General Care Discussion :: Various questions

[beaner]

You can read my situation in the introductions section to get more background on what got me (and my turtle) where we are. But, basically, I have obtained a turtle that was not well taken care of with very little notice, so I am quite new to owning a turtle. I would normally spend much more time researching an animal before choosing to get one, but for the sake of the turtle, I just had to take him and figure out what I need to do for him asap.

First, he is 4 years old and his shell is a little smaller than the size of my hand. Is this normal for a 4-year-old slider or is he way too small for his age? I know they can get up to a foot in length, but he has been underfed his entire life. His prior owner said she didn't want to feed him much because she didn't want him to grow. So, anyway, is he too small, then? Now that he is being fed properly, will he start growing again like normal if he is too small?

Second, I think "he" might actually be a girl. His prior owner said he is a boy, but I don't think his claws are as long as the picture I saw of a male's claws. Is there another way to tell? I saw another picture of the two gender's tails, but his tail is never out of his shell...I've not been able to even see his tail (again, is this something abnormal?) at all. Is there another way to tell? I'd think that if this is a girl turtle, surely his owner would have noticed eggs being laid or something, but if the turtle has been underfed, maybe it could be a female who simply wasn't laying eggs...is that possible? I'd just like to know so I can know to watch for the problems that females can have when they are carrying eggs.

Third, I have a little bubbly bar that I put in the back that I thought would be cool. But, then, I was reading in a book last night about aquatic turtles that sliders live in very calm waters. The bubbles aren't causing much disturbance or movement to the water (it's one of those green tubes that you hook an air pump up to and little bubbles come out of it), but does that sound like something I should take out? I don't want to stress him further, the poor thing has been through enough!

OK, this will be my last question for now...have any of you put plants in your turtle's tanks for them to eat? I have read that they tend to dig them up instead of leaving them where they're at. And do you have to worry about them over eating (of course, I'm speaking of once he reaches a good, normal weight) if there are plants in there for them to eat?

Thanks for your input! I'm glad to have found this place!

Leslie and Pepe

[BullDog]

Welcome!

Size - It's hard to tell without an exact measurement. Check out this page on how to measure the shell:
http://www.redearslider.com/anatomy.html
RES generally grow to about 3.5-4" in their first year, and about half an inch each year after that. This is of course determined by genetics, nutrition, habitat, etc. It is possible he was stunted due to his previous care, but with the proper care in your hands now it won't affect his health.

If you can post a pic of his front nails, and tail (even if it's tucked in), someone should be able to identify him properly.
How long have you had him? He may be keeping his tail tucked in because he's still nervous about his new habitat.
At 4 years old, it's quite possible that a female hasn't been mature enough to lay eggs, so the previous owners would never find any eggs.

Bubbles are great. Most RES like to play in the bubble stream. "Calm water" usually refers to how strong your filter output is. As far as that goes, as long as your turt has no trouble swimming around, then there's not too much current.

Most RES love to destroy aquatic plants. Sometimes you might get lucky, and your turt won't bother the plants, but most of the time he'll rip them to shreds. Aquatic plants are good for them, so they likely won't overeat them. It's just not really a cost effective way to feed your turt In the summer, I buy a couple of plants of fast growing water hyacinth and water lettuce, and keep them outside. Every now and again I throw a chunk in the turtle tanks, and they have fun ripping them up.

[Moose]

First off congrats on your rescue! posting pics would help out tremendously to identify what exactly what your talking about. my res ALWAYS rip up all the plants that I have given them but LOVE the bubbles! good luck!

[beaner]

Thanks for the input! how do I post pictures on here?

[steve]

There's a link in my signature