General Care Discussion :: Is my RES healthy and whats the sex?

[JonandAshly4]

Hello, I have had my RES for a year now. When I first got him he was about the size of a half dollar. He has got huge. He has a healthy appetite. We feed him pellets, fish, crab meat and those frozen greem blocks. He has a 55 gallon tank for now. He basks a lot and he LOVES to get out. As soon as I put my hand in the water he swims to me. He likes me to pet him and he will run around on the carpet for hours if we let him. My question is... does he look healthy and could anyone tell me if he is a boy or a girl. Thanks!

http://img294.imageshack.us/g/littlebigman.jpg/

[rsour24]

i think ur turtle is too small to tell still but id say girl

[BullDog]

If it's bigger than 4" shell length, that's a female, and she's going to get a lot bigger

She looks pretty healthy, although it looks like she's getting some minor pyramiding. How often do you feed her? Sounds like she might be getting too much protein. The pellets you can feed a head-sized amount once every two days. The crab and fish should only be feed as a treat, once a month or less. I'm not sure what the green blocks are, but you can also add in some fresh veggies. Check out these links for good veggies to feed:
http://www.redearslider.com/plants.html
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5

[mikee]

Jo-Ash4 - A premature guess would be a female. He/she should get a little larger to really tell. Re-ask in about a year.

[imderanged]

My Pickle is about that size and shows definite male sex traits already, yours doesn't, so I think yours is a female.

[PcBuilder14]

I think female.

I'm glad I found out mine's a male because I didn't want to have to deal with a huge turtle and unfertilized eggs!

[coreyvht]

yea looks like a femaile her claws are preety small ...i mean nails

[JonandAshly4]

Thanks so much guys. Yeah from what I read I think its a girl too now. Also it does sound like she is eating too much protein. I have been feeding her morning and night too! This explains why she has got so huge. You can see her size compared to now, and that was just 10 months ago (and those are both my hands) I am glad I asked you guys. I will definitely put her on a diet! I swear she is just so ravenous and enjoys eating so much. So I thought I should just keep feeding her what her appetite seems to want. But I see now that is just way too much!




These are the green blocks I was talking about. They sell them in the freezer section at petsmart. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... 5376000000

[gwennie]

I think she looks really healthy ^^ some extremely minor pyramiding, perhaps, but nothing to be too concerned about - most captive turtles will have that. You just need to monitor her protein more closely like the others have suggested.