General Care Discussion :: growth rate

[famouslastwords]

so i was wondering what a normal growth rate would be, ive been lurking in other posts and ive noticed that people have had their turtles for a number of months and theyre still relatively tiny.

now ive had my turtle for maybe two and a half months, and in that time i would guess hes grown about an inch. i am aware that i was overfeeding him and have since cut it down, and added romaine to his diet.

i am just wondering what is normal?

[jenaero]

There's no real set rate of growth because most res are overfed and grow too fast. At 1 year 3 or 4in is a good size. After that you should aim for 1 inch per year. That's about where mine are. They were 4in at a year (yes, they were over fed for about the first 6 months) and their growth has slowed to about an inch per year since

[industrial_girl_2000]

Well, I don't know if it helps, but I got Siobhan about 5 weeks ago at 1.5 inches & baby is now 2" long. I'll keep ya all posted....

[famouslastwords]

oh thank you very much for the replies!!

[marisa]

I think after about 3 years, you'll find, if they're not being overfed or fed a high protein diet, that growth will slow noticeably and you won't necessarily be able to count on an inch every year. Their genetic make-up will also be a factor (as it is for humans).