Feeding and Nutrition :: Full grown

[britt]

I'm just wondering when a res is full grown. Harriette is a 2 year old male who is only 5 inches long. I'm in denial that he is a he as for 18 months he was a she. I took him to the vet a couple of weeks ago and the vet said that he may be full grown. This concerns me. When do they normally stop growing? He's been through a rough past and I really don't know if any of that would affect his growth or not. I'll post about that in the intros though. Thanks for any help.

[steve]

It can vary, but why are you concerned that he has stopped growing? How big was he 2 years ago?
update... just read Harriette's story. A 5" male at two years is a bit large but there's nothing you can do about it now. Excessive growth can be hard on the kidneys and other organs but there are other things to worry about like shell deformities. I'd concentrate on giving him a good diet now, a good basking area and plenty of UVA/UVB.

[britt]

I wish I would have known about rapid growth being hard on his insides a long time ago. 5 months ago he was about 3.5 inches so yea, I think that would be rapid growth. The last 3 months he hasn't grown at all or even shed a scute. His shell looks good, no pyramiding, it's nice and thick. He has a basking spot that is made up of large river rocks that is usually about 88 degrees and the water is 75 degrees. I have a Repti-Glo 5.0 compact coil UVB but it's getting to be time to replace it. He loves being outside in his kiddie pool and I do too. He gets the natural sun light and more room to swim. I had am exam with the vet who said that everything seemed to being well and that he saw improvement from 5 months ago, especially in his strength and reflexes. Usually he gets ZooMed Growth Formula food every other day (sometimes every 3), he gets some kind of green every day wether it be collards (which he loves) or mustards or endive, and then I usually try to keep rosy reds in the tank for his live food. I do have some pics of him, I just have to upload them.

[DavidY]

Does he still need the Growth Formula? Maybe you could switch to regular Reptomin food sticks. Also the rosy reds are good as a treat once in a while but not too often (like once or twice a month). As they get older their diet should lean more towards the veggies and less protein. If you can get any aquatic plants like anacharis, RES love that and it's good for them too.

[industrial_girl_2000]

It sounds like he is doing so much better with your care! Everything you described in your posts about "Harry" sounds really good, and I am glad that you have a vet who is helping you along with the process.

5 inches for a male RES....not bad. And actually, that can be a blessing in disguise because if he is done growing it means that you never need bigger than, say, a 55 gallon tank.

When they stop growing is based on genetics & how he was cared for before you got him. But keep in mind too, that turtles are amazingly resilient once they get the right care/food/UVA/UVB/temps etc. Turtles grow much slower once they are bigger so don't worry so much about the "rate" of growth right now. Just enjoy him & keep caring for him.

Welcome to the board, BTW!

[marisa]

Why does the vet think he's full grown at 5 inches when you said he's only two years old?

My male RES is between 6 1/2 and 7 inches (I have to measure) and he's a little over 5 years old.

[britt]

I'm not sure if he needs the growth formula but it says for 2-6 inches so..I don't know. It's supposed to have more veggie matter in it but I still give him quite a few veggies. Anancharis is actually illegal in my state because it's endangered here but I have ordered some from eBay before and I love it. He does too. He'll munch on most of it. 5 bunches of 4-5 peices each last about a week and 1/2. I've tried to use Hornswart (I think it was, I dunno, it was horn something..) but I really didn't like how it clogged the filter and just got eveywhere. Mental note: he's good on fish for a while. Got it. I've noticed that they are extremely resilient. Is part of why he grew so quickly when I got him back because he actually had the right set up? It amazes me that for so long he wasn't able to even use his calcium or D3. Poor baby. The vet thinks he may be at his full length because of the crap that he went through. He thinks that it may have stunted his growth. Even if he is done growing, I plan on having him in a 75 gallon tank at the smallest. I'm got the design ready for when it happens.

[marisa]

Anachris is illegal in some states, not because it's endangered, but because it's considered to be invasive---authorities don't want any or any more if it's already present getting into lakes, ponds, etc.

If it were me, I wouldn't worry about giving a growth formula. I'd get a few good brands of pellets (Reptomin being one of them) and alternate them with a variety of other foods. And don't overfeed or try to make up for what he didn't have before. It sounds like he had a growth spurt (1.5 inches in 5 months is a lot) from the change in his living conditions (often not a good thing). I'd just concentrate on giving him a good, balanced diet and let the growth take care of itself. He will grow some more or he will not---time will tell.

[britt]

Actually I checked for my state and it's because it's endangered. There's only one recoreded place that has it. :s I've fed him Reptomin, T-Rex, and ZooMed food. I have regular Zoomed, T-rex (which I hate because it makes the tank a HUGE mess), Zoomed growth, and reptomin. He gets a tablespoon every other or every 3 days of peletes and every day about 3/4 cup of greens.

[marisa]

Then I have to ask---what state are you in? I've never heard of a state that wants the plant. It takes over lakes and clogs them. It also chokes off native plants.

[britt]

In Washington