General Care Discussion :: Some questions about turtles I picked up

[Shrusey]

I bought some turtles at a yard sale the other day, and I was curious about their size and how it's related to their health. The owner told me that his daughter bought them in Panama City about 3 years ago at a gift shop. He said that they have always been well cared for and that they ate guppies and some raw vegatables. I didn't buy their tank since I had a huge one at home that I kept filled up for the look. Their tank may have been a thrity gallons (mine is 75), they said the water was always at 80 deg.

The turtles are small, one is about 5 or 6 inches long while the other one looks like a baby and couldn't be anymore that 3 inches long. They're red ear sliders and not afraid of humans at all, infact they will eat from your hand. The owner could never give a good explaniation of why they were small, he figurs that it was because they were in a fish bowl prior to his daughter buying them. Other than their size they look really good, no shell problems or anything else. They will let you hold them, come to the surface when you look over the tank.

What could cause a tutle that age to be soo small?

[untsmurf]

Well growth depends on a lot of different factors. Some are sex, species, diet, environment, and nutrition. Are you sure that they are all Red Ears? There are several different types of aquatic turtles with striped ears. And while your 75 gallon tank is certainly better than a 30, it is still too small. You need a tank that provides 10 gallons of tank per inch of shell per turtle. Post some pics of your new guys and that should help everyone determine if there is a problem.

[megcornell]

Their growth has definitely been stunted, but not as badly as it could have been. I'd guess it's a mixture of inadequate space and diet. The fact that he'd sell them at a yard sale should be some indication of how highly he thought of those turtles.
They probably won't ever make up the lack of growth, but with proper care they'll lead perfectly healthy (and very happy!) lives.
Here are a few links to give you ideas on proper diets, habitats, etc.
http://www.redearslider.com/index_nutrition.html
http://www.redearslider.com/index_habitat.html
http://www.redearslider.com/index_lighting_basking.html

For now that 75 gallon tank should be fine, in fact I'm sure it's a welcome upgrade for the turtles, but you should start looking for a larger home or a second set up, as the current tank isn't really big enough for 2 RES. RES can be aggressive towards each other so it's good to be prepared for if that happens... once fighting starts they need to be separated.

Good luck with your new turtles! Look around the site for ideas and tips and feel free to ask questions along the way.

[RunninWideOpen]

How old are the turles? At leats 3 years, i suppose? if they were babies when his daughter bought them, and are 3-4 years old, then the 5-6" turtles sounds like it's growing mostly normal. The 3" is a little stunted. But, i agree that they can live healthy, normal lives.

I have an RES and MAP that were extremely stunted by poor conditions....so far they're totally healthy and happy little turtles.

[SpotsMama]

One possibility when turtles don't grow like they should is internal parasites. If you can take a stool sample to your vet he/she can check. If one or both turtles does have parasites, then the treatment will depend on what specific type of parasite they have. Getting a stool sample checked shouldn't be expensive - I think my vet charged $18 for it.