General Care Discussion :: turtle not growing

[kbraids]

we have 3 res one is eating and seems to be healthy but he has not grown. any advice

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Answer these questions,please.


How big is your turtle?
How long have you had it?

What is the water temperature?
Are you using a water heater?
How much water is in there?
Are you using a water conditioner?
Are you using any filtration?

What is the basking temperature?
Is there a basking light?
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on?
What kind is it or what is it made out of?
Is there a UVB light?

What have you been trying to feed it?
When was the last time your turtle ate?

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure?
Is the tank near a window?
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity?

Have you read the Basic Care section?
Have you searched the forums for similar situations?

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?

[Kallistos]

Usually growth relating problems (quickly growing) and not growing are related to feeding problems. Check out the stickies in feeding and nutrtion and see if its diet is correct.

[kbraids]

for one we have had them 2 months, we have all the essentional needs for them, one is growing faster than the others. they are indoor in a 20 gallon tank. we feed them shrimp,blood worms,ect....

[marisa]

Welcome. How long have you had your turtles? Do you mean that all three RES eat but one is not growing? Do you feed them together? If so, the others might be hogging his share of the food; in such a case try feeding him separately. What are you feeding them?

Lack of growth can be due to a number of factors. What does he feel like when you pick him up---is there any feeling of weight to him or is he so light he feels hollow?

It would be good if you weighed (a kitchen scale would be OK to use) and measured them (the length of the carapace/top shell not including the curve) just to see what the difference is.

[kbraids]

hi thanx, one is growing fast one is growing med then there is the little one . i do pick him up and he feels good to me not hollow, and his shell is hard. he loves shrimp and eats well but still small in comparison to the other 2.

[marisa]

You didn't say whether you were feeding them together or not.

[kbraids]

yes all together

[d0eb0y]

u can start by feeding him seperatly in a seperate container. I used to use a dishpan to feed Norman when he was younger but now he has no problem with inhaling whole pellets and hardy leaves much of a mess. But anyway if u feed him seperate u will know for sure that he is getting all he needs.

[marisa]

If you're feeding them together, the smallest one probably isn't getting enough food. Try feeding them separately. If the smaller one is shy, feed him in the tank where he's more comfortable and take the others out and feed them in a separate container (one at a time if you can't moniter how much each is getting).