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Hey all,
My name is John and I have recently adopted two RES from a girl. They are roughly 6 inches from top of shell to bottom. I re-named them both they came with names like constellation names or something...(don't ask lol) so I re-named them George and Weezy off of the Jeffersons . Though some of you might not agree with it for the first week of having them I didn't have the supplies needed to house them in a tank, but would shortly. The first week of having them I kept them in... my bathtub... I know these probably weren't the best conditions but its what I had. They are now in a 55 gallon and again I know the rule one gallon to per inch of shell, but I simply didn't have $100 or more to go and buy a 120 gallon tank...so they ended up in a 55 gallon that I got for $40 dollars. I do intend to give them bigger and bigger set ups as they grow. I am on well water and they seem to be fine it just has higher levels of calcium. Not reading I have fed them twice a day every day and sadly I think that they have begun to grow in just a week and I can see shiny spots on their shells and when I push down on them its like they have water inside them so they might just be shedding but wow. Is there any way to tell exactly how old a turtle is? well theres enough about me for ya'll to get a ok idea. I love my little guy and girl. thanks wouldn't mind any info for a newby or anything.

Welcome

There's no way to know how old they are.

You can get larger tanks pretty cheap on craigslist. You can also get stock tanks from farm stores. They're huge and dirt cheap.

You should post some pics of the little guys.

And actually, the rule for one turtle is 10 gallons per inch of shell. For two turtles, it's 10 gallons per inch of shell for the first and five gallons per inch of shell of the second. That means if you have two six inchers, they should be in a 90 gallon tank. Bigger is always better of course, but that's the minimum you should shoot for the next time you go shopping.

Watch for any signs of aggression. Generally, with two turtles you're going to wind up separating them to keep them alive and happy.

Welcome!

Like untsmurf said there's no definite way to tell a turtle's age. So many factors can affect their growth that it's hard to be accurate. If they were kept in poor conditions they may have had their growth stunted meaning they're old than your average 6 inch turtle (which is about 2-3years). It's safe to say they're young adults but other than that I can't help you .

As for the growth. A lot of turtles start shedding both skin and their shells when they get into improved conditions. That's likely what you're seeing. I don't think a week or two of overfeeding would affect them too much. So, I wouldn't worry about it.

Hi there, welcome to the forum. Won't tread on the more experienced posters toes as I am a 'newb' myself so will keep stum!