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my turtle seems to be getting bigger, i would say almost doubling in size from when we got her 11/2 months ago. our other turtle is still rather small. mercedes seems to have the really wide dark lines between all of her scutes, almost as if they are like "stretch marks." I was just wondering what some signs of growth are and if this is normal.

can anyone please tell me something. i can see where people are looking but no one is replying. i just want to know if this is normal, please.

khobbs wrote:can anyone please tell me something. i can see where people are looking but no one is replying. i just want to know if this is normal, please.

People have to read the post to see if they have something to add. It's not uncommon to have several views before getting a reply from someone who knows how to answer your question. You wouldn't want everyone to answer if they weren't sure or didn't know the answer. That's the great thing about this forum. If you get a reply it is usually from a reputable source.

Now, to answer your question, doubling in size from a little over a month ago isn't good at all. What is his diet like? The dark lines sounds like where he's grown too fast. This is a sign of growth but it isn't normal. Fast growth puts a strain on a RES's organs and can lead to a premature death or shortened lifespan.

If you have two turtles and one hasn't grown and the other has, is it possible that the larger one is hogging the food? It usually is a good idea to feed them separately to insure both is getting the appropriate amount. If the diet is adjusted then his growth should begin to even out.

or you can do what i do, i always feed them by hand, they have learned thats food and whats not (after months of agonizing pain!). they like to play tug-a-war with their food, dragging my hand around, pretty strong for little fellas!

i feed them the reptomin pellets and every now and then a dried baby shrimp. they also have a plant in their water and i just drew a blank on the name, but i know is starts with an a... and ends something like ...this that they love to munch on every now and then. i have some feeder fish in the tank with them, but a couple of days ago was the first time i had ever seen her actually catch one and scarf it down. when we first got our turtles, mercedes has always been a little bigger than dana. they are always begging for food so when i do feed them i don't feed them too much so they can have a few more a litte later.

yes the dark lines inbetween the scutes are signs of growth. As said earlier, doubling in size in under 2 months is a bad thing. that turtle is eating too much. it is becoming colder, so feed them each the amount of reptomin that would fit inside their skull every other day. the days inbetween, roughage. Lettuce, carrots, the anacharis in their tank.

One of our res did the same thing. He grew way to fast in 2 months. We would put our little res in the feeding tank first and let them eat, then put our big one in last. anyway, the big one did stop growing as fast, it must have been a growth spurt or something. All of our other res are growing normally. We have 8 res, so we can get a good idea on how different they can be. From what we have learned, some can grow really fast but for a short amount of time. And yes, it does seem to be the more aggressive turts will take away the food from the others therefore growing faster, so if you have a problem like this, feed the other turts first to make sure that they eat, then the bigger ones. Its a good idea to measure your fast grower every month, I think that you will find that his growth slows down.

tinyslider wrote:We have 8 res

good lord!
how do you keep them all fed??