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I have added two new babies to the RES family. Everyone seems to be getting along fine. I noticed one of the babies has what looks like a white tooth or beak on the tip of his mouth...anyone know what this may be ?

That is what the turtle uses to brake out of its egg. It just means you have a VERY young turtle and it will fall off on its own.

See... It looks like this right?

Thats it exactly...any thoughts on how young the baby might be?

I'm not sure how long it takes to fall off, but maybe a another member dose. Just stick around I'm sure someone else will tell you.

I'm thinking around a couple of weeks, but I'm not 100% on that. I do know that the egg tooth will continue to provide nutrition, so it's likely that your turtle will not eat.

nybill wrote:I have added two new babies to the RES family. Everyone seems to be getting along fine. I noticed one of the babies has what looks like a white tooth or beak on the tip of his mouth...anyone know what this may be ?

Congrats on your little newborn!

That's it's egg tooth, which the turtle uses to break out of the egg. It's not the egg tooth, but the egg sac (located in the center around the lower third of the plastron) that provided nutrients for a newly hatched turtle (and will do so for longer than many people think). Don't remove the egg sac if your turtle has one, and don't let it dry out and fall off---let it disappear naturally.

When my painteds came of their nest, all had egg teeth. The time it took to lose them varied--some within a week, some after a few weeks.

Good luck with your babies.