General Care Discussion :: RES stunted growth?

[Daisy]

4 months ago I adopted a RES, his conditions were less then favorable prior to me taking him home. Since then he has improved dramatically. The only thing im wondering about is if he will ever grow? When I took him in I was told he was already like 10-15 years old. He is quite small for a turtle that age he's only about 5 inches long, I believe his growth was stunted due to improper lighting and diet. Will he ever start to grow again? Or is the damage done?

Thanks!

[richieboy]

I'm in the same boat. My girl is at least 6-7 years old. Never had more than 4 or 5 inches of water. No heat, or UVB. Dirty small tanks. She looks healthy to me but is only 6 inches. I'm pretty sure she's a she. Although I have never heard anyone say that a turtle's growth can be stunted. I just hope her years of mistreatment haven't shortened her life span. Could be we just have the shorties of the turtle world.

[Daisy]

Hey Richie, im hoping that too! I dont mind if he stays small but I am concerned..I mean he it's only been 4 months but his shell and eye problem are fairly non existant, which im amazed with...a little TLC goes a long way! -I hope you're right, maybe we do have the little shorties of the turtle world!

thanks!-oh and I thoughy mine was a girl too...but about a month ago he started fluttering his front claws at his reflection and he keeps taking his little wee wee out lol.- so keep an eye on your "girl" hahah

[steve]

Hi Daisy, if your RES is a male, he's not too off target with his size.

[SINI5T3R]

iv had one of my turtles for over a year now and i got it when it was a hatchling and its still almost about the same size lol

[richieboy]

I still wonder if mines gonna grow some. I'm pushing it now with the 60 gallon. Hell I know I'm probably gonna wanna upgrade eventually anyways.

[waterloo]

hi has your turtle Nikita got bigger?

[paige742698]

I would like to know the same. I have a 5 year old male red eared slider and he's only 3 1/2 inches. Im still wondering if he will be a little guy for ever! He seems perfectly healthy and the only thing I can think of is maybe his basking site wasn't hot enough for a couple of years or he didn't bask enough... Is it possible that nothings wrong and that he's just runty or something?

[steve]

It's certainly possible he's runty. Has he shown any signs of melanism?

[paige742698]

Well I had to google what melanism meant, l but if your asking if he has unusual colouring than the answer is no. He looks perfectly normal except for the small size and a little pyramiding.




He's sitting in the bottom right hand corner of his aquarium in the second pic. I know its blurry. He may not have a huge 50 gallon tank or anything but he looks perfectly healthy and happy to me and the tank that he does have is filled right to the top and he has plenty of room.. I just see don't know how else I can help him. Have you ever heard of this happening before Steve? I just feel a little guilty and sort of frustrated because I've seen and heard of sliders who lived in way worse conditions without being effected and I can'y seem to do it right even when Im doing my best..

[steve]

There have been one or two users with smaller RES on here before. If he's healthy in other respects, I think you're doing fine. LIke I said earlier, he's not very off on size either. I would make some adjustments to his tank like removing the small rocks/gravel and looking into canister filters.

[paige742698]

Alright Thanks a lot for the help!