Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering how long the turtles shells should be from year to year... my one turtle is almost 2 yrs old and is about 3 inches long and my other turtle, which is almost a year old is about 2 inches long. is this right? my friend has a RES also and her's is a LOT larger than mine are...hers is probably 6 inches at least. and it's only a year old! Are mine not growing right or something? i have everything right as far as lighting, water temps, basking temps. she said that she feeds hers as much that he can eat in 15 minutes... but i was told only to feed my turtles enough to fit in their head and neck? i dont know... all i know is there hers is HUGE compared to mine, and i was wondering if that was a problem? she also said that hers was always shedding, and i read somewhere that too much shedding wasnt good because that meant that the turtle was being overfed? Please help... and thanks in advance!
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~ Evie

Pets:
German Shephard {Dusty}
German Shephard/Collie mix {Shadoe}
2 RES turtles {Booger and Snot}
African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
Snail {Gary}

I have never heard that shedding too much was due to overfeeding, but I know for a fact that if the turtle's aquarium water is too high, it will make the turtle shed more.

And 6" is WAY too big for a 1 year old turtle!!!!! Your turtles seem the right size for how old they are. But tell your friend that she is feeding them incredibly too much. And that she should stop, because overfeeding causes obiesity, which causes death. So, please tell her... you are fine.
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Sami

1.1.0 Red Earred Sliders
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>>I have never heard that shedding too much was due to overfeeding, but I know for a fact that if the turtle's aquarium water is too high, it will make the turtle shed more.
>>
>>And 6" is WAY too big for a 1 year old turtle!!!!! Your turtles seem the right size for how old they are. But tell your friend that she is feeding them incredibly too much. And that she should stop, because overfeeding causes obiesity, which causes death. So, please tell her... you are fine.
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>>Sami
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>>1.1.0 Red Earred Sliders
>>0.2.0 Yellow Bellied sliders
>>0.1.0 Black Cat

I don't see how the water height has anything to do with shedding. O.o

Overfeeding=Growth=More Shedding.

And 6" is definately too big for a year old. My DBT, which is a fast growing species, is at 4.2" after a year old. And there isn't many turtles that grow faster...except for some of the giant river turtles.
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Jeff H.
http://www.jandsherps.com
http://www.pareptile.org

I am sorry, I meant the water temperature...
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Sami

1.1.0 Red Earred Sliders
0.2.0 Yellow Bellied sliders
0.1.0 Black Cat

I figured that her turtle was being fed too much for how LARGE it was compared to mine... but the odd thing is, it doesnt look overweight at all! it looks perfectly healthy. and she also told me that she took it to a vet whenever she got back from kosovo(she's in the army) and the vet told her that her turtle was PERFECTLY healthy? So it made me start to think that maybe my turtles werent growing enough! maybe the vet she took it to didnt specialize in turtles? I am not sure... it definitely made me think though!
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~ Evie

Pets:
German Shephard {Dusty}
German Shephard/Collie mix {Shadoe}
2 RES turtles {Booger and Snot}
African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
Snail {Gary}

Your turtles sound fine. Hers may be healthy, but has grown far faster than it would in the wild. I see this quite often where people overfeed their turtle. It may or may not impact health later in life (kidneys, bones, ect.), but slower growth is preferred. I've seen a 7" females at less than 3 years that was healthy other than some very minor shell deformities, but that size is not normal unless the turtle was overfed.

Funny, your the second person I've heard from this month regarding a turtle from Kosovo. Your friend isn't in the DC area, is she?

Katrina

As far as i know... she's from here in PA. she's in the army, so she had to leave college (Indiana University of PA) last year to serve in kosovo! And when she was there, she bought this turtle and then "smuggled" it back with her to PA!
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~ Evie

Pets:
German Shephard {Dusty}
German Shephard/Collie mix {Shadoe}
2 RES turtles {Booger and Snot}
African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
Snail {Gary}

What is(are) the shell(s) like on your friend's turtle(s) (forgot if there was more than one LOL!!). Are they lumpy or nuce and smooth.

well see, this is what confused me. i figured that if her turtle was being overfed, it's shell would be all distorted. but it's not at all... it's actually nice n smooth and flat! so why isn't the shell all disformed if the turtle is being overfed? that's why i thought maybe i was doing something wrong with mine.
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~ Evie

Pets:
German Shephard {Dusty}
German Shephard/Collie mix {Shadoe}
2 RES turtles {Booger and Snot}
African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
Snail {Gary}

No nothing is wrong with your turtles. Sometimes turtles stand up well to being overfed and do not pyramid and distort. In the longrun health issues are going to occur and they could start getting deformities.

is she maybe feeding too much protien? too much protien will make them grow fast but also makes them obese and it makes their shell grow wrong. as far as i understood, turtles grew rather slow, like an inch a year.

meagan