How fast does a box turtle grow?

Question

I've had this box turtle for about 15 years now and he has stayed about the same size, then I got him a terrarium that is 6ft long and started feeding him healthy turtle food from the pet store on a daily basis and I swear he has grown a lot in the past 2-3 weeks. It is hard for me to tell, but he looks huge compared to before. I swear his shell must be an additional 1/4 inch longer than just a few weeks ago. Could this be possible? Do turtles really grow that fast? His shell was about 4 1/2 inches long a few months ago when I last checked and It seems to be closing in on 5 full inches now. Is this just him being fat from eating so much? His body seems bigger and his neck seems longer too. He is also very active and energetic. How big do these things normally get? I don't want him to be 12 inches long in a year lol.

Answer 1

This is possable. While they usually get to aroung 6 inches, reptiles technicaly never stop growing and there are reports of old "growth spurts"

Answer 2

4-6" is the average adult size. After 15 years, it is unlikely he is adding much extra length. The easiest way to measure them is to tap his nose so he closes up, then measure a straight line from the front of the shell to the back.

Now- as box turtles get older, they do need less food, so he could easily be getting fat. A healthy box turtle can close up completely and easily. If he cannot, he is overweight.

A serving size for most turtles is only about the size of their head (not head and neck, just head). Babies should eat daily, but by adulthood, most of us only feed them about every three days.

Note: There is really no such thing as 'healthy' pet store box turtle food. You can use it as part of a bigger diet, but boxies should be getting a good, varied diet. I use a 'One Third Mix' for mine.

The One Third Mix is this: Over the course of a week, I am going to feed my Box turtle the following:
- 1/3rd 'bugs'- worms and crickets mostly, but other bugs as possible.
- 1/3rd 'meat'- mostly well-soaked weight-control cat food pellets, but might include pinkies, cooked chicken, commerical box turtle chow, canned 'carnivore' diet, hard-boiled eggs (and shells), etc.
- 1/3rd 'veggies'- mostly dark leafy greens (turnip or dandelion greens, or escarole or endive lettuces), colorful veggies like squash, mushrooms (they LOVE mushrooms), berries, and a little fruit.
- Sprinkle every meal with a dash of calcium suppliment, and every other meal with a pinch of vitmain mix.

You can make your life easy by just feeding some bugs, wait two days, feed some meats, wait two days, feed some veggies, wait two days and repeat- but this is not a great way to provide a lot of variety.