How to know if my RES Turtle is overweight?

Question

I have two RES turtles. They're always hungry. I'm not sure their age and therefore not sure how much I should be feeding them. Right now they eat mealworms in the morning and reptile premium sticks for dinner. One of the RES has a huge thing of skin above each of his back legs. The other one does not have this extra skin. Does this mean that he's overweight? Or that he's shell is not done growing?

Any help with be good. Thanks.

btw, the extra skin above the back feet looks like fat. also, i read something on the web that said young RES turtles should fed daily and adult ones should be fed every other day.

Answer 1

Turtles act hungry because they are trapped in a small tank with nothing else to do, and because they have managed to train you to drop in food all of the time.

A turtle is overweight if it cannot pull all of its limbs in comfortably.

Mealworms are not a good food item- the shell causes intestinal blockages. instead, try worms, soft-skinned bugs, crickets, krill, shrimp, etc. Also, only one meal a day for young, every other day or every three days as they get older.

Try http://www.austinsturtlepage.com and http://www.redearslider.com for good info.

Answer 2

First off, trutle's diets aren't measured by their age but by their size. Turtles are always hungry, they are oppotunistic and will eat whenever there's food. You really should only feed them once a day in the morning as much as they can eat in 10 minutes. Mealworms are ok. You can add some crickets, feeder fish, snails, shrimp, krill, and if your trutles are over 4 inches in diameter, some dark leafy greens (but never lettuce as it is 99% water and just waster calories). If the thing above the skin is clear, then it's shedding. If the thing is the color of their skin it may be an absesse. RES don't stop growing for years. Males get to be 9 inches in diameter and females get to be 12 inches in diameter. Your turtle can be overweight, it's actually easy for them to become so.

Answer 3

If you overfeed turtles, the shells become deformed...they are laways hungry because you are overfeeding them. you should be feeding your turtle about 3 times per week.