Why hasn't my sister's Red Ear Slider Turtle grown?

Question

It's been 3 years since the day my sister bought her turtle, " Bob", and we've noticed that the turtle has not had any sort of growth in size. Though Bob is completely healthy, we've begun to worry about his condition. The day my sister bought her turtle, he was about 2inch ish, less than 3 inches. But its been 3 years since that day, and hes still less than 3inches. We have expected him to at least grown maybe more than an inch, maybe one per year, but we're not really sure what the growing rate of " red ear slider's" are.

Please contribute if you have any info regarding this.
Thanks much ;]

errr well, my sister's turtle has a 5 gallon turtle tank with no source of light whatsoever, and yes, she feeds him. Thats probably the problem, lack of space and natural lighting.

Thanks turtle.
i'll keep that in mind for my sister.
Yeah and it makes sense that you cant expect a turtle to grow in a 5 gallon tank, its like asking you to grow living in a box
your whole life.

and another question, can we just use natural lighting? like take the turtle tank with the turtle and just put him out in the sun for say 3 hours?
isnt that better than artificial lighting?

Answer 1

Most red eared sliders grow very fast, reaching 12 to 18 inches in about 1-2 years, they usually double in size in the first six months or less, however I have heard of this before: some don't grow at all.
If something was wrong with him he would have died in the first few months, he would NEVER survive 3 years if he was sick. The tank if it is very small may stunt his growth but again, after a few months he would get sick and die. If he has a decent tank (10 gallons or more), a warmish light ,clean water and he eats well then he is fine. You have a rare but healthy turtle.

Hope this helps

Answer 2

yeah that might be the problem. my red eared slider grew up with an 50 gallon tank with a lot of lighting. now its been 8 years and she is over 1 foot long i think it takes a while for them to grow. my turtle isn't full grown yet. our type of turtles have to be at least the size of a dinner plate. email me if you need any thing

Answer 3

He needs a larger tank. The smaller the tank, the slower he will grow. Also is she feeding him? I feed mine every other day and he was the size of a silver dollar 3 years ago and is now about 6 inches long front to back of his shell. Red ear sliders need a big tank, a place to bask in the light, and water....

Answer 4

i don't think there is anything wrong with it because if something is wrong it would of died already. male turtle usually do grow pretty slow. i have male turtle it didn't really grow for 6 month since i got him. but the female however is a different story. i would also give your turtle different kinds of food so its nutrient is balanced. and also give your turtle alot of space and make sure he have enough sun light and add calcium to his diet. if you have more than one turtle another than bob , i would feed him separately.

Answer 5

they like sand yet you will prefer rocks, i promise you that. With sand they'd actually % to hibernate for a even as (particularly in case your water isn't heat adequate), which will freak you out and additionally you will think of you misplaced a turtle. additionally, in view that your set up would desire to have a water section besides, the sand will make the water that a lot dirtier and greater durable to maintain clean.

Answer 6

"Completely healthy" measured in what way?

The sad thing about pet turtles is that they can suffer pretty horribly for a really long time.

You may want to see http://www.redearslider.com for some great advice!

Good luck!

Answer 7

as long as turtle soup is popular your turtle will remain small...unless he reaches tokeo then watch out he turns inthe giant flying turtle