[BillLee]

I have a turtle that someone gave me. She says it's not going to grow anymore. The little thing is only about 3 inches in length. Makes it hard to believe it's not going to grow anymore. I want to know what type of turtle it is.

I'm thinking its a Red Eared Slider. Can anyone confirm?

[TwinTurboXI]

Dont know much about turtles but that ones pretty cool.

[MCMLXXXIX]

just looked them up. says they (red eared) can grow between 8-12 inches? depending on gender

3 inches seems small

[BillLee]

Originally Posted by MCMLXXXIX

just looked them up. says they (red eared) can grow between 8-12 inches? depending on gender

3 inches seems small

yeah i know. she's had this turtle for a long time, and it hasn't grown since. thats why im not sure if its a red eared one. maybe its a midget?

[YellowFinger]

Originally Posted by BillLee

yeah i know. she's had this turtle for a long time, and it hasn't grown since. thats why im not sure if its a red eared one. maybe its a midget?

Yes, it is a red-eared slider and no it is still growing..

it can grow up to 15 inches in length which i've seen before.. you need to keep her well-fed preferrably in a high-calcium diet if you want her to grow properly. also, please make sure there is adequate natural sunlight for her

I have a African Star tortoise similar to this one:

[c0nstant]

cute

[BillLee]

Originally Posted by YellowFinger

Yes, it is a red-eared slider and no it is still growing..

it can grow up to 15 inches in length which i've seen before.. you need to keep her well-fed preferrably in a high-calcium diet if you want her to grow properly. also, please make sure there is adequate natural sunlight for her

[/IMG]

sweet, how do you know its a she? is it the shells shape?

[Inspired]

i have exact same one..
it is red slider

isn't that a bit too much water? they don't like too much water since they have to breathe every few mins..

[mkaaes]

great for turtle soup

[whyrms]

I like turtles

[Spaceman Spiff]

Originally Posted by twinturbo335

i have exact same one..
it is red slider

isn't that a bit too much water? they don't like too much water since they have to breathe every few mins..

Yeah it's best to make some kind of solid surface raised platform in the tank which is either above the water or slightly submerged.

[TWiTCHY]

Originally Posted by mkaaes

great for turtle soup

So cute

[asdflkijd]

Hey! I had the same ones (two in fact..) I've only had mine for a couple of months and had to give it away because I couldn't take it with me when I moved. But from what I know it takes VERY long for them to grow to their full size..

The female Red-eared Slider grows to be 25–30 cm (10–12 in) in length and males 20–25 cm (8–10 in). The red stripe on each side of the head distinguishes the Red-eared Slider from all other North American species. The carapace (top shell) is oval and flattened (especially in the male)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-eared_slider

[10M3MAN]

Gets funnier every time I see it...

[TMNT]

That is a red eared slider. I had two back when I was in college. They can get up to the size of a dinner plate when full grown, but they take a long time to grow that big.

One thing about these turtles is that they are extremely hard to takecare of.

You'll need some type of island for the turtle get rest on that allows them to get out of the water. You will also need a heat lamp over the island so that the turtle can bake....kinda like tanning. It is very important that you have a heat lamp. It is also very important that you have a uv lamp as well since it prevents the turtles shell from getting soft and growing improperly.

Make sure you also have a VERY GOOD filtration system. Cheap ones won't work as these turtles shit a lot and dirty up the water. A good system that will keep the turtles from getting sick cost well over $100.

You'll also need a water heater in the tank that keeps the water warm. They need very warm water to swim in.

And if you ever decide to hold or play with the turtle, make sure to wash your hands immediately after since these turtles carry salmonella all over them.

Like I said, these turtles aren't easy to care for and can get really sick easily if you don't provide the items I listed above. You can find everything at Petsmart.

Good luck!

[number335]

I had one of those when I was a kid and it does grow bigger than that. THe bigger they get, the bigger their shit gets. It started to become a pain in the ass to have to clean it's tank every day. Good thing your turtle is small.

[TwinTurboXI]

Just got back from Hilton Head,

A few shots I took...

[BillLee]

Originally Posted by TwinTurboXI

Just got back from Hilton Head,

A few shots I took...

lol cool.


thanks for the info guys

[Blake]

look, there's a turtle head poking out

[10M3MAN]

[richeerich03]

Originally Posted by whyrms

I like turtles

I had a couple of those turtles that I got at the fashion district in LA... Mine stayed pretty small for the short time had them, but they do get pretty big over time..

[JoosyJoos]

They aren't really that hard to take care of but listen to what everyone else has said in the earlier posts about a UV lamp, heat lamp, water heater, raised platform etc. I'd feed it a mix of turtle pellets you can find at any petstore and some cheap store bought goldfish/guppies. It won't grow too terribly quick or anything... and once you have that all set up for them it'll be pretty easy... just change the water and wash the rocks when its look grimy. Pretty easy if you ask me... as opposed to something like Chameleons... those things are picky critters lol