Picolio - Visual of Turtle Growth

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Visual of Turtle Growth

Our Red Eared Slider Visual Growth Chart & Sex Determination

We are often asked questions such as, "How fast do turtles grow?" or "How can I tell how old they are?". The real answer is "I don't know." There is no confirmed way to decide how old a turtle is and all turtles seem to grow at different rates depending on their environment, diet, type, et al. Nevertheless, even with this answer, many people still want to use any guide they can to help 'rate' their own turtles and with that in mind, here are some pics that outline the growth of our own little turtles. Note, however, that our larger outdoor turtles have been around just as long and do not show the same increased growth. The older the turtle, the slower it will grow.

As we get further down the list you will notice a fourth smaller and lighter colored turtle. That's Lil'Jack a displaced FL Red Belly Cooter that joined our clan ;)

Clicking on an image will take you to more photos from that time period...

December 9, 2002

These three are estimated at around two weeks old.
In order shown -- Trigger, Ditto, Lumpy
Note how close they appear in size, all of them at the one inch range....

January 23, 2003

May 19, 2003

June 27, 2003

August 23, 2003

October 30, 2003

Sexing the Red Eared Slider Turtle

It was here when we were able to become 98% certain that Lumpy and Ditto were female turtles and 100% certain that Trigger was a male. We determined this by noting how much longer Trigger's tail was from the other turtles. Males tend have rather long tails and exceptionally long claws. The pics below show the major differences between a female and a male.

Trigger's (male) Tail

Lumpy's (female) Tail

Lumpy's (female) Claws

Trigger's (male) Claws

December 23, 2003

We started with three one inch turtles. After one year had passed, with each of the turtles living in the same aquarium, eating the same foods, enjoying the same basking shelves and lighting etc all three grew at a different rate. Trigger went from 1 inch to 4 inches in a single year. Lumpy went from 1 inch to 3.5 inches in that same year and Ditto went from 1 inch to 3 inches, again in the same year. I have seen other turtles grow much larger while still others staying smaller for much longer. For our three turtles, in their first year of life, it seems they became 2 to 3 inches larger than they were when we brought them home.

It's not an exact science, but we have found that taking pictures of your turtle in front of a measuring tape every month or so will help you to see his or her growth. Often times it's hard to tell if the turtle is growing from memory alone.

Last Updated Wednesday, September 13 2006 @ 09:48 EDT

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