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[Pleco1415]

I know this is the wrong website to talk about turtles but I know a lot of people like myself keep them with fish.

 

[Pleco1415]

This is my male res turtle he is 1 years old. I was wondering how long it takes for a res turtle to reach full size.

 

[Toad]

Redearslider.com :: Physical Description

As for age at full growth, google's general consensus seems to be around five years old.

 

[thebritishbloke]

Do you also have a UVB lamp for your RES? They'll need it for Vitamin D3 for healthy shell growth.

Looks like he/she's starting to get pyramiding too You're most likely overfeeding, how much does he/she get to eat and how often? It's irreversible, but with care as soon as it's spotted you can help to hide it as they grow.

 

[Pleco1415]

Do you also have a UVB lamp for your RES? They'll need it for Vitamin D3 for healthy shell growth.

Looks like he/she's starting to get pyramiding too You're most likely overfeeding, how much does he/she get to eat and how often? It's irreversible, but with care as soon as it's spotted you can help to hide it as they grow.

He does have a UVB lamp I will show you a photo of his whole tank. Thank you for telling me the thing bout his shell. I feed him about 8 reptomin pellets once a day and occasionally I feed him brine shrimp. He is always begging for food and I'm not sure if he is hungry or if he does not know when to stop eating.

 

[Pleco1415]

The UVB lamp that he has is called repti glo 5.0. The old UVB lamp he had was one of the spiral shaped bulbs and it was not bright enough so I bought the tubular one.

 

[thebritishbloke]

When your bulb needs replacing (every 8-12 months) id recommend getting a repti glo 10.0 instead.

Turtles will beg and beg and beg. They're not hungry, just greedy. Now that he is one year old you should only be feeding him 3 times a week. At each feed give him enough pellets that would fit inside his head if it was hollow. You can feed him as many greens as you like, such as romaine lettuce in between feedings (google to find out what is or isnt safe to give him).

I feed my turtles the following mix:
Reptomim: 40%
Hikari wheatgerm: 40% (mainly for vitamin E)
Dried shrimp:10%
Dried carrot strips: 10% (I have to give dried as theyre fed via an automatic feeder, fresh is better)

 

[Pleco1415]

When your bulb needs replacing (every 8-12 months) id recommend getting a repti glo 10.0 instead.



Turtles will beg and beg and beg. They're not hungry, just greedy. Now that he is one year old you should only be feeding him 3 times a week. At each feed give him enough pellets that would fit inside his head if it was hollow. You can feed him as many greens as you like, such as romaine lettuce in between feedings (google to find out what is or isnt safe to give him).



I feed my turtles the following mix:

Reptomim: 40%

Hikari wheatgerm: 40% (mainly for vitamin E)

Dried shrimp:10%

Dried carrot strips: 10% (I have to give dried as theyre fed via an automatic feeder, fresh is better)

Thank you so much for the advice. The size bulb I have is very rare for some reason. I have only seen it twice at my aquarium store and when I see it it's always the 5.0 one. I will change up my turtle's diet now. I have tried romaine lettuce before and he does not like it. You said carrot strips so I'm guessing I just peel some little pieces off of a carrot right? And can carrot be fed in between meals?

 

[thebritishbloke]

Have a look on ebay or amazon, you'll usually be able to find every available size online.

Yeah just chop up some carrots into pieces small enough so he can eat it. He's still young so they can be quite picky, once you start feeding him 3 times a week though he'll realise that if he wants to eat, romaine lettuce is his only option! Haha.

 

[Pleco1415]

Have a look on ebay or amazon, you'll usually be able to find every available size online.

Yeah just chop up some carrots into pieces small enough so he can eat it. He's still young so they can be quite picky, once you start feeding him 3 times a week though he'll realise that if he wants to eat, romaine lettuce is his only option! Haha.

Thank you for all of your advice. What kind of turtle do you have?

 

[thebritishbloke]

I've got two Ouachita maps

 

[Pleco1415]

I went out to my aquarium store this morning and asked the reptile specialist there about pyramiding. He told me I have to expand my turtle's diet. He told me rosy red minors, romain lettuce, carrot, strawberry, and cuddle fish bone. I meant to ask you if I can feed my turtle live plants. I had some cabomba plants fall apart in my other aquarium and I did not just want to waste them if my turtle can eat them.

 

[thebritishbloke]

Live plants are fine, anacharis being the most common as it's fast growing.

It has nothing to do with expanding it's diet, it's simply feeding it too much. Of course a varied diet is better, but the fact that he's only been eating one thing doesn't cause pyramiding.

If you're going to feed it strawberries (which I wouldn't really recommend), do not feed them fruit more than once a month. Fruit is not good for them as a long-term diet, I don't ever feed my turtles fruit, it's just not needed.

Cabomba's fine, they'll gobble it up.

Honestly, I can't stress enough that the best way to help your turtles pyramiding not get any worse, is to just feed less. You want to feed him enough food to fit in his head if it were hollow 3 times a week (Usually Mon/Wed/Sat) at his age. If he starts eating the plants that are growing in his tank, you don't need to supplement any more vegetables. If he doesn't, then throw in some romaine lettuce and other greens. For the 3 times a week diet, just feed him a mixture of a couple of good brand pellets such as Tetra Reptomin, Zoo Med Turtle Pellets and possibly add a bit of koi wheatgerm in.

 

[Pleco1415]

I bought a zoo med slow release calcium block for him to help his shell and now he is trying to eat it. Is this ok or should I put the calcium block inside of his filter? I'm sorry for asking you all these questions I'm not a turtle expert and I want to make sure my turtle gets the best life possible. I'm very experienced and educated with plecostomus and many other catfish species. not a turtle expert though I just know the basic care and living conditions required for them.

 

[thebritishbloke]

It should be in his tank so he can nibble on it whenever he likes

 

[Pleco1415]

It should be in his tank so he can nibble on it whenever he likes

I thought that's what a cuddle fish bone is for. In my other aquarium I have giant apple snails and i give them cuddle fish bone to eat to help there shells. The thing my turtle has in his tank is not the same thing. I will post a photo to show you exactly what it is but your probably right.

 

[thebritishbloke]

Should definitely be in the tank, you can tell just by looking at it (it's styled to look like a turtle, they'd choose function over style if it were to go in a filter). I also googled it and it's supposed to be in the tank. However it doesn't seem like it's intended for a healthy shell, it dissolves quite quickly, so they're presuming your turtle will get it's dosage from drinking the water.

I'd just use cuttlebone if you want to give him some extra calcium. When you start using more things like this to 'condition' the water, it can be a vicious cycle, as if you stop using them suddenly your turtle might be used to whatever nutrients are in there and no longer is, it could have detrimental effects.

 

[Pleco1415]

Should definitely be in the tank, you can tell just by looking at it (it's styled to look like a turtle, they'd choose function over style if it were to go in a filter). I also googled it and it's supposed to be in the tank. However it doesn't seem like it's intended for a healthy shell, it dissolves quite quickly, so they're presuming your turtle will get it's dosage from drinking the water.

I'd just use cuttlebone if you want to give him some extra calcium. When you start using more things like this to 'condition' the water, it can be a vicious cycle, as if you stop using them suddenly your turtle might be used to whatever nutrients are in there and no longer is, it could have detrimental effects.

On the package it says the calcium source in this block aids the turtle shell. You seem to know what your talking about so I will put a cuddle fish bone in his tank.

 

[thebritishbloke]

On the package it says the calcium source in this block aids the turtle shell. You seem to know what your talking about so I will put a cuddle fish bone in his tank.

Break it up in to a few pieces so it's easier for him to nibble at

 

[Pleco1415]

The romain lettuce is a hit, I think he likes it a lot. I have to break it up in small pieces for him but he really goes after it!