All Turtles Message Board

Tammymi105 · Level 1 Joined: 16 Nov 2005 Posts: 18 Location: New Jersey

Hi All;

I'm new here and a new RES mom to twins, Harry & Lloyd.

Here's my question.... Can you keep a turtle small by keeping them in a small tank? If fish grow to the size of their environment, does it work the same with turtles? Or does that harm them in someway? Let me know if anyone has any thoughts or answers. Thanks!

Tammy

deesygirl · Moderator Joined: 12 Sep 2002 Posts: 1232

It will stunt their growth due to a lack of exercise. So it takes them longer to get to their correct size and they may not grow to their correct size at all. It will also reduce their quality of life so life span is shorter and they are more prone to infections and disease.

When you think of raising them in a tank unsuitably small, think of this: What type of life would you have if you lived in a room the size of a bathroom or a large closet?

edited to add: One more thing, with two of them in a small tank they will become aggressive in their quest for space and territory, even males will in that situation. So you will also have to deal with wounds and possibly missing limbs.

dixieee · Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2005 3:06 pm Post subject:

welcome to the board Smile

i like the way u refer to them as twins.

DON'T limit their growth by putting them in a small container. they will have to grow but if they don't get enough space their bones will grow with a deformity and they'll die sooner or later like what deesygirl said.

think of it that way, there's a tribe in the far east, particularly in china i guess, that wraps the feet of their baby girls so tightly to keep them small. many of these girls grow up to have deformities and couldn't walk bcz of that
_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

turtle_grl77 · Level 4 Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 985 Location: Florida

I was reading some posts on what size tank for small turtles. Right now I have 2, the bigger one being 1.5 in or so. I have both of them in a 10 gal tank. Is this ok for now? One day don the road I plan to move into a bigger tank. But I was curious if the size I have them in now was ok.

TallysMom · Level 2 Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 60

For now, a 10-gallon tank may work, but you will likely get aggression issues sooner. Also, the smaller the tank, the quicker it gets dirty -- it doesn't take much longer to clean a 20-gallon tank than a 10. Also, the bigger the tank, the more architecture and decor you can put in -- that's fun, as well as seeing your turtles swimming free in a bigger space.

The rule of thumb is 10 gallons per inch of turtle, so if you have a 1.5 and a 1, you should be looking at a 25-gallon tank. You can get tanks and equipment from people who no longer need them, so you don't necessarily have to pay retail.

As for whether small tanks stunt growth, I am not too sure about that -- Darley, my 7-inch RES, had a 10-gallon tank when I got her and she had still grown to be 6 inches long in 2 years. Of course, she may have had a lot of out-of-the-tank exercise, too.

Now she has a 110-gallon and what lovely water ballet she does!