I'm not sure how old my turtle is but I know that it is relatively young.

With it being young I was wondering what is the normal development for turtles to go through. I read last night that I should feed him once a day and that too much protein is bad for the kidneys and liver and can cause for pyramidal growth in the shell.

I tried feeding Herbert some greens but he won't eat them so I've mostly been giving him meal worms and shrimp. And I feed him about twice a day...but now I'm only going to feed him once.

Should I try and give him only vegetables for a while to make him eat them or keep with the normal stuff I've been giving him?

I am also wondering about the development of baby turtles. Herbert has been shedding quite a bit, and I read that as long as the skin doesn't look irritated underneath and if the skin being shed is clear it is fine, but I was wondering how often they should shed. Also I was wondering about how the shell grows. The pictures I see online show that the shell is rather smooth and curves down a little but herberts shell is a little lumpy and at the edges it curves up a little. Is that normal for a young turtle or is it something to be worried about?

if there are any other helpful hints for a new turtle owner feel free to give them.
Thanks

What species is Herbert? How big is he? Can you post or send a photo?

My page on baby aquatic turtles is at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/turtles/hatchling.htm

I have a 2-year-old red bellied turtle. I have always fed him twice a day. I've had him since he was newborn. For the morning feedings, I give fruits and vegetables every other day (the other day is insects and pellets). Since he's a type of cooter, he has really grown to love those but some turtles prefer meat. I have never fed fish (like them too much) but started him on live blackworms and have since added mealworms and crickets. He's afraid of earthworms for some reason. He eats about 10 commercial turtle foods and treats for a lot of variety. He gets a mix of them; I try not to feed too much but he always wants more.

From what I remember from that turtle and a snapper I had, they had the shedding skin (that looks like it might be a problem but it's not) for a few months during their early growth spurts but not much after that. If you're not adding aquarium salt to the water, I suggest doing that at a tablespoon per 5 gallons. That deters bacteria and fungus.

Without seeing photos, I can't say if the "little lumpy" and curving you're seeing is normal or not. If you feed a variety of foods, the baby has enough room, and have both incandescent light for heat and fluorescent light (which they need to make Vitamin D among other things), then the shell normally develops fine.

I hope things work out!

Thanks for the info, it was very helpful.

He's an eastern painted turtle and is about two and a half to three inches long head to tail I'll try and get some pictures up some time this week.

Is overfeeding a huge deal or not? B/c I feed him until he stops eating for the most part once in the morning and once at night and sometimes he eats a lot.

Oh, and one more question, is there a way to tell the gender of your turtle??

Thanks again!!

Your turtle is not a new hatchling as they are only about an inch long when born. The baby may have been born last spring or even a year ago. They don't really grow over the winter.

If you do overfeed, the turtle's shell may develop edges that stick up. But, more likely is that the turtle will have trouble pulling its head and legs into the shell at all due to the extra fat.

The turtle should be old enough to sex when around 4 or 5 inches long. Males have long fingernails compared to females which is the most obvious difference. I usually can sex an adult painted turtle if given a photo of the front of the turtle including the front nails.

This is the only decent in focus picture I could get of him...or her maybe :)...if you need more than that to be able to tell the sex we'll have another photo shoot.

I appreciate your help with all of this!


http://www.flickr.com/photos/rin_schaaf/1991754720/

i just typed a nice long post, but pushed the back button on accident and lost it, so here goes with version 2.0 of my post... hopefully i will remember everything i just said.

Excess feeding can cause pyramiding and make the turtle become overweight, which in turn can cause kidney and other internal problems


Juvenile turtles should be eating everyday, most aquatic species of turtles are going to be mostly carnivorous as they are younger and become more omnivorous as they get older, so that could be a reason yours doesnt seem want the green foods.

I've been keeping red eared sliders for almost 11 years. and after all these years i have developed a feeding routine that has worked out for me. Right now they have a constant supply of live fish in their pond. Weekly they get a "turtle stew" i mix together. Its made of thawed silverside minnows, beefheart, krill, collard and mustard greens, bloodworms and a commercially available frozen aquatic turtle diet made from anachris, dandelion greens, carrot, spirulina, etc. all mixed together.

I also feed by tongs my turtles to cut down aggression and to make sure everyone is getting to eat. With 4 RES now ( i just took in another ) and an african helmeted turtle, it gets kind of wild at feeding time.

And then they are supplemented with the commercial turtle pellets.

Hope this helps your new turtle venture.

Herbert is too young to sex. So, I can't tell you yet if he's Herbert or Herbena. I do see the curving at the back of the shell which is more than a healthy turtle would have. I think if you get both kinds of lighting (you didn't mention what kind of lighting that you have) and feed a variety of foods, that should resolve itself. If the turtle is young, the shell can normally correct itself if things are improved. Once a turtle is older, the deformed shells often aren't correctible.

At the beginning we only had a basking light then we bought a uv light and alternated the bulbs. Just today though we got it set up so we could have both lights on at the same time.

The food, I don't know if I mentioned already, is meal worms, small shrimp, and reptomin turtle food. Should I feed him a different thing each day to get the variety in there and should I add more types of food?

Yes, try various things. I have almost a dozen commercial turtle foods, pellets, treats, etc. I also give my 2-year-old turtle fruits and vegetables every other morning. He mostly likes grapes (cut in half) and kale. As for live animals, I like fish too much to feed those but he eats crickets and mealworms. At any particular feeding, he may get four or five kinds of foods but just a little of each. My page at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/turtles/turfeed.htm lists various foods to try. Baby turtles prefer meat over vegetation but you should still offer fruits and vegetables. I had a female adult painted turtle for a few months a few years back. She also loved grapes.