Turtles may be the same animal but they certainly don’t all look the same, these animals can come in different colors and different sizes as well. You may be wondering why one of your turtles is bigger than the other
This article looks into why this happens
Table of Contents
Why is one turtle bigger than the other?
Turtles differ in size and you as a turtle raiser will understandably be ever so curious as to why these animals differ in size so much, and this is understandable.
Here are the reasons why one of your turtles is bigger than another of your turtles:
Male and female turtles:
One reason why one of your turtles may be smaller than the other may be because one turtle is a male and one turtle is a female.
Unlike in humans, the male turtle will be smaller than the female turtle. You can more reliably tell which is male and female by looking at their tails
The males usually have thicker longer tails and the female will have thinner and shorter tails compared to him.
What to do:
A difference in size between the male and the female red-eared slider is perfectly normal, it isn’t something that you would need to worry about in your pet.
Diet:
If you have two turtles living in one enclosure then the one may be smaller because the bigger one is stealing resources from the smaller one.
The growth of these animals is significantly determined by what the animal eats, how much the animal eats, and how much nutrients are in its food.
You may be feeding your pets a rich and varied diet but if one turtle is bullying the other from food sources then this can inhibit the other turtle’s growth
The turtle that is already bigger may now have an even bigger advantage because getting food is now easier for it.
What to do:
Making sure that there is enough, or even a little too much food, available for the animals is a good idea. Giving the reptiles only enough food may not actually be enough for them.
You may also want to give your pets food in different areas so they can feed at the same time, keeping your turtles in different enclosures and giving them separate foods may also help.
Genetics:
Another reason why one of your turtles may be bigger than the other may be because of its genetics.
Two turtles may come from the same parents but one’s genetics may be different than their siblings making it grow faster or slower than their sibling
What to do:
If this is the case with your pet then there isn’t anything you can do apart from giving the smaller one enough food and an adequate enclosure to live in so it can grow to the best of its potential
This smaller turtle may or may not grow to the size of its siblings, only time will tell
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other turtle/tortoise related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Turtle Kicking Legs While Basking, Red-Eared Slider Scratching Head, Why Is My Turtle Rubbing His Head, Why Is My Turtle Rubbing His Eyes, Why Does My Turtle Twitch While Basking, Why Is My Turtle Spazzing?, Why Is My Tortoise Twitching?, Why Is My Turtle Jumping, Tortoise Head Twitching