Full grown THBs

[Jabuticaba]

Hi, all! I have a question for the experts and experienced people: How long does it take for THBs to reach full size?

I wonder if my guys are still growing because they're both exactly 5" long and everything I have read and pictures I have seen suggest that they can get bigger, but I also don't know their ages. My friend and I guesstimate is 6 years for the female, as she was only 3" when my friend got her. We have no guesstimate on the male, as he hasn't grown since my friend got them, 4 yrs ago. Tkx!!

 

[peasinapod]

Hi,

I am not an expert, but my THB male maxed out at 7 inches, but his age is unknown. But 5 inches and hasn't grown? That's tiny!

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Hi, all! I have a question for the experts and experienced people: How long does it take for THBs to reach full size?

I wonder if my guys are still growing because they're both exactly 5" long and everything I have read and pictures I have seen suggest that they can get bigger, but I also don't know their ages. My friend and I guesstimate is 6 years for the female, as she was only 3" when my friend got her. We have no guesstimate on the male, as he hasn't grown since my friend got them, 4 yrs ago. Tkx!!

Your male may grow a bit more, your female most likely will become considerably larger. Give 'em good food and plenty of it.

My male, Ptolemy, is 6" long, one female, Ophelia, is a bit over 9" while Jennifer, my other female, is about 8-3/4". I know Jennifer is about 5 yoa, because I know the person who bred her. No idea on the other two, but would guessistimate (excellent word!) that they're both of similar vintage (2007 or 2008). Presumably they'll grow a little more as time goes by.

Jennifer may be a mixture of Eastern and Dalmation ancestry, although I can't prove it, as her sire died before I bought her, and the only pic available was pretty blurry. And, it's also possible that her mother carried the Dalmation genes. There are a few folks here who assure me that she has Dalmation characteristics...the guy I bought her from otherwise has only Easterns (for a long time, Dalmations were considered to be a variation on the Eastern, not a recognized subspecies, much in the same way T. h. peleponnesica may or may not be a distinct sub-species...guys and gals with a lot of letters after their names argue these points a lot...and tell us what they've decided later ) No idea if this'll affect her growth, but I'm thinking not.

The largest female I've ever heard of was 11".

 

[Jabuticaba]

Thank you, Terry! I have been feeding them lots--and lots of variety!--and they'll eat until the cows come home, it seems. I try not to feed them too close to bedtime--i.e., lights out and lower temp, min 65°F--so they have time to digest their food. Day temp is around 72°; basking temp, 90°-92°; humidity, 35-40.


May[CHERRY BLOSSOM], Hermann's [TURTLE][TURTLE] & Aussie [DOG FACE][DOG FACE][DOG FACE] (@YWG)

 

[HermanniChris]

Terry's right. Your male may only grow a little more or stay where he's at if he's going to stay on the smaller side. But, large males exist. I have an 8" boy and I've had larger. I also have a female Eastern who is 9.5". She's the biggest I've ever had in Easterns. But larger ones do occur especially in a species like this that allows extreme variation. George Ulmann of Turtle World USA (no longer in business) once offered me 12" females he had. I wish I had the money then to get them. Never got any photos either. Bulgaria is said to be home to the largest examples of both T. h. boettgeri and T. ibera so maybe these "giants" originate from there. No way of knowing for sure though without paperwork etc...

The 9.5" female Eastern in my collection is in the following photos and she is being compared to a Calabrian Western of ours. I know there is no ruler and it may be hard to gauge her size, but the Western girl is 5.5" on the dot, so that should help.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Thank you, Terry! I have been feeding them lots--and lots of variety!--and they'll eat until the cows come home, it seems. I try not to feed them too close to bedtime--i.e., lights out and lower temp, min 65°F--so they have time to digest their food. Day temp is around 72°; basking temp, 90°-92°; humidity, 35-40.


May[CHERRY BLOSSOM], Hermann's [TURTLE][TURTLE] & Aussie [DOG FACE][DOG FACE][DOG FACE] (@YWG)

Well, that should get 'em to grow if anything will!

When I got Ophelia a couple years ago (July of 2011), she weighed 575.68 g., and was right at 5-1/2' long. In two years, she's grown right at 3-1/2" and put on an additional 421 g., and all three eat like they know they'll never see another tidbit!

Over the same time frame (I got both Ophelia and him the same day, from the same source), Ptolemy as only grown a little over 2" and put on 189 g., which I'm told is about normal for a male...females pack in the calories to make eggs, while males burn off the calories to convince the females to make eggs...

 

[Jabuticaba]

Hi,

I am not an expert, but my THB male maxed out at 7 inches, but his age is unknown. But 5 inches and hasn't grown? That's tiny!

Hello. Yeah, I think he's pretty tiny, too, for a male. I figured he'd grow to at least 6-6.5".


May[CHERRY BLOSSOM], Hermann's [TURTLE][TURTLE] & Aussie [DOG FACE][DOG FACE][DOG FACE] (@YWG)

---

Well, that should get 'em to grow if anything will!

When I got Ophelia a couple years ago (July of 2011), she weighed 575.68 g., and was right at 5-1/2' long. In two years, she's grown right at 3-1/2" and put on an additional 421 g., and all three eat like they know they'll never see another tidbit!

Over the same time frame (I got both Ophelia and him the same day, from the same source), Ptolemy as only grown a little over 2" and put on 189 g., which I'm told is about normal for a male...females pack in the calories to make eggs, while males burn off the calories to convince the females to make eggs...

Lol! That makes a lot sense! Thanks for the insight, Terry!




May[CHERRY BLOSSOM], Hermann's [TURTLE][TURTLE] & Aussie [DOG FACE][DOG FACE][DOG FACE] (@YWG)

---

Terry's right. Your male may only grow a little more or stay where he's at if he's going to stay on the smaller side. But, large males exist. I have an 8" boy and I've had larger. I also have a female Eastern who is 9.5". She's the biggest I've ever had in Easterns. But larger ones do occur especially in a species like this that allows extreme variation. George Ulmann of Turtle World USA (no longer in business) once offered me 12" females he had. I wish I had the money then to get them. Never got any photos either. Bulgaria is said to be home to the largest examples of both T. h. boettgeri and T. ibera so maybe these "giants" originate from there. No way of knowing for sure though without paperwork etc...

The 9.5" female Eastern in my collection is in the following photos and she is being compared to a Calabrian Western of ours. I know there is no ruler and it may be hard to gauge her size, but the Western girl is 5.5" on the dot, so that should help.

Thank you for the input, Chris! Your torts are lovely! I'm trying to make sure my guys get enough food to grow, if they'll grow. But I also don't want overweight beasts that will develop health issues. Not knowing their ages and origins has made my job a bit trickier, so I do appreciate the help!


May[CHERRY BLOSSOM], Hermann's [TURTLE][TURTLE] & Aussie [DOG FACE][DOG FACE][DOG FACE] (@YWG)

 

[Jabuticaba]

A THH?! Well, now you see why you should wait for expert opinion. I need to study more.


May[CHERRY BLOSSOM], Hermann's [TURTLE][TURTLE] & Aussie [DOG FACE][DOG FACE][DOG FACE] (@YWG)