How big will my cooter get?

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Just got a peninsula cooter like a week ago, every website I go to say it will grow to a different size. How big will he/she get? Still a baby right now in a 26.5 gallon tub for now but will eventually upgrade to a 75 gal

 

[Lou]

I dont know about the peninsula in particular, but being one of the typical large cooters. I would imagine the male would be about 10"+ and females 13"+.

 

[Anthony P]

There's a good chance you will NEED to upgrade from the 75 too, but you have a little bit of time. The adult size of your Pseudemys will depend on the sex of the turtle as well. Do you know if the turtle was incubated for a certain sex?

 

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There's a good chance you will NEED to upgrade from the 75 too, but you have a little bit of time. The adult size of your Pseudemys will depend on the sex of the turtle as well. Do you know if the turtle was incubated for a certain sex?

I don't think so. I got it a reptile show in Taylor, MI

 

[diamondbp]

10-14 inches should be expected afters 5-10 years

 

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so what would be the bare minimum number of gallons. My mom would flip if she came home one day and there's a 300 gallon stock tank in our basement

 

[tyrs4u]

Omg lmao

 

[WillTort2]

In June 2011, a friend of mine rescued a very small cooter from a large parking lot near a local office complex. Over the last almost 2 years I've often asked myself if I should have returned the small turtle to a local lake or pond rather than keep it in a 80 gal tank.

Just a few weeks ago, as the water temperatures rose enough for me to start seeing local turtles sunning on the logs and stumps in local lakes; I released the cooter in the lake that was closest to the parking lot where it was found.

I first weighed the cooter after having it for about a week. He weighed 28 grams and was about 1.5 inches. By Christmas of 2011 the cooter was 300 grams and had become one of my most ardent admirers. I had been promoted to the position of "Food God". Each time I entered the room the cooter would rush to the front of tank and aggressively swim to make sure I knew he was hungry.

By July 15 of 2012, the cooters growth continued to amaze me as he tipped the scales at 835 grams. I was feeding the cooter a mixture of several brands of turtle sticks, some crickets, some worms, and the same greens that I used for my russians.

It was my intention to release the cooter that summer; but procrastination soon moved the weather from summer to fall and I felt his best chance to thrive in the wild would be a warm water release.

By Christmas of 2012, the cooter has become difficult to pick up with one hand, he weighs 1311 grams. I'm often asking myself if continuing to keep the cooter is a mistake. I reaffirm that as soon as the weather warms up that I will free the cooter.

On his March 6, 2013 weighing, he is up to a massive 1,790 grams and still eats everything in sight. Now his proportion of greens vs floating pellets has been increased as he becomes closer to adult size. He has 4 minnows in his tank; but he never tries to eat them maybe he realizes they help keep the tank clean by eating the small food bit that escape his underwater gulps of food. He even bites and eats large chunks of cuttlebone.

On May 17,2013, I conduct his last weigh in. He now weighs 2,155 grams and still growing.

I released the cooter on Saturday, May 18,2013, and I hope that he has the instinct to thrive in the wild.

In summary, I probably should have released him much sooner. When he was released he measured over 9" in straight line shell length. And in less than 2 years he went from 28 grams to 2,155 grams.

 

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Oh my god. Do you know what kind of cooter it was? I've had mine for 3 weeks and have seen barely any growth if any. I live in MI so releasing a Florida cooter is not an option, and after turtles have been raised in captivity, they are dependent on you for food so they probably won't survive in the wild

 

[lizbeth490]

Its hard to see any growth for the first month or 2 since you see the little one everyday. But believe me you will see growth quickly after that. We got ours at the same size and now a year later he is the size of my hand and eats everything, except for his goldfish friend, in sight! They are very fun to watch grow and mine is definatelyy friendlier than my RES's BUT unfortunately their awesome markings on the shell fade away :[

 

[WillTort2]

I'm thinking it is a peninsula cooter; but I've read different opinions as to what subspecies are valid for the cooters.

Being they don't really hunt their food. And are largely thought to be vegetarians as they mature. I'm hoping he will thrive in the wild.

And, yes the markings change from the green circular patterns to a much darker almost black as if to blend in with the logs sticking out of the water.

 

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well I could tell you mines still a baby and loves lettuce lol