Can a turtles growth be stunted by the fact that it is kept in a smaller space?
No, at least not in the way the myth states. Turtles will not be healthy in a habitat that is too small to accommodate their natural size, an unhealthy turtle may grow more slowly, be weaker and die an early death – staying small in the process, but certainly not live a decent length life or be smaller in a healthy long lived sort of way. I’ve been keeping turtles since I was ten years old – and my first girl is still with me 30 years later. I’ve read everything from simple care sheets to field data on species and anecdotal accounts that have dealt with this and other turtle myths, and in all these years nothing has proven true in this arena – despite popular opinion/misconception. Turtle size is genetic. Just like any other animal genetic size is affected by environment, deprive a child of adequate nutrition at a critical growth stage and the child may grow into a slightly smaller adult but the damage can be significant. Same is true of turtles, weakening of entire organ systems inclu
