dwarf turtles

Question
i have recently purchased two turtles that i have been told are drawrf red/yellow bellied turtles and that they will only grow upto 4" is there such thing as a dwarf turtle and how big will it really grow?  

Answer
I've never heard of them, they don't show up in any of my references, and I can't find them on the Internet.

I would guess that you may have been caught by one of the big problems pet reptile buyers have- semi-knowlegeable sales people. The sales person may have honestly thought that is what it was- possibly sold to him under that name.

However, it is also possible, although unlikely, that it is a specially bred strain of turtles. I say it is unlikely since trying to breed 'fancy' turtles is not easy nor profitable compared to doing it for snakes, etc.

The usual red-belly gets to about 12" long- as per these articles.

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-flredbelly.htm

http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?agencyID=54&curPageNum=8&recnum=AR...

http://www.archives.state.al.us/emblems/st_rept.html

Good luck!