According to the breeder, Ted is about 12 weeks old. He weighs 56 grams. Anyone else weigh their tortoise? I would love to see if he is on track weight-wise.
Redfoot Weight
- Thread starter Julirs
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Sounds ok to me xx
Our hatchling redfoot came to us at 3 months also and she weighed
54 grams and has steadily gained weight. She now weighs 142 grams,
at 9 months.
I didn't weigh her every day, instead opted to let her settle in and only weighed
roughly every week and a half, since she was eating like a horse.
54 grams and has steadily gained weight. She now weighs 142 grams,
at 9 months.
I didn't weigh her every day, instead opted to let her settle in and only weighed
roughly every week and a half, since she was eating like a horse.
Making records of the weight and SCL can be helpful to see if the tort has slow and steady growth. The size at specific ages will vary wildly due to many variables.
my tort at maybe 3 years has exactly one oz. gain a month. so is that typical? people were thinking I am feeding a bit lightly calorie wise. thnx
I just started weighing mine about every two weeks. Mine are six months old and 67-69 grams. They're about 3 in x 3 in. They're also Surinam RFs. I would guess that point of origin may make some difference.
1 oz is about 28 grams. That sounds good. I think lighter on calories is good as long as they are not left too hungry (and thus don't have the energy to be active). Does your tort ever leave food with what you feed, or is it all gone every feeding? I have a mix of food left and food all eaten so I am happy with that. My yearling Russian (165 grams) gains about 10-12 grams a month, so an older tort would weigh more and thus be gaining more per month as a percentage of total body weight. Growth is so variable, so as long as the tort is gaining every month and it is steady, you shouldn't worry too much about comparing to others at a particular age. The relation between weight and SCL is more important in my opinion (ie. the tort is not underweight or overweight for their length).
SCL is the measurement from the tip of the shell where the head pops out to the exact opposite side where the tail pops out. It's a straight, flat measurement, not measuring the curve of the shell. Easily taken with calipers, or by setting the tortoise on a tape measure.
SLC?
glad to know the oz to gram conversion "-)
She is very active, tends to eat any protein first if there is any, and leaves and the best fruit or veggie, then circles back an hour later to finish or almost finish what's there. so the Russian is 6 # and gaining half an oz a month.
mine is 1.5# and gaining an oz a month, having gone from 9 oz to 21 oz in about 18 months...but it took her a few months to get herself going to where she wanted to live after I got her. She is great now.
Speaking of, you don't want to send a tortoise this direction (I wrote you late last week?).
glad to know the oz to gram conversion "-)
tortoisenerd said:
She is very active, tends to eat any protein first if there is any, and leaves and the best fruit or veggie, then circles back an hour later to finish or almost finish what's there. so the Russian is 6 # and gaining half an oz a month.
mine is 1.5# and gaining an oz a month, having gone from 9 oz to 21 oz in about 18 months...but it took her a few months to get herself going to where she wanted to live after I got her. She is great now.
Speaking of, you don't want to send a tortoise this direction (I wrote you late last week?).
llamas55 said:
I did not receive any communication from you nor do I have any tortoises to send.
To me, that sounds like a good amount of food or maybe on the side of too much, but not too little. Some owners will only fed what their torts/turtles can eat in one sitting or 20 minutes, so if the tort leaves some than that is a good sign they are getting plenty. Typically in the wild they gorge themselves on any available food, so in captivity we tend to overfeed. Not to say you should cut back (I can't give you advice on that as I don't have Redfoot experience), but I don't think you should worry you are underfeeding.
You can easily tell if a tortoise is under-weight using the Donoghue Ratio:
"Straight-line Carapace Length (SCL) in centimeters, cubed, times 0.191 equals the expected minimum weight." (Dr. Susan Donoghue, 1997)
Brymanda said they have some about 7.62cm (3") that weigh 67-69gr. The Donoghue Ratio for 7.62cm works out to 84 grams. Now- the measurement offered was not necessarily accurate or a straight-line carapace length (SCL) so this does not really mean anything BUT if it WAS an accurate SCL measurement, the tortoises are underweight.
Also- the Donoghue Ratio is not as helpful for very small tortoises, but it does work on most species of tortoises.
"Straight-line Carapace Length (SCL) in centimeters, cubed, times 0.191 equals the expected minimum weight." (Dr. Susan Donoghue, 1997)
Brymanda said they have some about 7.62cm (3") that weigh 67-69gr. The Donoghue Ratio for 7.62cm works out to 84 grams. Now- the measurement offered was not necessarily accurate or a straight-line carapace length (SCL) so this does not really mean anything BUT if it WAS an accurate SCL measurement, the tortoises are underweight.
Also- the Donoghue Ratio is not as helpful for very small tortoises, but it does work on most species of tortoises.
Madkins: thanks
that formula worked perfectly
Tommi Tortoise is 15.25 cm (just under 6") and with the formula should be 23.8 oz or 677.4 grams, and is .2 oz. off of that. Yay, she has caught up and the formula re-assures me. Wish I knew her arrival weight when she felt and acted like an empty hull.
Going to keep the formula handy. You have so much useful information!
Happy T day. It seems to me a small dab (Q tip size) of fatless turkey ought to be just fine for them today.
that formula worked perfectly
Tommi Tortoise is 15.25 cm (just under 6") and with the formula should be 23.8 oz or 677.4 grams, and is .2 oz. off of that. Yay, she has caught up and the formula re-assures me. Wish I knew her arrival weight when she felt and acted like an empty hull.
Going to keep the formula handy. You have so much useful information!
Happy T day. It seems to me a small dab (Q tip size) of fatless turkey ought to be just fine for them today.
Thanks, Llama. It is great to be able to help someone. I found the formula very helpful myself (my herd was underweight coming in from outside, but are now doing OK).
As for turkey- Red-foots can handle meat nicely, but should not have too much just to keep them from growing too fast. At almost 6", as long as it does not happen often, you can 'splurge' on low-fat turkey, chicken, oily fish, etc. A chunk the size of your little finger would not be a big deal once a month or so.
As for turkey- Red-foots can handle meat nicely, but should not have too much just to keep them from growing too fast. At almost 6", as long as it does not happen often, you can 'splurge' on low-fat turkey, chicken, oily fish, etc. A chunk the size of your little finger would not be a big deal once a month or so.
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