A quick question about weight gain and correct measurement ratio??

TheTattooedTortoise

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Afternoon Tortoise people, bit of a 'newb' question but just want to make sure I'm on the ball with stuff...

I've now had Sheldon (eastern hermanns) 3 weeks and have been weighing him on a digital scale weekly since day 1.

He is nearly 11 months old, CB- Jun 2020.
When we first got him home he weighed 49g..
Second week - 51g
And today (week 3) - 55g @6.7cm SCL.

I do suspect that he wasn't getting the best nutrition based on what I saw on the food slab both times I'd popped in to see him and pay more off his deposit payment.
Obviously now he gets nothing but good natural wholesome weeds/flowers etc and gets a 35 min warm soak every morning (they were twice a week) so naturally I assumed he would put on weight soon enough... but I also read (somewhere online) that in captivity to aim for 2-3g gain per month.

As mentioned, Sheldon's whacked on 6g in 3 weeks the little piggy ? as happy as I am that he's obviously eating well, I don't want him to grow too fast or be unhealthy so I wanted to see what you experts say before I adjust my husbandry accordingly!

Can somebody recommend a solid reliable formula/scale/ratio that I should aim to stick too.

I know, like any creature.. they all grow at different rates, sizes etc but if like a safe ballpark guide to where I should be aiming.

I should also note, I'm currently feeding every day... I've seen people mention starve days but because he's so young and In a new ish environment, I wanted to make sure his plate was loaded every day so if nothing else, at least he could chow down..
Anyway, looking forward to seeing what you guys have to say!

Thanks In advance! ???
 

TheTattooedTortoise

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Here is a screenshot of the Jackson ratio calculator with Sheldon's details.
Looks like he's not a million miles from where he should be based on his size..
I'm just not sure if this is still 'up to date' as I know a lot of tort info is quite outdated in general.
 

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wellington

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Don't know if there is anything reliable out there. As long as he keeps gaining, has good food available all day, good hydration and a proper sized enclosure correct temps/humidity everything is good.
If there is something out there @HermanniChris might know
 

TheTattooedTortoise

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Ok thanks for the input @wellington, I hear what your saying.
As long as there's no risk to me growing him too quickly via overfeeding I'm happy to just plod on... he's very much a grazer rather than a 'sit and finish the whole plate' kinda tort anyway. It's just good to know that im doing the best for him and his health
 

wellington

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Ok thanks for the input @wellington, I hear what your saying.
As long as there's no risk to me growing him too quickly via overfeeding I'm happy to just plod on... he's very much a grazer rather than a 'sit and finish the whole plate' kinda tort anyway. It's just good to know that im doing the best for him and his health
A tortoise normally wouldn't over eat. In captivity is where the balance of proper foods and room to roam/exercise is important to keep a tortoise from getting fat and growing.
My leopards love mazuri. On the days they get it, they still only eat so much of it and leave the rest.
Just an fyi. If your tort loses weight at some point of your weighing, don't freak out. If it continues for 3 days or more then it could be a concern. Normally it's only a one day maybe two day weight loss and then they start right back up gaining.
 

TheTattooedTortoise

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A tortoise normally wouldn't over eat. In captivity is where the balance of proper foods and room to roam/exercise is important to keep a tortoise from getting fat and growing.
My leopards love mazuri. On the days they get it, they still only eat so much of it and leave the rest.
Just an fyi. If your tort loses weight at some point of your weighing, don't freak out. If it continues for 3 days or more then it could be a concern. Normally it's only a one day maybe two day weight loss and then they start right back up gaining.
Yea I was mindful of the lack of exercise potential when building his enclosure, it's a decent size for him while hes a smaller tort (5ftx2.5ft) and I've put plenty of obstacles and climb/dig/destroy areas for him to romp round in so he does get an oppertunity to burn off some calories.
Great advice on the weight loss thing because I can guaranteed i would have freaked the moment I saw the scales ? so thanks for that, you've possibly just saved me a heart attack lol
 

jsheffield

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I'm a fan of using the Donoghue Ratio to track growth in my tortoises.


I don't know that the formula is perfect, but the idea of a ratio like that makes sense to me, and I use it to compare my tortoises' "density" to their own "density" over the past several months more than anything else.

Example:
If I run the weight and SCL of my Redfoot Tortoise, Darwin, through the formula and come up with a tBMI number of 0.98, then notice that in recent months he'd tended to hover more around 1.2, then I might assume that he's losing weight relative to his length, and possibly look for reasons.

Jamie
 

TheTattooedTortoise

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I'm a fan of using the Donoghue Ratio to track growth in my tortoises.


I don't know that the formula is perfect, but the idea of a ratio like that makes sense to me, and I use it to compare my tortoises' "density" to their own "density" over the past several months more than anything else.

Example:
If I run the weight and SCL of my Redfoot Tortoise, Darwin, through the formula and come up with a tBMI number of 0.98, then notice that in recent months he'd tended to hover more around 1.2, then I might assume that he's losing weight relative to his length, and possibly look for reasons.
Hey bud, thanks very much... I'll definitely bookmark that and that a looksee.
Much appreciated
 

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