5 year old tortoise has never grown?!

[ellawelly]

This is just out of pure curiosity because we've never encountered anyone with a similar case.

We breed hermann tortoises, usually having a batch of about 5-7 each year. However, one of our 5 year old tortoises has never grown or put on even a bit of weight. She is exactly the same size as when she was born. Meanwhile all of her (sometimes younger) brothers and sisters are now far bigger and are growing just like any tortoise would. She seems entirely healthy in all other respects- we suspect a little blindness but she eats and poops and walk around. It's bizarre! Does anyone have any idea what this might be?

I've added some pictures below- the first is with her mum and younger sisters, and the two with coin pictures were taken when she was born and now.

Thanks!

EDIT: We hibernated her for her first time this year but took her out a few days ago because we were worried about it with her size. Any advice on how we should go about this with such a teeny tortoise?

 

[Anyfoot]

This is just out of pure curiosity because we've never encountered anyone with a similar case.

We breed hermann tortoises, usually having a batch of about 5-7 each year. However, one of our 5 year old tortoises has never grown or put on even a bit of weight. She is exactly the same size as when she was born. Meanwhile all of her (sometimes younger) brothers and sisters are now far bigger and are growing just like any tortoise would. She seems entirely healthy in all other respects- we suspect a little blindness but she eats and poops and walk around. It's bizarre! Does anyone have any idea what this might be?

I've added some pictures below- the first is with her mum and younger sisters, and the two with coin pictures were taken when she was born and now.

Thanks!

EDIT: We hibernated her for her first time this year but took her out a few days ago because we were worried about it with her size. Any advice on how we should go about this with such a teeny tortoise?

Hi there and welcome. I can't help with any advice, someone will be along soon to help.
Nice group you have there.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Well, I'm not nice, but it sounds to me like the little one is being bullied by someone bigger. The bullying can be mental or physical, and the bullied 'could' die. If he were mine, I'd separate him for a few months and see if it makes a difference. What do you have to lose by doing that? You just might save his life. Either that or he's a dwarf...(Oh crap, is that politically incorrect these days)???? Just joking, I think.

 

[ellawelly]

Well, I'm not nice, but it sounds to me like the little one is being bullied by someone bigger. The bullying can be mental or physical, and the bullied 'could' die. If he were mine, I'd separate him for a few months and see if it makes a difference. What do you have to lose by doing that? You just might save his life. Either that or he's a dwarf...(Oh crap, is that politically incorrect these days)???? Just joking, I think.

We're very conscious of bullying, so we did split her up for a few months but there was still no change in growth. Now she sometimes joins the others but we make sure to take her aside and feed her to make sure she's ok... so I don't think it's that. Dwarfism is an option but I've looked everywhere for stuff about dwarfism in hermanns and there doesn't seem to be anything? (or perhaps we are the first and could breed an entirely new micro-tortoise range!)

 

[Tom]

How often do you soak your babies in the weeks after they hatch?
What sort of enclosure do you start your babies in?
It looks like tomato in the pic, but what other foods do you feed?

 

[ellawelly]

How often do you soak your babies in the weeks after they hatch?
What sort of enclosure do you start your babies in?
It looks like tomato in the pic, but what other foods do you feed?

We soak them about once every two weeks throughout their life. They live in a fairly large vivarium under a heat and UV lamp and go outside when it's warm enough. When they grow large enough they live outside full time.

We don't feed them tomato that often despite the picture- more commonly are dandelions, clover, watercress, sedum and other weeds.. fruit and veg as treat! Also they always have ground eggshell or cuttlebone to munch on.

 

[Tom]

Most people who raise sulcatas and leopards think they are a desert species and they raise them in conditions that are far too dry and they don't soak them often enough.

Often this practice kills them months down the road, but sometimes they are able to survive it but they are stunted tremendously. In most cases of tortoises that are not growing at all or growing very slowly it can be traced to dehydration in their past.

In my experience, hatchlings of every species should be soaked every day for at least the first few months. There is no way to know if this is your issue or not but it seems plausible given the soaking routine that you have been following.

 

[ellawelly]

Most people who raise sulcatas and leopards think they are a desert species and they raise them in conditions that are far too dry and they don't soak them often enough.

Often this practice kills them months down the road, but sometimes they are able to survive it but they are stunted tremendously. In most cases of tortoises that are not growing at all or growing very slowly it can be traced to dehydration in their past.

In my experience, hatchlings of every species should be soaked every day for at least the first few months. There is no way to know if this is your issue or not but it seems plausible given the soaking routine that you have been following.

That may be the case. What doesn't quite follow is that we treat them all exactly the same so there would be no reason why only one would be experiencing problems. Also we feed them plenty of water-rich foods like succulents and they always have various water bowls in their enclosure. I'll definitely try to soak them more often, though!

 

[dmmj]

so you seen absolutely no growth whatsoever no weight gain no show lengthening?

 

[ellawelly]

so you seen absolutely no growth whatsoever no weight gain no show lengthening?

absolutely nothing! The only thing that differentiates her from a newborn is the failed attempts at growth rings on her shell (see pictures), but she's got no bigger at all

 

[MPRC]

It is bizarre that you have been treating all of them the same with only one seeming stunted. Have you have her evaluated by a vet? I would be interested in what they have to say.

 

[dmmj]

I've seen stunted growth before but never no growth. My only thought right now is that she's slowly failing and she just taking a really long time to do it . I would also be interested in what a vet has to say as well​

 

[dmmj]

I mean logically if she's eating she should be growing

 

[MPRC]

Are her bowel movements normal? i wonder if she may not be absorbing nutrients properly. Have you tried using any products like Nutribac or any other probiotics?

 

[WithLisa]

She has growth rings, so she has been growing at least a little. I've seen a few hatchlings that didn't grow in their first months, but did start to in spring after hibernation, so I would just try to hibernate her (every year and as long as the adults, the size doesn't matter).
But of course I don't know if maybe they would have started to grow anyway after a few months and your girl definitely seems like a special case.

By the way, are you sure the picture of the hatchling is really her? The markings are completely different.