Is my tortoise overweight?

[SamJ21]

Hi I have had. My 9 year old tortoise Arnie since Dec 2014. From what I know he was very neglected at his home before me for 6 months. I have followed some good advice on here and from other sources as to how is best to care for my tortoise.

I am just a little worried he is becoming a little over weight. He is fed once a day, a handful do mixed leaves big enough to cover his shell. With a small scoop of calcium & vitamin D every 2/3 days.

The last week or so he has become quite lethargic and just eats his dinner then sleeps all day. I get him out to have a roam (i know this is frowned upon by some) an he finds a corner and sleeps.

I bathe him 2/3 times a week. He is weeing and pooing fine also.

I have attached some pictures of him. Can you let me know if you think he is over weight and also if he looks healthy

Thanks in advance
Sam x

 

[shelley11]

To me he doesn't look overweight and I give my tortoise weeds when ever she eats her previous load of food because they know when to stop eating do you know I it can fit its whole body into its shell if it can is a perfectly fine weight if not it's fat and you probably need to adjust its diet. Thank for reading!

 

[AZtortMom]

Looks great to me. I wish I could do splits like that

 

[Tom]

He looks a little heavy, but well within what I would consider a good range.

What sort of leaves are you feeding him?

I would not give that much calcium to an adult male. They don't need it. A small amount once a week, or every other week should be enough. Maybe twice a week if you are feeding a lot of grocery store foods.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Nice looking tort.

 

[Yvonne G]

Russian tortoises are programmed to wander over great distances and eat everything in sight. In the wild their 'awake' period is quite short, and they have to stock up for their long hibernation. In captivity, if we don't provide a big enough enclosure so the tortoise can get a lot of exercise, he will get fat.

Your tortoise has a lot of meat on his bones, but I wouldn't say he's fat...yet! Provide him with a big area to wander and you should be ok.

 

[SamJ21]

Thanks. He eats a mixture of weeds and grocery salad leaves.
I got some kitchen scales today to weigh the little guy and he weighs 387g. Looking at the McIntyre Ratio Graph he is flagging up as below average weight?? His carapace measures about 125/130mm