We have had Addy fifteen months; this is her second spring with us.
She's gained a third of her original weight since then: eighteen percent the first year and (so far) twenty-two percent this year. She's close to 900 grams now, up from 600 when she came out of hibernation last spring. Measured with calipers she's 15 centimeters. Poking around on the site for something else this week, I noticed that there don't seem to be many female Russians at that size but perhaps people just don't bother about weight if the tortoise looks and feels right?
Her weight seemed just fine when we first got her, heavy in hand, etc. Our vet said she had a little room to grow when she went in last year but I'm not sure this is what he meant! They were happy with her weight at her last visit as well.
She doesn't look at all obese to me but she does look plump. She can retract fully into her shell and is hugely active in our five-hundred square food yard. If I'm calculating the Donoghue Ratio correctly, however, it seems like she'd be grossly overweight if not dead!
Her weight is stablizing now, same time as last year. Still, she'll likely hit over 1,000 next spring.
I know the ratio formulas are far from perfect so perhaps the better question is whether 900 grams is unusual for an adult female Russion?
Here are some pictures. They aren't great; she wasn't in the mood for a full view from either the front or the back.
She's gained a third of her original weight since then: eighteen percent the first year and (so far) twenty-two percent this year. She's close to 900 grams now, up from 600 when she came out of hibernation last spring. Measured with calipers she's 15 centimeters. Poking around on the site for something else this week, I noticed that there don't seem to be many female Russians at that size but perhaps people just don't bother about weight if the tortoise looks and feels right?
Her weight seemed just fine when we first got her, heavy in hand, etc. Our vet said she had a little room to grow when she went in last year but I'm not sure this is what he meant! They were happy with her weight at her last visit as well.
She doesn't look at all obese to me but she does look plump. She can retract fully into her shell and is hugely active in our five-hundred square food yard. If I'm calculating the Donoghue Ratio correctly, however, it seems like she'd be grossly overweight if not dead!
Her weight is stablizing now, same time as last year. Still, she'll likely hit over 1,000 next spring.I know the ratio formulas are far from perfect so perhaps the better question is whether 900 grams is unusual for an adult female Russion?
Here are some pictures. They aren't great; she wasn't in the mood for a full view from either the front or the back.
