Is this an ok weight?

[sarahjayne]

I have a juvenile horsefield tortoise around 19 months old, but i have only had him a month. He is 4 inches long and his shell is around 9cm weighing 106 grams, i am just wanting to know if this is an okay weight for him?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi SarahJayne: Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Is "Sarah Jayne" your name? And may we know where you are?

I don't know the answer for you, but I just go by feel. If the tortoise I'm picking up feels like a rock, he's heavy enough. If it feels like a shell full of air, he's too light (and probably dehydrated).

 

[sarahjayne]

Yeah it is and im from leeds. I cart seem to find anything that says an ideal weight.

 

[sarahjayne]

Hi SarahJayne: Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Is "Sarah Jayne" your name? And may we know where you are?

I don't know the answer for you, but I just go by feel. If the tortoise I'm picking up feels like a rock, he's heavy enough. If it feels like a shell full of air, he's too light (and probably dehydrated).

Yes thats my real name and im from yorkshire! i bath him everyday and he drinks from the water bowl i supply aswell. He gets plenty of exercise because he has a 4ft x 2ft x 16" tortoise box and he likes to walk around our room.

 

[pdelpizzo]

Here is a growth chart that might be useful to you.

http://russiantortoise.org/tortoise_twins.htm

I have two russians around the same age as yours. One is much smaller and lighter due to some food sharing issues, parasites, and subsequent dehydration, but he's doing much better now. My other one is near the same size as yours (I don't have the exact length) and weighs 170g right now. He weighed 117g in June. There appears to be a lot of variation from one tortoise to the next, even in the same batch of eggs, but it seems like your weight is in the appropriate range.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Plug your tortoise's straight carapace length (SCL, in cm) and weight (in grams) into Dr. Susan Donoghue's minimum tortoise weight formula:
SCL^3 x 0.191 = Minimum weight (g)

You can also do it with inches and ounces:
SCL^3 x 0.113 = Minimum weight (oz)

If your tortoise exceeds this minimum value, then your tortoise is at a healthy weight (although I don't know of any equation to compute the maximum healthy weight). This equation has been known to underestimate the condition of very small tortoises.

http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/nutguide.html
https://sites.google.com/site/tortoiselibrary/nutrition/the-donohue-formula
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-much-does-your-4-month-old-Leo-weigh#axzz1Vx7A9kRh
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-fat-is-obese-for-a-tortoise#axzz1Vx7A9kRh