Tortoise weight gain??

[Doonparker26]

Good morning! I do have one main concern. I walk Rags for an hour to hour and half 4-5 days a week weather permitting in the afternoon/evening time (it really is my Zen time). I will bring a spray bottle to keep him wet and cooled. I believe he gets plenty of exercise and UV from the sun from his walks. He loves to graze when he is walking and will eat some of the plants and grass along the way (I have checked out what he is eating). I will also bring extra food out from his dish and lay it out in front of him. If you just put in a pile he will walk right over it. We all so give him calcium baths 1-2 times a week. My main concern is that he has only gained 4-5 grams in the last year. Is that ok? We feed him daily but there are days where he doesn’t eat anything and days where he will eat it all. We feed him all organic 50/50, romaine, red cabbage, iceberg, cucumber, basil, cilantro and small amount of apple and banana. We have tried Swiss chard, collard greens and many other “greens” to no avail. Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

 

[TortillaTheTortioise]

Is he a hatchling, juvenile or adult?

 

[Changa]

Good morning! I do have one main concern. I walk Rags for an hour to hour and half 4-5 days a week weather permitting in the afternoon/evening time (it really is my Zen time). I will bring a spray bottle to keep him wet and cooled. I believe he gets plenty of exercise and UV from the sun from his walks. He loves to graze when he is walking and will eat some of the plants and grass along the way (I have checked out what he is eating). I will also bring extra food out from his dish and lay it out in front of him. If you just put in a pile he will walk right over it. We all so give him calcium baths 1-2 times a week. My main concern is that he has only gained 4-5 grams in the last year. Is that ok? We feed him daily but there are days where he doesn’t eat anything and days where he will eat it all. We feed him all organic 50/50, romaine, red cabbage, iceberg, cucumber, basil, cilantro and small amount of apple and banana. We have tried Swiss chard, collard greens and many other “greens” to no avail. Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

 

[Doonparker26]

He will be 3 in Oct so... juvenile I think.

 

[Changa]

With all that good food Rags should poop quite alot

 

[Doonparker26]

He poops and pees on a regular basis. His poop will be soft sometimes but for the most part is solid and dry.

 

[Yvonne G]

Unless you bought him from a breeder and you know for certain that he was hatched in 2016, he's much older than 3. I'd venture to guess he's full grown and you're not going to see much weight gain in the future.

 

[Doonparker26]

We got him from Petco. We we told that he had been there a year.

 

[dmmj]

Petco = wild caught

 

[TechnoCheese]

We got him from Petco. We we told that he had been there a year.

You have a wild caught adult, likely anywhere from 4-15+ when you bought it.

 

[Changa]

We got him from Petco. We we told that he had been there a year.

Pretty!

 

[Yvonne G]

We got him from Petco. We we told that he had been there a year.

there's a Federal/State law that says businesses can't sell turtles and tortoises until they have reached 4" (straight line front to back), and because the Russian tortoise is a small species, it takes them a good 4 or 5 years to reach 4". Consequently, most russian tortoises you find at pet stores at at least 8 or 10 years old. Like I said, he's probably full grown, so don't worry about the lack of weight gain. He's not going to do much more growing.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome! Very nice adult you’ve got there!

I know it can be hard but you’ve got to cut out the apple and banana; he truly isn’t built to digest the sugar and it’s hard on his body. And frankly, most of the cabbage and iceberg, they don’t offer much nutritionally. It’s great he’s eating some weeds but unless it’s a bunch, he needs more fiber in his diet. You can achieve that by adding a small amount of a food supplement such as Mazuri a few times a week. It has some other good things in it as well, not just fiber. And darn, I feel pretty mean but not too much cucumber either, it’s technically a fruit. It’s got some great qualities but also more sugar than you want on a frequent basis.

Keep trying the different foods; eventually they are likely to give it a taste, especially if they are outside getting nice and warm. My tortoise *just* tried a food I’ve been offering three years in a row! I was so excited, lol. Take a a tiny tiny bit of a new food and chop it up very finely, dampen it and mix it with something you know he likes, that will let him get the taste of it and he may go on from there. Frankly you are already my hero as he’s eating basil and cilantro, they both taste pretty strong.

How much does he weigh right now? Even if he’s at a solid, healthy weight you never know. My adult Russian has grown a ton but my vet said she had some room for growth the first time he saw her. Boy did he prove her right. I should have named her Gamera.

 

[Doonparker26]

Good morning! Thank you for all the insight. Rags is still our little boy!. We don't care how old he is. But I was a little concerned about the lack of weight gain now we know why. As far as the fruits (apple, banana and cucumbers) they are only giving 1-2 a week as a treat a small amounts.The basil and cilantro are 1-2 a week also. Thanks again!

 

[Cindy63]

Petco = wild caught

I bought mine from Petco too. Does this mean she's wild caught?

 

[Doonparker26]

From what everyone is saying more than likely. What do you have?

 

[Changa]

I am no expert. I think and feel that every case is different. Question. "Is there any papers regarding WHERE the Tortoise is coming from"? Or is it just word of mouth from Petco?

 

[Doonparker26]

For Rags it was just Petco word

 

[Cindy63]

From what everyone is saying more than likely. What do you have?

A Russian tortoise

 

[Changa]

For Rags it was just Petco word

Ah.
Maybe we should ask for some kind of proof? What are ur thoughts?