Weight/winter

[katie_lang88]

So I've noticed my tort eating a bit less over the past couple weeks. I understand that can be normal creeping into winter but hes also not a full grown russian. Was told he was 2 however I'm thinking he's a bit older given he is very definitively a male. I seen his boy tort parts the other day even. 😱😳He currently eats a mix of mazuri, nopals, romaine, bok choy, kale. He was 205 grams when I got him in october. I noticed he lost about 10 grams over the past 2 weeks though. Went from 264 to 254 grams. I've seen a yoyo in his weight before minimally with presumably BMs and whatnot but usually not upwards of 10 grams. Still eating an appropriate amount I would say, definitely close to a total of half shell daily. Having a couple stools and wetting/small amount of urates daily. He's out with us in the house more so maybe more active than before. I keep my house at 77 degrees when he's out, out for maybe an hour total with soak included. I guess I was wondering how much everyone else's non-hibernating torts are affected by the winter. Especially a growing tort. I presume there should still be a weight gain overall still?

 

[SinLA]

How many inches is he? That's about half the weight of my full grown russian male.

Its really unsafe to have them walk around the house. I know people do it in IG and YT all the time, but on this forum we see so many posts that are the aftermath of it, and its not pretty. Personally I would not do it....

 

[katie_lang88]

Hes about 4 inches. And he never really free ranges, im always within a foot of him. Mostly it's just on my lap or ill let him walk on the floor but I'm always right there. He tries to do all sorts of crazy stuff I'd never let him free range on his own. He tries to climb everything and would just jump off anything really. I had to super safety proof his enclosure for the dare devil.

 

[SinLA]

I think 4 inches is small for a fully adult male but maybe someone like @Tom can advise. Mine is mine runs around 490g but he gets as low as 450g after fasting

 

[Tom]

So I've noticed my tort eating a bit less over the past couple weeks. I understand that can be normal creeping into winter but hes also not a full grown russian. Was told he was 2 however I'm thinking he's a bit older given he is very definitively a male. I seen his boy tort parts the other day even. 😱😳He currently eats a mix of mazuri, nopals, romaine, bok choy, kale. He was 205 grams when I got him in october. I noticed he lost about 10 grams over the past 2 weeks though. Went from 264 to 254 grams. I've seen a yoyo in his weight before minimally with presumably BMs and whatnot but usually not upwards of 10 grams. Still eating an appropriate amount I would say, definitely close to a total of half shell daily. Having a couple stools and wetting/small amount of urates daily. He's out with us in the house more so maybe more active than before. I keep my house at 77 degrees when he's out, out for maybe an hour total with soak included. I guess I was wondering how much everyone else's non-hibernating torts are affected by the winter. Especially a growing tort. I presume there should still be a weight gain overall still?

Holding him on your lap is okay, but he should never be loose on the floor. Eventually something bad is almost certain to happen if you keep doing that. Everyone that does it thinks its safe until they learn the hard way that it isn't safe and can't be made safe.

10 grams when we are going into winter doesn't alarm me, but I would keep weighing weekly. Even though we are going in to winter and your tortoise knows it, you are still feeding him and keeping him warm and active. I would expect growth to continue through the winter in this case. Weigh weekly. If the downward trend continues, something may need to be done.

Mazuri is good once or twice a week. Nopales are good once a week, but all the grocery store greens need amendments added. The romaine is fine with amendments, but kale and box choy should be fed more infrequently. Favor endive and escarole as your main staples. Amended romaine is fine as a staple as long as you are adding calcium, fiber, and more nutrition to it one way or another. Also look for arugula, cilantro and Italian dandelion for variety.

 

[katie_lang88]

Holding him on your lap is okay, but he should never be loose on the floor. Eventually something bad is almost certain to happen if you keep doing that. Everyone that does it thinks its safe until they learn the hard way that it isn't safe and can't be made safe.

10 grams when we are going into winter doesn't alarm me, but I would keep weighing weekly. Even though we are going in to winter and your tortoise knows it, you are still feeding him and keeping him warm and active. I would expect growth to continue through the winter in this case. Weigh weekly. If the downward trend continues, something may need to be done.

Mazuri is good once or twice a week. Nopales are good once a week, but all the grocery store greens need amendments added. The romaine is fine with amendments, but kale and box choy should be fed more infrequently. Favor endive and escarole as your main staples. Amended romaine is fine as a staple as long as you are adding calcium, fiber, and more nutrition to it one way or another. Also look for arugula, cilantro and Italian dandelion for variety.

Hes so picky, arugula, cilantro and the dandelion in the stores he hates. I tried mint too and he don't like that. I haven't been able to find endive to get him to try, is there some place you get that from? I started some seeds for him too of some weeds and flowers but they're taking forever to grow. I have a little grow light setup. Viola, pansy, a couple dandelion varieties. I'm not sure how to combat the pickiness and still support a well rounded diet. He'll sniff everything before he eats it and avoids his least favorite stuff.

 

[Tom]

Hes so picky, arugula, cilantro and the dandelion in the stores he hates. I tried mint too and he don't like that. I haven't been able to find endive to get him to try, is there some place you get that from? I started some seeds for him too of some weeds and flowers but they're taking forever to grow. I have a little grow light setup. Viola, pansy, a couple dandelion varieties. I'm not sure how to combat the pickiness and still support a well rounded diet. He'll sniff everything before he eats it and avoids his least favorite stuff.

He's not picky. The problem is that no one has taken the time to get him eating the right foods. All tortoises shun unfamiliar foods. You have to introduce all of these things very slowly over a period of weeks or months. Fall going into winter is the worst time to do it because their appetite is at it annual low.

Chop up the favorite greens finely and wet them with a water sprayer. Mince up a tiny tiny amount of the new food and mix it in with the old favorite. There should be hardly any flecks of the new stuff stuck to the old favorite. Over time, add more and more of the new stuff.

Another method is to grate up or blend something they really enjoy, like cucumber, and then mix the cucumber juice in with the new stuff or the mix.