Weight worries

[Emilyjayne2012]

I am getting a bit concerned over Sheldon and Heidi's weight and growth.
I am a bit of a worrier I will admit but in the last month neither have grown in length at all and Heidi has lost 3gs in weight since I weighed her at the end of April.

Do I need to be concerned?

It's just that they were always putting on lots of weight quite steadily and recently Heidi has just stopped.
At the beginning of March she weighed 72g's and now she weighs 75g's and measures 68mms

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Emilyjayne2012

I am getting a bit concerned over Sheldon and Heidi's weight and growth.
I am a bit of a worrier I will admit but in the last month neither have grown in length at all and Heidi has lost 3gs in weight since I weighed her at the end of April.

Do I need to be concerned?

It's just that they were always putting on lots of weight quite steadily and recently Heidi has just stopped.
At the beginning of March she weighed 72g's and now she weighs 75g's and measures 68mms

I would be more worried if they were putting on too much weight:0)
If you weigh monthly, you can generally see a pattern of how much they put on. They will have some months with little growth and others with more growth.
If they are eating and acting normally then I wouldnt worry:0)

[Ozric Jonathan]

If it was me I wouldn't be worried, so long as they are doing the usual things and seem alright in general.

I find mine sometimes have a growth spurt and sometimes seem to stay around the same weight for a period of time and unless the tort stops eating or something else seems wrong I don't feel this is a worry at all.

[Andy Robertson]

Hi there,
I have two juveniles that are the same, some months they don't put any weight on, then the next month a few grammes. I have noticed that after hibernation is when they have there growth spurt including my adults and there weight goes up quickly you can see very clearly the new growth. After this the juveniles have stayed the same for the last eight weeks. They still eat and drink as normal, very bright eyed as well.
Again I also have a hatchling who hatched in middle of January at 7-8gr, she never looked to be growing and after 100 days her weight was 12gr. Four weeks ago I put her in with my two juveniles and she has went from 12gr to 18gr and SCL from 35mm to 40mm. I don't know if it was the time of year she was born which is why she grew so slowly and now she is growing as much as she can while food is plenty??? Or trying to keep up with the Juveniles?
It could also depend on when you weigh them as we'll, I have seen one of my adults loose 80grammes in weight after the toilet
This is just an example of my hermanns weights, hope this helps
Andy

[Suze65]

Agreed with what's been said, some months they will put on more than others, and if they do a big poo or wee it can show a drop in weight, if they are happy , eating, and behaving normally, I don't think there's anything to worry about, if the weight was drooping off drastically then I would be worried.

[Emilyjayne2012]

Thanks for your advice guys. It has made me feel better.
Heidi has been really picky lately and sleeps a lot so shes just not eating much at all. maybe half a leaf every few days if that. Thats why I just got worried.
I am not as worried about Sheldon.
But although Heidi seems herself I do worry as I know some people have lost tortoises lately without knowing a reason, so I just panic and think something is wrong especially as she is losing weight.

[Ozric Jonathan]

Hi Emily, reading your last post I think I would keep an eye on Heidi because unless the temps are too low that is a very modest appetite.

But I still say the weight loss isn't significant at this stage.

[geordie mark]

Splat gained 50gs in 2 weeks not long ago which was odd. He then stayed the same when I weighed him
Again and then this week he gained 4gs (normally only check monthly but was curious after the massive gain) he's now showing signs of growth that I haven't seen for a while

[Emilyjayne2012]

Thanks for the advice guys.
I will keep an eye on her, she is being really picky. Some days like today she will eat quite a bit, but other days she will eat nothing.
And she sleeps a lot. She spends all day in the hide unless I wake her up!
So do you recommend a trip to the vets? What would parasites do to her?

[Ozric Jonathan]

Hi Emily. Pinworm is common and if the infestation gets bad the worms are eating the food in the gut and the tort gets run down. It's quite easy to get a poo sample tested and I think it would be a good idea.