Talk about a growth spurt

[Emilyjayne2012]

She is just over 2 years

[Hanako]

Over two years old and so heavy! 350g! I am envious! You must be doing something right if she is eating and growing so nicely! My nine year old Hermanni Hermanni is only 248g! I know Hermanni Hermanni are generally small species, but it does make me wonder whether he is a bit too small. Because I am not sure what weight he should be, it makes me feel a bit like if I am failing in my motherly duties.

Sheldon has lovely colours! From the pictures I originally thought he is also Hermanni Hermanni because he is a bit similar to mine.

[Emilyjayne2012]

I as so worried when she first starting eating so much as I had read the information (not on this forum) that says they need to grow slow, if they grow fast they can get ill, they can become obese etc so I became scared to feed her too much! But after I was told on here not to worry as sh is growing, I fed her more and she jut seems to be thriving! I'm lucky that she has such a good appetite
I'm sure your guy isn't too small, I learnt quite early on that no tort is the same, they all grow differently (as my other tort Heidi is growing slower than Sheldon did) so I just try not to worry. And I am sure you are not failing in your motherly duties it sounds like you are doing a great job!
It's amazing how much worry they bring though isn't it lol. I imagine this must feel a little bit like how it feels to have a child
Thank you for saying about Sheldons markings I hope they stay as bright as they are!
Do you have photos of yours on here?

[Hanako]

I think it is in our nature to worry about them because we love them. I am worried about mine that he may be too small, but if he was growing quicker I am sure I would be worried that he grows too quickly... And you were worried that she grows too quickly, I bet you if yours grew slower you would be worried about not growing enough!

I have posted only photo of my Big Boy and a few months back a photo of my Goldie who wasn't feeling well at that time. I will post more pictures of my other sweethearts at some stage, but posting photos here means trip to Boots because my computer stopped recognising my camera and therefore it is impossible to upload photos from camera to the computer. I need to transfer it in boots on CD and then the computer can take it. What a pain!

[Emilyjayne2012]

Exactly lol there is no winning is there. We will worry for the sake of worrying about the little munchkins
You could always post his weight and length in a thread and see what people think. I did that with Sheldon & thats when I was tild she was fine
It might put your mind at rest

[Hanako]

Unfortunately I can't measure the length properly. I am embarrassed to admit that after thoroughly studying the thread that tells us how to do it, I attempted to place him against vertical wall and it seems that he didn't read the same theory. He is supposed to put his head in and let me measure him. He fights like if his life depends on it, pushes with his legs and head against the wall and I am worried that if I forced him against the wall, I will injure him. I can't push him against the wall when his head is pulled out as far as it goes and his face/nose is on the wall. I would squash his face if I tied to push against the wall! So all my length measurements are more or less accurate estimations. It is good enough for me, but it wouldn't be good enough for counting whether he is the right weight, because there apparently even a few millimetres makes big difference.

[Emilyjayne2012]

Might be a stupid question .... but did you push him towards the wall slowly. I found with mine that I sit them on a piece of paper and (quite) slowly push them towards the wall they put their heads in. They still fight a little bit but as they see the wall come towards them I guess their natural instinct is to hide their head.
I will admit though, I am quite firm when I do it. Sheldon does fight it and as she is pretty strong, its a bit of a struggle to keep her still.
I know your worried about injuring him, but the likeliness of that happening is very slim as he will be in the position for a matter of seconds. (And they are hardier then you thik ) The key is as soon as his head is in his shell, make the mark on the paper as quickly as possible. They he wont have time to really fight it. You will never get a completely acurate measurement with a squirming tort, but its better than nothing

[Hanako]

Honestly, I tried quite a few times, but that won't work!
The best I can hope for is to put him on a piece of paper, look from a side and mark where approximately the shell starts and ends, while he is trying to move away.

[Emilyjayne2012]

Well our torts are definately there to test us
The other options is if you have vet check ups, then ask the vet to measure him as they have the measuring board things.
Like you said, you have a system for doing it which gives you results, they may not be completely accurate but at least you can see how much hes growing etc

[Mighty_Quinn]

try measuring him when he is sleeping sometimes Quinn is all tucked up in his shell other times sprawled out like he is dreaming he is superman or something!!