Tracking for tortoise health

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I am curious, how closely should I track my tortoises health? I used to track his diet daily last winter before I started feeding weeds in the spring.I tracked which days I gave calcium and listed what foods I gave. I of course tracked any symptoms. I also tracked his baths, weight and the days he got outside during the summer. Later I started to find tracking his weight reluctant, as he is an adult.

What are your thoughts? Overkill? Am I missing something? What do you track about your tortoises life? Any tips?

 

[Tim Carlisle]

I am curious, how closely should I track my tortoises health? I used to track his diet daily last winter before I started feeding weeds in the spring.I tracked which days I gave calcium and listed what foods I gave. I of course tracked any symptoms. I also tracked his baths, weight and the days he got outside during the summer. Later I started to find tracking his weight reluctant, as he is an adult.

What are your thoughts? Overkill? Am I missing something? What do you track about your tortoises life? Any tips?

Whatever gives you peace of mind, friend. Since mine has gotten very heavy, I only weigh and measure him a couple times per year. I'm a bit more of a fanatic when it comes to his nutrition and hydration, as well as his environmental factors (heat, UVB, etc).

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Weight tracking still makes sense for adults but you pay attention to prolonged weight loss not gain. Passing urates and their consistency, days off food are something worth to make a note.

I don't keep checklist or tables of diet and supplements yet (it still fits inside my head) - as there are no strict restrictions (if I skip one week of calcium supplements or animal protein it's not a big deal).

Perhaps, when you've settled down with correct routines and care only anomalies worth tracking. And maybe skipped soaks (1-2 weeks aren't critical but not months in a row).

For breeders, owners of large collections and hatchling keepers having a detailed track is probably much more important.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I don't keep checklist or tables of diet and supplements yet (it still fits inside my head) - as there are no strict restrictions (if I skip one week of calcium supplements or animal protein it's not a big deal).

I have been thinking diet tracking in terms of harmful properties vs variety. I mean this is a balance that will be hard to maintain during the winter. Especially goitrogens worry me.

 

[jaizei]

I have been thinking diet tracking in terms of harmful properties vs variety. I mean this is a balance that will be hard to maintain during the winter. Especially goitrogens worry me.

If your tortoise had something wrong with their thyroid AND you fed huge amounts of "goitogenic" foods, there might be an issue. I wouldn't worry about it with a healthy animal.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

If your tortoise had something wrong with their thyroid AND you fed huge amounts of "goitogenic" foods, there might be an issue. I wouldn't worry about it with a healthy animal.

Yeah, I know that small amounts are fine. But how much is too much/often? What about liver and kidneys, or is it old information?

My tortoise loves most of the brassicas, and our grocery stores have a huge selection of them.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Yeah, I know that small amounts are fine. But how much is too much/often? What about liver and kidneys, or is it old information?

My tortoise loves most of the brassicas, and our grocery stores have a huge selection of them.

This and following posts in this thread https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/c...ains-a-lot-of-goitrogens.190074/#post-1923409 should add some peace of mind. Also there is a link to an article about wild Russian tortoises diet where brassicas can be up to 20% of their diet.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I have been thinking diet tracking in terms of harmful properties vs variety. I mean this is a balance that will be hard to maintain during the winter. Especially goitrogens worry me.

Protein intake is also one think I thought about tracking, but I am on the fence whether I should just avoid protein all together given Edwards history with bladder stones and gritty urates.

 

[Nsav]

I enjoy tracking my 1 year old leopard tortoise’s weight and length on a regular basis. I input the data in a note on my iPhone. To me, it’s the functional equivalent to making a notch in the frame of a door as one’s kids get taller year by year.

I also snap a picture of my tortoise on the weight scale to memorialize the process and to send to friends. I find the whole process of jotting/snapping/reminiscing all very meditating.

Too bad I didn’t have him pose in the same exact position for all those photos on the scale or else I could run them at high speed, frontwards or backwards, and make a film, e.g., Honey, I Shrunk the Tortoise.

Below are two photos from my digest.

 

[jaizei]

Yeah, I know that small amounts are fine. But how much is too much/often? What about liver and kidneys, or is it old information?

My tortoise loves most of the brassicas, and our grocery stores have a huge selection of them.

Collards, kale, and mustard greens were some of the staples of herbivorous reptile diet years ago, and I never knew anyone that had problems related to goitrogens.

I'd offer brassicas daily along with other items. If you are feeding a 'chow' (Mazuri, Zoomed, etc) as a real part of the diet (ie not just supplementary), I'd worry about it even less.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Collards, kale, and mustard greens were some of the staples of herbivorous reptile diet years ago, and I never knew anyone that had problems related to goitrogens.

I'd offer brassicas daily along with other items. If you are feeding a 'chow' (Mazuri, Zoomed, etc) as a real part of the diet (ie not just supplementary), I'd worry about it even less.

I only feed supplementary, never got my tortoise to like Agrobs. Wouldn't feed Mazuri as a real part of his diet even though it was available to me since my tortoise has had bladder stones.

 

[Dustin]

Tracking weights monthly can provide a lot of useful data, especially if you are working with tortoises with health issues. There is no harm in doing it if you have the time and it might come in handy one day when you are working on a presentation.

 

[zolasmum]

Zola gets weighed occasionally, but doesn't seem to gain any noticeable weight these days - he is 24, after all, so pretty much fully grown - when he comes to the post office with us, he always gets weighed on the scales there, which are very accurate !
Angie

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Later I started to find tracking his weight reluctant, as he is an adult.

I weighed Edward out of curiosity, and he weighs 571 grams! He rarely weighs much over 500, and never before over 515. I wonder if I should start tracking his weight again. Maybe he is still growing?

 

[zovick]

I weighed Edward out of curiosity, and he weighs 571 grams! He rarely weighs much over 500, and never before over 515. I wonder if I should start tracking his weight again. Maybe he is still growing?

It is possible for tortoises to grow throughout their lives, though the rate becomes slower and slower as they get older.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

It is possible for tortoises to grow throughout their lives, though the rate becomes slower and slower as they get older.

Would you say that his weight increase is a lot? I will have to measure whether the SCL has grown.

 

[zovick]

Would you say that his weight increase is a lot? I will have to measure whether the SCL has grown.

Well, 571 g. represents a 10.87% increase over 515 g. However, to tell whether that gain is a lot, one would have to know the date when you last weighed the tortoise and what its weight was on that date. IE, if he gained that much over a year, I would not say it is a huge gain. If 56 g. was gained in a month, then it would be a different story.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Well, 571 g. represents a 10.87% increase over 515 g. However, to tell whether that gain is a lot, one would have to know the date when you last weighed the tortoise and what its weight was on that date. IE, if he gained that much over a year, I would not say it is a huge gain. If 56 g. was gained in a month, then it would be a different story.

Like I said, I stopped recording the weight since it had stayed quite consistent. I would say he only weighed 505 grams 2.2.2025, that was the last time I weighed him (that was just randomly too).

Last year I weighed him weekly from February to November, and his weight was always about 470 to 515 grams.

 

[zovick]

Like I said, I stopped recording the weight since it had stayed quite consistent. I would say he only weighed 505 grams 2.2.2025, that was the last time I weighed him (that was just randomly too).

Last year I weighed him weekly from February to November, and his weight was always about 470 to 515 grams.

So the tortoise gained 61 g. in just over 2.5 months. That is a gain of 12% which seems somewhat significant, but not overly so, considering that spring is coming and the tortoise's appetite may be picking up.

Are you using the same scale now as was being used back in February? If not, that is another reason why the weights may seem to have changed quite a bit. One scale may be more accurate and another one less accurate.

 

[Renee_H]

I am curious, how closely should I track my tortoises health? I used to track his diet daily last winter before I started feeding weeds in the spring.I tracked which days I gave calcium and listed what foods I gave. I of course tracked any symptoms. I also tracked his baths, weight and the days he got outside during the summer. Later I started to find tracking his weight reluctant, as he is an adult.

What are your thoughts? Overkill? Am I missing something? What do you track about your tortoises life? Any tips?

I don’t. I mean I’m far from an expert here. Mine came to me as an adult. I’ve measured her once and weighed her twice in the past 10months. I soak her on Sundays. Otherwise I feed her orchard grass daily with toppers like moringa etc, she munches on Saint Augustine anytime she’s out and about. I have cilantro and cactus pads growing for her and she loves both. I occasionally give her hibiscus and rose leaves and flowers now and again. I do give her soaked mazuri in her orchard grass and sometimes on its own throughout the week. Probably 3-4times. She always has fresh water and drinks a lot. She also eats a variety of weeds I have growing for her. She’s heavy, active, bright eyed, pees and poops daily. So I do my best to just be hands off and let her do her thing. I don’t supplement with calcium as I feed mazuri and understood that was sufficient.