How Am I Doing?

Clementine's Keeper

New Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2017
Messages
20
Location (City and/or State)
Houston, Texas
My little tort Clementine is roughly 2 to 2.5 years old. She lives outside for most of the year and inside during the coldest winter months. I haven't been brave enough to try hibernating her yet.
Today I weighed her, she was 453g but I've no idea if that a good healthy weight or not. Does anyone else keep a record of their Russian's weight? 1568227607459.jpeg
 

RosemaryDW

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2016
Messages
4,144
Location (City and/or State)
Newport Coast, CA
Unless you bought Clementine from a known breeder, she’s probably wild caught and imported to the U.S., most Russians in the U.S. are wild caught and yours sure looks wild caught to me. That would make her much older than two years, over five and up to twenty.

Many of us do weigh our tortoises to watch for growth but weight by itself isn’t the best indicator of health or age. Russians grow more when the food is plentiful and other conditions are right, less when they aren’t. Does your tortoise eat and go to the bathroom regularly? Is she active? Are the eyes bright and clear? Does she feel relatively heavy for her size when you pick her up, not light relative to the shell size? Those can tell you more than weight.
 

Clementine's Keeper

New Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2017
Messages
20
Location (City and/or State)
Houston, Texas
Gosh, she looks wild caught? Why? I did get her from a breeder when she was super tiny, just 45g and supposedly around 6 months but I know that doesn't guarantee anything. What is it about her that makes her look wild caught?
 

Clementine's Keeper

New Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2017
Messages
20
Location (City and/or State)
Houston, Texas
Unless you bought Clementine from a known breeder, she’s probably wild caught and imported to the U.S., most Russians in the U.S. are wild caught and yours sure looks wild caught to me. That would make her much older than two years, over five and up to twenty.

Many of us do weigh our tortoises to watch for growth but weight by itself isn’t the best indicator of health or age. Russians grow more when the food is plentiful and other conditions are right, less when they aren’t. Does your tortoise eat and go to the bathroom regularly? Is she active? Are the eyes bright and clear? Does she feel relatively heavy for her size when you pick her up, not light relative to the shell size? Those can tell you more than weight.

Gosh, she looks wild caught? Why? I did get her from a breeder when she was super tiny, just 45g and supposedly around 6 months but I know that doesn't guarantee anything. What is it about her that makes her look wild caught?
 

RosemaryDW

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2016
Messages
4,144
Location (City and/or State)
Newport Coast, CA
She’s a little bumpy looking for a captive bred—they can look smoother and “waxy’ from having regular food supplies. She’s got some nice smooth green around her dark rings; I thought that was from having plenty of food and living the sweet life *after* you got her. :)

At 45g when you got her, she’s surely captive bred, my bad.
 

LaLaP

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2018
Messages
959
Location (City and/or State)
Portland, OR
She’s a pretty girl! I have 2 wild caught male Russians and she is a similar weight as my smaller one. Because he’s wild caught I don’t know his age but probably at least 6 years old. But like Rosemary said, comparing weight doesn’t mean much about health. I like to weigh monthly just to be sure they don’t lose a drastic amount of weight.
 
Top