Bigger baby tortoise can = bigger adult?

[leoturt]

Aside from the size as a baby, are there any differences between a big baby tortoise and a small one? Do bigger babies tend to be healthier or be bigger adults (assuming good and equal husbandry and diet) than what a small baby would become as an adult? Is it just better to buy a big baby than a small baby? (From a different clutch)

 

[Yvonne G]

Usually all babies hatch out the same size. I would guess if one baby is bigger than the others it might mean he's eating better. So in that case, a bigger baby would be the way to go. However, he may grow faster, but he's going to reach maximum size for the species, not bigger than normal size.

 

[leoturt]

Usually all babies hatch out the same size. I would guess if one baby is bigger than the others it might mean he's eating better. So in that case, a bigger baby would be the way to go. However, he may grow faster, but he's going to reach maximum size for the species, not bigger than normal size.

Thank you. This baby is the same size as the rest of the clutch. It's like the same size as babies that are several weeks older from a different clutch.

 

[Markw84]

My experience across a great number of turtle and tortoise species is that some females will lay smaller eggs, and some females can have a much smaller egg or two in a clutch of other larger eggs. Easily 1/2 the weight of "normal" average weight for the species. I have found the smaller eggs hatch and do produce correspondingly smaller hatchlings. They do just as well as the larger clutch mates and gain % wise just as fast. They grow to be just as large. In the wild their survival rate would certainly be affected by this smaller size, but in captivity with proper care, they do just fine.