Bwaterford
Member
Does anyone know......How much does a cherry head red foot tortoise hatchling weigh when they 1st hatch day 1?
Birth weight?
- Thread starter Bwaterford
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Different females lay different size eggs, but generally in the neighborhood of 20-25 grams. And that would be their hatch weight, not birth weight. They hatch. They are not born. I deal with lots of animals daily. Mammals, birds, and all sorts of reptiles. Blue tongue skinks and boas give live birth, while my Schneider skinks or bearded dragons lay eggs. Dubia roaches and hissing roaches give live birth, while Blatta lateralis lay eggs. All the birds and tortoises lay eggs, while all the mammals give birth. I'm constantly using the wrong term as my brain switches from one to the other of these...
Bwaterford
Member
I knew it was hatch weight but some post I've read interchange the word birth so I was hoping just to get someone to respond to my request for a answer. Thank you for the clarification on term for my tortoise. So if he weighs 1.6 ounces now and we're estimating about 16 weeks old what should he be gaining a week? He is definitely well fed. Also any other tips are welcome.
Thank you
I don't know ounces. Most people don't use that. We use grams. 1.6oz. = 46.3 grams. That seems too small for 4 months old.
There is no way to answer your question with anything useful. They all grow at vastly different rates and for a wide variety of reasons. Using an average simply negates the common extremes of slow growth or fast growth. The best strategy is to offer the best diet, hydration and environmental conditions that you can, and look for steady gain. Don't worry about the amount per week. The rate of growth is unimportant. The health of the growth is what matters.
Bwaterford
Member
Is there honestly a way to tell his actual age in weeks or months roughly? What age can they even sell them. All I know is the store he was purchased from said he came from Florida....
There is no way to know the age. You have to know the hatch date to know the age. If there is still an egg tooth, then the tortoise is likely less than six weeks. If no egg tooth, then it is older than 6 weeks.
Anyone can sell them at any age. There is no legal requirement to wait a certain period of time. Most breeders choose to wait at least 4-6 weeks to make sure all is well, but some people move them out the door ASAP.
I think the majority of RFs hatch in Florida. Pure speculation on my part, but that's what I have seen. They thrive in FL and are very common and easy to keep there.
Bwaterford
Member
He doesn't have a egg tooth and his shell from front to back is now almost 3 inches. This is a picture the day before I picked him up.
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Picture is blurry, but it looks like there might be an egg tooth present in the picture. There is also pyramiding starting, which indicates the baby was started too dry, and that slows their growth along with making them pyramid. There is nothing you can do about this now. What's done is done. All you can do is offer a good life to this lovely little baby tortoise going forward, and I think that is exactly what you are doing.
Bwaterford
Member
That Pic was from July 18th. I have a different close up from 2 days later and he doest have one.
Here are a couple pics of his shell today.
His humidity is spot on where it should be now that I have him.
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Tammy! Don't you remember Tom doesn't want anyone to know he keeps them? 😞
That is one of the few that I've not had hands on. I do think they are pretty cool looking though. I did a penguin job yesterday. That was pretty fun. South African penguins that don't mind the heat.
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