Gamera growth

[legan52]

Our little guy is five months old and I just measured him at 2 1/4in. Is that a fairly normal size for that age? We've only had him a month now and he seems perfectly active and healthy. He eats plenty and loves his water bowls. I'll try to weigh him soon (moving into a new house and everything is in boxes still!).
How does his shell look to you experts? We keep the humidity at 70% minimum but I spray every day and keep two water bowls. He gets soaks several times a week but sprayed at least once a day as well.
Also, how firm should his shell be at this age? Sometimes it feels like it has too much give, never squishy but like a Tupperware lid.

Sept 7: 2 1/4in weight ??

 

[Speedy-1]

I am far from an expert but I can try to answer your questions from my experience . Size is sort of relative at this stage , it is dependent on so many things that I would say if he is healthy and active be happy . He is a sulcata , he will get big ! His shell looks fine from what I can see. I would probably try to get my humidity a bit higher , and try for daily soaks . Make sure he is getting calcium and sunlight or a uv light and his shell will be fine . Hope that helps a little !

 

[BrianWI]

Mine is now 4 months and 115 grams. The last 2 weeks her growth has slowed a bit. When she was smaller, her shell was like a plastic lid as well. That is normal, especially around the belly area. But mine is now much thinker and harder shelled.

 

[legan52]

Finally found our kitchen scale and the little guy is weighing in at 39 grams. For five months old that seems tiny!

 

[legan52]

I am far from an expert but I can try to answer your questions from my experience . Size is sort of relative at this stage , it is dependent on so many things that I would say if he is healthy and active be happy . He is a sulcata , he will get big ! His shell looks fine from what I can see. I would probably try to get my humidity a bit higher , and try for daily soaks . Make sure he is getting calcium and sunlight or a uv light and his shell will be fine . Hope that helps a little !

Thanks! He was refusing to chomp on his zoomed block so I've been scraping powder onto his food. We've been going outside several times a week as well, he loves it! He seems completely healthy in the way he eats and acts, it just seems like he's too small to be as old as they said.

 

[legan52]

Mine is now 4 months and 115 grams. The last 2 weeks her growth has slowed a bit. When she was smaller, her shell was like a plastic lid as well. That is normal, especially around the belly area. But mine is now much thinker and harder shelled.

That seems like a giant compared to mine! 115g at 4 mo vs. 39g at 5mo?

 

[Tom]

They hatch at 30-35 grams. If they were started properly they are usually around or over 100 grams by 12 weeks.

Most people don't start them properly. Too dry. How was your baby started? Where did you get it? Unfortunately a new keeper can do everything "right" and the baby just won't make it because of what was done, or not done, in those first few critical days and weeks. All you can do is offer the best conditions and diet possible and hope for the best.

For more info:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-incubate-eggs-and-start-hatchlings.124266/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/

 

[legan52]

They hatch at 30-35 grams. If they were started properly they are usually around or over 100 grams by 12 weeks.

Most people don't start them properly. Too dry. How was your baby started? Where did you get it? Unfortunately a new keeper can do everything "right" and the baby just won't make it because of what was done, or not done, in those first few critical days and weeks. All you can do is offer the best conditions and diet possible and hope for the best.

For more info:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-incubate-eggs-and-start-hatchlings.124266/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/hatchling-failure-syndrome.23493/

That's what I was afraid of. We were at a reptile show with local breeders and he was set up in coco coir bedding with fresh greens, walking around and eating actively. The guy talked in depth about their personalities and ideal conditions so he seemed more legitimate to me. Many of the other breeders had 15-20 in a tub on newspaper. He said they got soaks several times a week, which I now know is less than ideal but at least it was happening in general. Maybe he was just mistaken about the hatch date? That seems more likely.

I've actually been reading on the forum for a few months but only joined once I got him. I think his tank is set up pretty ideally, at average of 75-90 humidity depending on how recently I sprayed that day. We use a mvb and che dual hood for day/night and terra cotta saucers for two water bowls. We found it easier than one as he dirtied up one too quickly. He eats dandelion, clover, grass, and mazuri.

 

[Tom]

If the breeder had him on coir at home and truly soaked him "several times a week", then you should be fine. IF…

More variety in the diet would be good, but that's not the reason for his small size. Keep checking the weight weekly. Cases of hatchling dehydration usually reach about 50 grams and then stall there. If your guy surpasses the 50 gram mark and keeps steadily gaining, it will be a good indicator that things are fine.

Do you have a close up pic of his face from when you first got him? They lose the egg tooth by about six weeks. If he still had an egg tooth when you got him, he wasn't 4 months old.

 

[legan52]

If the breeder had him on coir at home and truly soaked him "several times a week", then you should be fine. IF…

More variety in the diet would be good, but that's not the reason for his small size. Keep checking the weight weekly. Cases of hatchling dehydration usually reach about 50 grams and then stall there. If your guy surpasses the 50 gram mark and keeps steadily gaining, it will be a good indicator that things are fine.

Do you have a close up pic of his face from when you first got him? They lose the egg tooth by about six weeks. If he still had an egg tooth when you got him, he wasn't 4 months old.

This pic was taken within a few days of getting him (August 6). He's been super active, eating well and drinking. I've tried to feed other safe foods but he isn't interested yet. He demolishes everything I put in front of him otherwise, if it's on his list of favorites. I'll keep checking the weight though and hopefully we see strong gains! Thanks for the input!