growing "too fast"?

tortoise_luvergirl

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5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2013
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I noticed Willow is growing quite rapidly ( NO shell pyramiding though :D ), Two months ago when I got her, she was a tiny hatchling, now she is nearly the size of my palm. She does eat alot but I don't ussually give her store bought items except once in awhile as a treat ( like bok choy) She eats alot of clover,grass and dandelion flowers and greens. She also loves hibiscus. never fed her any fruits or veggies since they are graze feeders. maybe I am just an over worried tortie momma here but I just don't want her to suffer some deformity by growing faster then she is sposed to. She is very healthy, GREAT appetite,active( night mostly) and has a perfect shell otherwise. How can I tell if her growth rate is normal or something I should worry about? Mom says I may have a HE rather then a SHE ( the breeder told me he could not gaurentee I would get a female since sexing hatchlings is difficult) do males grow faster then females?
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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What you are experiencing is a normal growth rate for a healthy, well cared for sulcata in good conditions. For decades so many people expected them to grow slowly because they all did grow slowly because we were keeping them too dry. Take away the water bowl, put in some rabbit pellets for substrate, keep humidity low and watch the growth rate slow to a crawl... Actually, DON'T do that, but that is what would happen. If the tortoise is well hydrated, in proper humid and warm conditions, don't worry about the growth rate. It will ebb and flow over the tortoises lifetime. Just provide good conditions, a good diet, large enclosures for exercise and proper UV and calcium supplementation and don't worry about how fast or slow your baby grows. If conditions and diet are good, growth is a sign of health.

If you know the incubation temp, we can make a pretty good guess about the sex. These things are studied and known for sulcatas, thanks to Richard Fife.
 
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