Growth after malnutrition

[Elka Mars]

Hello,

I adopted an approximately 20 year old Asian Mountain torty this past fall. She had been living in extremely poor conditions and was severely malnourished. She saw a vet and surprisingly is in good health.
With a proper diet and care she has grown rapidly. My question is will a once malnourished torty grow quicker than normal to make up for malnutrition? I hope I explained that correctly.
Any responses are greatly appreciated.❤️

 

[TammyJ]

Hello and welcome to the forum! We don't often see that species of tortoise here, so pictures would be great. We have very knowledgeable and caring experts here, with many years of experience with all species of tortoise. Thanks! 😊

 

[MEEJogja]

Hi @Elka Mars,

I'm not sure about them growing faster to make up for years of malnutrition, although behaviourally they may be eating more due to previously having an inconsistent supply.

How big is your tort length and weight wise? At 20 years old it should be fully grown really.

I found that females can grow exceptionally quickly, at least between the 3 and 12 kilo mark (and potentially beyond) while males achieve a slower growth rate.

 

[wellington]

I rescued a leopard that was under size for its age. Can't say it was malnourished but it was stunted and couldn't walk, likely not fed the best foods After I rehabbed him, and got him walking and likely eating better foods, he grew quickly and caught up to the size he should have been and even passed my other leopard of approx. same age.