Hermann's Hatchling Weight

[Hgarrity]

How much should my hatchling be gaining a week? I have had him for two weeks. He has gained right at two grams each week. Is that too much? When I got him he was 4.75 cm 28 g, the next week he was 5 cm 30 g, and this week 5 cm 32 g. I have been feeding him mostly weeds and spring mix. He has had Mazuri twice a week with his calcium mixed in it.

 

[Moozillion]

It's my understanding that weight gain is very individual, just like humans and other animals. The final adult weights will be different too. If he's active, eating, pooping and passed very soft/liquid urates, chances are he's healthy and will grow at whatever rate is right for him,
I hope this helps.
And hopefully we'll here from other more experienced people!

 

[Hgarrity]

If he's active, eating, pooping and passed very soft/liquid urates, chances are he's healthy and will grow at whatever rate is right for him,
I hope this helps.
And hopefully we'll here from other more experienced people!

I think he is doing ok. The first few days we had him he was pretty active, then he kinda settled down. Now he is active for a few hours in the morning, and sleeps most of the afternoon. I have also not seen any signs of him pooping in the last week??? At first he did almost every time I soaked him. He acts ok, so I just figured he must have gone in his enclosure somewhere. As for urates, I have seen no signs of him passing any. Is that normal? I have had him for two weeks. How often should I expect him too? He seems like a pretty happy tortoise.....exploring around, eating, sleeping.

 

[Moozillion]

It can be difficult to track their poops because they will (yuck) eat them sometimes. Also, if the greens are high in water content, like spring mix, the poop will be soft and more difficult to spot. If he's pooping in his enclosure, little baby poops can be hard to spot out in the substrate.

With my Hermann's, Elsa, the only time I ever see urates is when they're like soft toothpaste. Most of the time I just barely see a whitish edge to the wet area if she has peed in her dish. If she has not peed in her dish, I almost never see them. Twice in the year and a half that I've had her, I found a little pile of white grit- that is not good- it meant she was dehydrated, so we changed what we were doing for her hydration.

I hope this helps.

 

[Hgarrity]

It can be difficult to track their poops because they will (yuck) eat them sometimes. Also, if the greens are high in water content, like spring mix, the poop will be soft and more difficult to spot. If he's pooping in his enclosure, little baby poops can be hard to spot out in the substrate.

With my Hermann's, Elsa, the only time I ever see urates is when they're like soft toothpaste. Most of the time I just barely see a whitish edge to the wet area if she has peed in her dish. If she has not peed in her dish, I almost never see them. Twice in the year and a half that I've had her, I found a little pile of white grit- that is not good- it meant she was dehydrated, so we changed what we were doing for her hydration.

I hope this helps.

Thank you! Yes this helps! He is my first tortoise, so anything I can learn about him is great!

 

[Moozillion]

It sounds like you are very observant and are paying attention to all the right things!
The tortoises take time to adjust to new situations, so his behaviors may change yet again in the coming weeks.
I bet if you keep paying close attention, like you are already doing, you'll both do just fine!

 

[THBfriend]

When my Eastern Hermann's hatch, they are about 4 cm SCL and 10 to 12 g. After one year, they are 5 cm and around 40 g (some a bit below, some a bit above).

 

[Hgarrity]

When my Eastern Hermann's hatch, they are about 4 cm SCL and 10 to 12 g. After one year, they are 5 cm and around 40 g (some a bit below, some a bit above).

Thank you! I haven't found and estimates on age to size. I know that they all grow at different rates, but it's nice to have somewhat of an idea.

 

[THBfriend]

You're welcome. I just checked again, my young hatchlings are rather 3.5 cm SCL, not quite 4.
Anyway, I record the weight of my young tortoises about once a month (or every second month) and enter the weights into a spreadsheet, to keep track of their development. Here's a graph of five THBs that hatched in 2010:

It shows that the weights start to diverge rather quickly, and the differences increase with time. Even though all of them live together under the same conditions.
After 12 months, they were around 50 grams. Their older siblings were even around 75 grams at that age. But I started to take actions against that (mainly better food, more fiber), as I was told that slower growth is better and helps keeping the shell smooth.
The graph also shows that they hardly lose any weight during brumation. I let them brumate up to the full 150 days, beginning of November till end of March. The first winter I let them out early and checked on them twice per month...
Nowadays I'm way more relaxed about brumation.