I just weighed my sulcata tortoise hatchlings and they both weighed about 25 grams. They are 3 months old today and both are 2in by 2 in. Is that a normal weight for this age? I feel like it's really small. Thanks for your time!
Tom said:Holly, are you sure your scale is accurate? That's pretty small. My hatchlings are almost always 34-35 grams. I've had two small ones that were 31 and 32, and one entire clutch that were all 39-41.
I'd love to know why yours are so small and it will be interesting to see how fast they catch up. Do you have any history on the parents?
CtTortoiseMom said:Could they be younger than you think?
jesst said:That seems pretty small although I am no expert. I got a gram scale from Walmart for $20 and that is what I use to weigh Morla, which I do weekly to make sure she is gaining and to monitor how much she is gaining. She is we think 6 months and 89 grams
HollyH8 said:I may be reading the scale wrong because I'm not positive on how to read a food scale that isn't digital. My scale measures in oz, grams and pounds. And it showed they were almost 1 oz which I figured was about 25 grams. Please help! I want to make sure they aren't abnormally slow growing. Also another question, does every hatchling have what kinda looks like a spine on their shell? Thanks!
Tom said:1 ounce = 28.3 grams, but that would be very small even for a brand new hatchling.
Take a picture of the "spine" and let us check it out. I use tinypic.com to post pics. Very easy. Where is the spine? Is it sort of a raised ridge on the carapace on the scute just above the head?
Tom said:That looks normal to me.
Does your tortoise still have an egg tooth? A little sharp point at the tip of his snout?
How long have you had him and how do you know the age?
He looks good, but he doesn't look three months old to me.
jesst said:As long as they are looking healthy and eating the weight will start to pour on. I have had my morla for 7 weeks tomorrow and she has only gained 30 grams since we have had her. She eats 2 times a day and always finishes everything. I soak her every day and spray her as much as possible, but she seems to go through little patches of weight gain. She doesnt have any parasites, I work in an animal hospital so I check them whenever I feel it is needed. So getting back to yoir little guys, they look great just remember that they all gain weight at different rates. I find that using prepackaged food make them gain weight faster. I only use them 1-2 times per week. Good luck and they will start to grow before you know it