Indian Star Growth Question.

[MikeCow1]

I'm starting to worry about my star tort, Ravi. When I bought him, from someone here on the forum, they told me he was a little over a year old. But, he still looked about hatchling size to me. I've had him for two months now, he eats well, (spring mix, catus, Mazouri, etc...) and gets sunlight every day along with occasional calcium and vitamins. Still, he is only two inches and weighs 1.1 ounces = 31.2 grams. Are they really slow growers? Could something else be an issue?

 

[arotester]

it is not abnormal to have slow growing tort,every tort has it's own growth rate and if your tort is behaving normal and eating well then that means it's just fine.I have two stars one of which has grown upto 4 inches in 1 1/2 yrs whereas the other one has just grown upto just 2.6 inches in one yr ,so i guess that's normal.(i keep both of them separated)

 

[tortadise]

Stars can grow very slow or fast rates. I would ask to see maybe how your enclosure looks, and his typical diet regime. A lot of times if your using a tube UVB bulb they will stop good UVB output around 6 months. So it could be thaf. Or a bunch of other stuff. Orrr just a slow grower. Ive had some really slow growers before.

 

[MikeCow1]

No UVB as he's outside everyday. He gets a soak every morning. Diet is spring mix, cactus, Mazuri, turnip greens, dandelion greens, etc.. Enclosure is 3 foot by 3 foot screen cover frame that sits on the grass, which he also eats, with a shelter and some water inside. I realize that some grow slow. But 2" at 14-16 months? That is amazingly slow

 

[tortadise]

Sounds fine to me enclosure and food wise. I would say they were possibly incorrect on the age. That is pretty small. But possible. I have a 9 year old Sri lanken Male that is smaller than a 4 year old Sri lanken Male. It can happen. I feel slow natural steady paced growth is better for the animal anyways. All you can do is care for it best as possible, and let nature do what it does. Until something from "left field" pops up than I wouldn't worry about it really.

 

[Redari]

Maybe try upping the humidity? I know if they are dehydrated it can stunt growth. You say you are soaking him regularly so probably not likely, but maybe it would help.

---

Maybe also check for parasites? If he has a super high parasite load it could affect this growth. You can take poo samples over a week or so and put them in the fridge then take them into a vet for analysis.

 

[deadheadvet]

They can be very slow growers. I have a female that is 5 years old that is just over 6" that is perfectly fine. Eats every day. They are very variable in growth. I wonder about some of the bigger stars having Sri Lankan in their blood lines.

 

[Ansh]

Hi. Could you post photos of your star? Their pattern evolves as the grow. The pattern of a hatchling is very different from that of a 12 month old. May be able to tell if he has been wrongly aged based on the pattern. If he is active and is eating I doubt very much there is anything wrong with him.

 

[MikeCow1]

Sure, here are a couple

Thanks

 

[Ansh]

I'm not an expert and my only experience stems from my own stars that are now about 9 months old. The pattern on your tortoise is similar to mine at 3-4 months. Why don't you PM Neal? He has lots of experience with Stars. Really gorgeous tortoise by the way!

 

[CLMoss]

Looks like a hatchling to me...

 

[patilraosaheb]

They are fine and growing well...

 

[Homerist]

I believe different Stars grow at different rates like us do. Some bigger, some smaller.
I experienced my star growing very slowly for the first year or so.
Only after I sent her for a check up which the vet propose a deworming job that spurred her grow.

Now I think she is overweight. =D
11cm(SCL), 420grams. 3years,4months old.

 

[MikeCow1]

Well, here it is more than two months later and he still only weighs 1.4 ounces = 39.7 grams and only a little over 2 inches. Had a fecal done this morning and the vet says there's a little bit of parasites so I'm taking him in this afternoon. He's still eating well, twice a day, getting lots of sun etc.. Worries me that such an expensive tort should have come to me with this kind of problem. I hope some Panacur will fix him up and get him growing like he should

 

[Ansh]

I'm glad you found something 'treatable'. Intestinal infestation in children is a known cause of failure to thrive and often such children have a very good appetite. I'm betting your tortoise will gain weight once he has had treatment.

 

[CLMoss]

Good luck with you little Star. I still believe that s/he is a very young hatchling.

~C

 

[MikeCow1]

Good luck with you little Star. I still believe that s/he is a very young hatchling.

~C

Could well be. But that would mean the member here, that I bought it from, fibbed about having it for 8 months before selling it to me. I've had it four months now.
The vet gave me some liquid Panacur, now to find something to soak it up that he'll eat all of

 

[CLMoss]

Good luck with you little Star. I still believe that s/he is a very young hatchling.

~C

Could well be. But that would mean the member here, that I bought it from, fibbed about having it for 8 months before selling it to me. I've had it four months now.
The vet gave me some liquid Panacur, now to find something to soak it up that he'll eat all of

Maybe he said 8 weeks??? All & all, everything should go well now that s/he is now seeing a vet. ~C

 

[Leopard Tortoise Lover 16199]

I would contact the person you got it from and ask if they could've made a mistake on the age of your tortoise, and tell them that if not, you are concerned about your tortoises small size for its age and they may give you an explanation.
Here are some pics from the Internet to help compare.
1st one is a hatchling.
2nd one is 6 months old.
3rd one is a yearling.



All tortoises are different, though yours appears very small, some are just slow growers. But I would definitely contact the breeder and ask them.

 

[CLMoss]

My Becky and River are SL Stars. Here are the stats that I have regarding their growth in inches and grams at one year.

Becky (female) at one year old was 3.5 inches and 176 grams.

River (male) at one year old was 3 inches and 150 grams.

River is three months younger than Becky, and he is growing at a slower rate. I will try to find some photos of River's growth pattern at one year old.

~C