is my adult female russian tortoise small for her size?

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lynnedit

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RE: is my adult female russian tortoise small?

Size is affected by previous conditions: food, etc. The age estimate is just that, an estimate.
What is most important is the ratio of the tortoise's weight to length, to make sure your tort is proportional.
Here is how you can calculate this:

The Donaghue Ratio works for any tortoise species. It is more reliable for Russians because their shells are domed.
SCL*cm^3 x 0.191 = WTgr
Or
length in cm x length in cm x length in cm x 0.191=weight in grams.

(*Straight-line Carapace Length in centimeters, or SCLcm). To get this, push the tort up against a wall on a piece of paper. Mark the end of the shell and then remove tortoise and measure in centimeters.

Scroll down on this thread for more info:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-What...z1nMYVfMpI
 

lynnedit

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Sorry about the link. Well, it pretty much talks about this ratio as a way to make sure your Russian is healthy, weight/height-wise.


Here is a link to measuring weight Mark's web site, it has nice general information as well, lots of other links.

https://sites.google.com/site/tortoiselibrary/health-and-medical/healthy-weight-and-size

This link mentions getting the tortoise/turtle 'BMI' or tBMI. However, I just used the formula above to calculate the ideal weight based on length. Then I compared the calculated weight to the tortoise's actual weight. It came out as remarkable similar for all 4 of my Russians! I think it is considered a minimum weight, no worries if your tort weighs a bit more.

Bottom line is that AGE, or SIZE, etc., are fairly meaningless when you have a new tort and are not familiar with previous conditions. What IS important is that the tort is healthy; a good weight for his/her current size.
 
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