Is my horsefield tortoise too small?

Bethanrs

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Hi, I have a horsefield tortoise called Sheldon. He was hatched in July 2022, I got him from a good breeder. I got him on the 9th feb 2023. I weighed and measured him that day and he was 5 and a half cm and weighed 27g. I’ve measured him again today (26th feb) and he is the same size but weighs 33g. Although I did weigh him in the evening after his bath so perhaps he hasn’t gained the full 6g. I’ve just seen somewhere that a tortoise of his age should be like double that? He’s eating great and taking his calcium and vitamins, he’s bathed regularly, enjoys basking and burrowing at night and he seems really happy and active. Thanks for the help
 

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Ink

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How much, how often and what do you feed him? Welcome to the forum. Cute tortoise
 

wellington

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Hard to really say as they grow at their own speed.
What is the humidity?
Temps? Day, basking, cooler side, night?
Diet?
He has some slight pyramiding so either he was started dry or because you aren't adding humidity.
If that is moss I'm seeing in the pic, get rid of it. It can cause impaction or entanglement.
 

Bethanrs

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How much, how often and what do you feed him? Welcome to the forum. Cute tortoise
I feed him a good variety, lambs lettuce, campanula , dandelion, dried meadow mix, viola, spider plant. I’m currently planting lots of tortoise safe foods ready for the summer. 😁 I give him calcium twice a week and vitamins twice a week. I put food down for him every morning on a slate roughly the size of his shell , I’ve read that’s the correct amount. Thankyou for your response
 

Bethanrs

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Hard to really say as they grow at their own speed.
What is the humidity?
Temps? Day, basking, cooler side, night?
Diet?
He has some slight pyramiding so either he was started dry or because you aren't adding humidity.
If that is moss I'm seeing in the pic, get rid of it. It can cause impaction or entanglement.
Around 32 under the basking light and 22 on the cool end. Night temp is around 18-20 at the moment.
I feed him a good variety, lambs lettuce, campanula , dandelion, dried meadow mix, viola, spider plant. I’m currently planting lots of tortoise safe foods ready for the summer. 😁 I give him calcium twice a week and vitamins twice a week. I put food down for him every morning on a slate roughly the size of his shell , I’ve read that’s the correct amount. I mist his area twice a week. It’s not moss it’s an airplant
 

Cathie G

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Hello and welcome 🤗. Your little one is so cute 😘. I have a Russian also. He wasn't a baby when I got him so I wouldn't presume to give advice on raising a baby. But I'm really glad that you found TFO so early. They'll help you. There's a lot of conflicting information out there. This is the best place I've found for getting answers from experience.
 

Ink

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I'm not an expert. I would be more concerned if he lost weight, but he gained weight so, yay. I don't think his shell would grow dramatically in a couple of weeks. Good luck and enjoy.
 

Tom

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Hi, I have a horsefield tortoise called Sheldon. He was hatched in July 2022, I got him from a good breeder. I got him on the 9th feb 2023. I weighed and measured him that day and he was 5 and a half cm and weighed 27g. I’ve measured him again today (26th feb) and he is the same size but weighs 33g. Although I did weigh him in the evening after his bath so perhaps he hasn’t gained the full 6g. I’ve just seen somewhere that a tortoise of his age should be like double that? He’s eating great and taking his calcium and vitamins, he’s bathed regularly, enjoys basking and burrowing at night and he seems really happy and active. Thanks for the help
27 grams at 7-8 months old is NOT a good breeder. They should be near 100 grams by 5-6 months old, when kept and fed correctly. Russians hatch at around 15-20 grams, and should double that in a month. Two months tops. If they don't double their hatch weight in that amount of time, they are not being housed and cared for correctly.

It needs to be 37 directly under the basking bulb, and 32 over on the entire warm side during the day. Your other temps sound good. They should be eating as much as they want of the right foods all day every day. This is a herbivorous grazer. Let it graze.

Start here:

Then here:

Questions welcome.
 

wellington

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Around 32 under the basking light and 22 on the cool end. Night temp is around 18-20 at the moment.
I feed him a good variety, lambs lettuce, campanula , dandelion, dried meadow mix, viola, spider plant. I’m currently planting lots of tortoise safe foods ready for the summer. 😁 I give him calcium twice a week and vitamins twice a week. I put food down for him every morning on a slate roughly the size of his shell , I’ve read that’s the correct amount. I mist his area twice a week. It’s not moss it’s an airplant
Read what Tom said.
Also what is the humidity? I gather there isn't any. That's a problem. Read the links Tom posted for you and make the adjustments.
 
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