My tortoises are overweight

[tristanbett]

I’ve had 2 tortoises for just over a month and like a lot of people I wanted to make sure they were eating enough but now I’ve realised they’re overweight. They’re both around 11 months old, I used the Jackson ratio and found one to be 0.239 (6.7cm) and the other one is 0.256 (6.2cm).
Because one is more overweight than the other I don’t know how to cut their food down incase one eats it all and leaves nothing for the other. They have time in the garden but we’re yet to build a secure hatch to leave them unattended so they don’t get too long outside. Any tips on how to help them get back down to healthy size would be appreciated. Can post pictures if needed.

 

[Tom]

Please disregard that ridiculous formula. All species are different and they all grow differently for a wide variety of reasons. Provide your tortoises with large enclosures, the right foods, correct temperatures and conditions, and don't worry about what that ratio says. Tortoises don't get fat unless you feed the wrong foods and keep them in tiny enclosures with no room to move, and even then it is exceedingly rare to see an obese tortoise.

Get your garden enclosure built so they can enjoy the fair summer weather, and make sure your indoor enclosure is as big as it can be.

Here is more care info that might help. Much of what you find is just wrong:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

By the way, they should never live in pairs. I hope you are housing them separately.

 

[wellington]

I second everything Tom said. Specially the part on proper enclosure size and diet.

 

[tristanbett]

Please disregard that ridiculous formula. All species are different and they all grow differently for a wide variety of reasons. Provide your tortoises with large enclosures, the right foods, correct temperatures and conditions, and don't worry about what that ratio says. Tortoises don't get fat unless you feed the wrong foods and keep them in tiny enclosures with no room to move, and even then it is exceedingly rare to see an obese tortoise.

Get your garden enclosure built so they can enjoy the fair summer weather, and make sure your indoor enclosure is as big as it can be.

Here is more care info that might help. Much of what you find is just wrong:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

By the way, they should never live in pairs. I hope you are housing them separately.

They are not housed separately, this is because from birth they’ve been housed together and we’ve never had a problem with them being together. They eat together sleep together and they never have any problems. About the ratio that’s fine I was just going with what I knew as I’m new to this.I’m going to post a picture of the enclosure And the tortoises shell with this reply and if you could please let me know if everything’s all good it’d be appreciated although I’ll only show one tortoises she’ll cause the others asleep.

 

[tristanbett]

I second everything Tom said. Specially the part on proper enclosure size and diet.

I have been feeding them on kale and rocket but found out kale should not be used as a staple food so from today we’re feeding them some freshly picked weeds etc until he’s burned off some of that weight haha

 

[EllieMay]

If you want to do what’s best for your tortoises and keep them healthy, then please heed the advice about not keeping them together. You will find tons of information here on this forum to support all the reasons why it’s a horrible idea.. they are adorable. We are all here to teach, learn, and talk tortoises... ;-)

 

[tristanbett]

If you want to do what’s best for your tortoises and keep them healthy, then please heed the advice about not keeping them together. You will find tons of information here on this forum to support all the reasons why it’s a horrible idea.. they are adorable. We are all here to teach, learn, and talk tortoises... ;-)

Yeah I’ve been reading on it a lot today, they’re only 11 months currently so aren’t mature enough to start bullying but we’re making sure we’re prepared for when they are mature and start bullying each other, do you have any idea what age that is? Mediterranean spur thigh

 

[Tom]

Yeah I’ve been reading on it a lot today, they’re only 11 months currently so aren’t mature enough to start bullying but we’re making sure we’re prepared for when they are mature and start bullying each other, do you have any idea what age that is? Mediterranean spur thigh

Bullying isn't something that only happens in mature animals. Any time two animals are together, one will be dominant and one subordinate. Its the way of the world. Eating together is trying to compete for food. Sleeping together is one of them trying to crowd the other one out of the territory. These are solitary animals. Groups can sometimes work, but not pairs. Its too personal. Neither of them wants to be sharing space with another tortoise.

 

[tristanbett]

Bullying isn't something that only happens in mature animals. Any time two animals are together, one will be dominant and one subordinate. Its the way of the world. Eating together is trying to compete for food. Sleeping together is one of them trying to crowd the other one out of the territory. These are solitary animals. Groups can sometimes work, but not pairs. Its too personal. Neither of them wants to be sharing space with another tortoise.

Oh okay this makes much more sense now I think of it that way, thanks for the information.

 

[William Lee Kohler]

I see pyramiding and there seems more growth than just 11 months. Do you soak them daily or at least most of the time? Also they need straight tube type UVB lighting and most use ceramic heat emitters for heat in the enclosures. Not sure what you have there but some round light.

 

[Yvonne G]

Judging from that picture, your babies aren't overweight.

 

[VegasJeff]

What's their weight? I could compare them against mine which is around 11 months old. Mine's a rescue so the age is estimated.