Overweight Leopard

[CL84]

Hi all,

I recently acquired two 3 year old Leopard tortoises. Its original owner is getting out of the hobby so was looking to rehome them. I was told they were previously living in an enclosed vivarium and raised on a varied diet (even though the one in questions's shell tells a different story). This tortoise is 3 years old and I am curious about the following after scrolling through post after post.

1 - I have seen posts that tortoise all grow at different rates. It seems very small for a 3 year old leopard and it's mate/brother/sister is even smaller at 3.5 inches. I SA that is 20 months old and nearly 9 inches. Any thoughts about it's size?

2 - I have done the Susan Donoghue scale and came up with these numbers - Current weight 276g Target weight 232g. Could it be possible this tortoise is over weight? March 19th it was 219g and as of today is 276g although one poop can drop him down nearly 11g. I ask because I notice that it doesn't retract into its shell and when I try and nudge it, it cannot. I thought it was just comfortable with me but maybe a bigger issue?

3 - I believe this is a hybrid but wouldn't that mean it should grow a little bigger? Its mate has double dots on its scutes and dots on its plastron plus is even smaller at 3 years old. Any thoughts on if it is more one than the other?

Additional info... I have it in an enclosed chamber Pitre style with cypress mulch instead of a paper towel. It's soaked every other day for 20 mins and spends 3 hours outside weather permitting. I grow timothy hay, pansies, violas, micro-green sprouts, dandelion which they have access to. Also Mazuri TD and calcium. They eat non stop and don't appear unhealthy besides the one possibly not fitting into it's shell.

Any thoughts would help. THANKS!

p.s. how can we get rid of the salacious bots on here?

 

[wellington]

If they were housed together that could play a big roll in their size along with the pyramiding. I'm thinking they were not started out in a closed chamber and leopards are very hard to grow smooth and even more so if pyramiding has already started.

 

[CL84]

Thank you, any thoughts on its weight? It cannot retract inside of its shell and not sure if it's possible for a growing tortoise to be overweight but I guess human kids can be too. Should I maybe offer it less food? The tortoise calculator seems pretty accurate for my other tortoises.

 

[wellington]

It does not look over weight to me. Only a tortoise that doesn't have enough room to roam and exercise can get over weight.

 

[Tom]

Thank you, any thoughts on its weight? It cannot retract inside of its shell and not sure if it's possible for a growing tortoise to be overweight but I guess human kids can be too. Should I maybe offer it less food? The tortoise calculator seems pretty accurate for my other tortoises.

Those tortoise weight calculators are a silly waste of time. Leopards are much higher domed than other species, so it isn't going to work anyway.

Most people don't raise them or feed them right, so being undersized for their age is pretty normal. Being raised too dry will also stunt their growth, and the horrendous pyramiding is evidence of that dryness. Being raised as a pair just compounds these other issues and the chronic stress takes a terrible toll.

What is "Pitre style"? He learned what he knows here.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I ask because I notice that it doesn't retract into its shell and when I try and nudge it, it cannot.

It is possible that he is overweight, if he really can't fit into his shell, but fixing his diet and giving him enough space should do the job. I wouldn't trust those calculators to determine a target weight. I would rely more on whether he looks chubby from the behind and the front and whether he can fit inside his shell. Here is a thread with some pics of the behind and the front of a overweight tortoise so you can see what I mean. https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/overweight-tort-what-to-look-for.5311/

 

[CL84]

Those tortoise weight calculators are a silly waste of time. Leopards are much higher domed than other species, so it isn't going to work anyway.

Most people don't raise them or feed them right, so being undersized for their age is pretty normal. Being raised too dry will also stunt their growth, and the horrendous pyramiding is evidence of that dryness. Being raised as a pair just compounds these other issues and the chronic stress takes a terrible toll.

What is "Pitre style"? He learned what he knows here.

This all makes sense now. Thank you both.

 

[Yvonne G]

p.s. how can we get rid of the salacious bots on here?

"Report" them. No one has access to your PMs other than you, not the admins nor the moderators, so the only way we know about them is if you hit the Report button.

The last couple days the moderators have deleted and banned over 100 of these sexual posts. We try to get these bots before they can post anything, but this latest batch was new and didn't hit all the identifiers.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

"Report" them. No one has access to your PMs other than you, not the admins nor the moderators, so the only way we know about them is if you hit the Report button.

The last couple days the moderators have deleted and banned over 100 of these sexual posts. We try to get these bots before they can post anything, but this latest batch was new and didn't hit all the identifiers.

Oh damn I had one yesterday and just left the conversation, didn’t think to look for a report button, not had to flag anything before😣least I know if it happens again

 

[Renee_H]

"Report" them. No one has access to your PMs other than you, not the admins nor the moderators, so the only way we know about them is if you hit the Report button.

The last couple days the moderators have deleted and banned over 100 of these sexual posts. We try to get these bots before they can post anything, but this latest batch was new and didn't hit all the identifiers.

Oh man I received one too but just deleted it. If it happens again I will look for the report button!

 

[TammyJ]

Can you please post some pictures of your tortoises side by side, top, bottom, back and front? This will help us to maybe come to some conclusions that might be crucial to their health and proper growth.

 

[CL84]

Can you please post some pictures of your tortoises side by side, top, bottom, back and front? This will help us to maybe come to some conclusions that might be crucial to their health and proper growth.

I'm just realizing my photos did not attach to my first post. There is a new growth right that just appeared over night. Also does this look like more of a "hybrid" vs the standard mixed "babcoki"?

 

[Sarah2020]

Oh man I received one too but just deleted it. If it happens again I will look for the report button!

Report button is on bottom left of any posts . Just press the bell and add a comment I.e spam or not relevant and the mods will be alerted. I use it frequently and find if a useful feature.