Redfoot growth size.

[pfara]

I've always noticed that the ones to grow the fastest and the biggest are always more outgoing and friendly, not shy at all of human presence. On the flip side, the ones that are shy and stay hidden in the moss most of the day and are very skittish of my presence grow much slower and are smaller.

Or perhaps the bigger ones are bigger because they were less shy/more outgoing and therefore ate more, and the small ones are small because they were shy in the first place and therefore didn't eat as much…Chicken or egg…hmm?

I must have an outlier if this is the case. My smallest one is the most outgoing and the other 3 hide most of the day. Hopefully this doesn't point to a health issue.

 

[Anyfoot]

I must have an outlier if this is the case. My smallest one is the most outgoing and the other 3 hide most of the day. Hopefully this doesn't point to a health issue.

I doubt u have health issues. This thread is just light conversation. I think the fact is they grow and developed at different rates and have different personalities. Just like humans

 

[pfara]

I doubt u have health issues. This thread is just light conversation. I think the fact is they grow and developed at different rates and have different personalities. Just like humans

I understand that this is a light conversation. It's just nice to know, for myself and others, at what point would there be a reason to worry about health. If a tort continues to slow significantly in growth rate compared to others while treated in the exact same manner, would there ever be a need for worry? I always figured that if a tortoise lost weight, in say a month, then there'd be a cause for concern.

I know Pete has raised more tortoises/turtles for a much longer period than I so I thought I'd ask.. for the sake of putting the info out there

Also, my slowest grower also has a split scute.. more like failed to fuse scute.

 

[tortdad]

Also there is never a time that there is no food on there slate, so they always have access to food.

But the little one might be too scared to come out and eat as much as it should.

 

[Anyfoot]

I understand that this is a light conversation. It's just nice to know, for myself and others, at what point would there be a reason to worry about health. If a tort continues to slow significantly in growth rate compared to others while treated in the exact same manner, would there ever be a need for worry? I always figured that if a tortoise lost weight, in say a month, then there'd be a cause for concern.

I know Pete has raised more tortoises/turtles for a much longer period than I so I thought I'd ask.. for the sake of putting the info out there

Also, my slowest grower also has a split scute.. more like failed to fuse scute.

My slowest growing one also has a split scute thats not fusing correctly. I agree if we add to the pot of knowledge. Then the jigsaw pieces come together. Interesting. I need to rear some from the egg to experience and study them in detail as they develope.

 

[Turtlepete]

I must have an outlier if this is the case. My smallest one is the most outgoing and the other 3 hide most of the day. Hopefully this doesn't point to a health issue.

Just another case that growth depends on the individual. I'm just saying that most of the time, the smaller ones are less outgoing and grow slower, the bigger ones are more outgoing and grow faster, etc.. I've seen it the other way around a couple times, absolutely. Keep in mind I only raise my young til about a year old, so my observations are purely based on that period.

 

[Turtlepete]

Do you have any adults that are shy and hide all the time, I don't. All 7 are curious and nosey.

Nope. By the time they are adults, nothing seems to scare them .

 

[Anyfoot]

Nope. By the time they are adults, nothing seems to scare them .

Pete. Have you ever had juvenile pass away on you, and if so do you know why and what the early symptoms were. Horrible question. Sorry. Just curious what signs to look for in future years.

 

[Turtlepete]

Pete. Have you ever had juvenile pass away on you, and if so do you know why and what the early symptoms were. Horrible question. Sorry. Just curious what signs to look for in future years.

Well, there is the whole "hatchling failure syndrome" which you will hear a lot of debate about. In sulcatas, when it happens, the theory is that the tortoises were raised by a breeder utilizing the "dry method" and thats why. However, yes, I've lost several red foots within the first two weeks die to something along these lines. They hatch, and most will even eat quite well, seem completely normal, and then simply pass away without any reason within the first 2 weeks or so. Besides some sort of congenital defect, there is no issue that should have caused these fatalities. So yes, if you breed them, there is always a possibility of young simply passing away out of the blue.