Should I be worried...?

c7m3d

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Feb 13, 2016
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Hello all. I am unsure whether to be concerned and thought I would seek advice and guidance from more experienced keepers.

I have two juvenile Leopard tortoises, both hatched January 2019 (I have had them since August) and until recently, I have been delighted with their development. I have followed the care sheet advice closely and ensure that their temperatures and humidity mirror this advice. I feed them largely on homegrown weeds, grasses and flowers plus a very small amount of store brought products now that we are in the winter months here in the UK.

I weigh my tortoises weekly to track their growth and one of them, the smaller one of the two (whom I have concerns about) appears to be struggling to gain weight, and has recently started to lose it. The other is the direct opposite and seems to be gaining weight and growing, almost too quickly. So because they’re so different, I am unsure which of the two is growing more ‘normally’ (for want of a better word!) Here’s the recorded weight for the little one that I’m concerned about:

17.08.19 - 67g

25.08.19 - 71g

01.09.19 - 70g

08.09.19 - 71g

15.09.19 - 76g

22.09.19 - 71g

29.09.19 - 71g

06.10.19 - 80g

13.10.19 - 75g

20.10.19 - 83g

27.10.19 - 80g

03.11.19 - 83g

10.11.19 - 82g

17.11.19 - 85g

24.11.19 - 82g

01.12.19 - 85g

08.12.19 - 85g

15.12.19 - 83g

22.12.19 - 75g

Other than weight loss, there are no causes for concern; he eats well, drinks often, is bathed daily, and has a curious and active personality. I haven’t seen him poo now for 3-4 days so I have extended his bath times to try and encourage this. I also tried to feed him a little aloe Vera yesterday but he wasn’t interested, but I shall persist. I don’t think something is wrong with their environment or set up because the other tortoise seems to be thriving - of course, I may be wrong.

Should I be concerned by his lack of weight gain and recent loss? Or am I over worrying? Any advice or guidance with what to look out for / things to try / other’s experience most welcome.

Thank you all in advance.
Callum
 

Maro2Bear

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Greetings.

It might be helpful to upload a pix of your enclosure, or, give a description of your enclosure space. And, are you keeping the two torts together in the same enclosure?

Were these guys purchased from same breeder, same clutch?

Good luck.
 

Yvonne G

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We've seen it time and again: tortoises being kept in pairs where one grows and the other doesn't. I'm willing to bet that if you set the smaller guy up in his own enclosure he'll start growing.

Then, after doing that, people tell us that the larger tortoise seems to be looking for or pining for the other one. This is because he's been telling the smaller tortoise to get out of his territory for such a long time, he's looking around to make sure he's really gone.
 

c7m3d

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We've seen it time and again: tortoises being kept in pairs where one grows and the other doesn't. I'm willing to bet that if you set the smaller guy up in his own enclosure he'll start growing.

Then, after doing that, people tell us that the larger tortoise seems to be looking for or pining for the other one. This is because he's been telling the smaller tortoise to get out of his territory for such a long time, he's looking around to make sure he's really gone.

Thank you for your response Yvonne. I feel your passive aggressive approach was unnecessary but I shall heed your experience and will separate them as suggested.
 

Yvonne G

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Oh gosh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come across like that.
 

wellington

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Yvonne went further to explain in my opinion, because after taking the first advice she gave, people do come back and are worried that they miss each other. Some will not even listen to the right way of housing them seperate because they think they would be lonely without the other. This is totally not true. Tortoises are loners and do not want or need a friend. So you see, she was just covering all bases from the get go, as this isnt the first time we have seen your exact situation.
 

ZEROPILOT

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Thank you for your response Yvonne. I feel your passive aggressive approach was unnecessary but I shall heed your experience and will separate them as suggested.
Search over our posts. There are right now two active posts with this same situation.
Speaking for myself, I just want to help out. But answering the same question or the same issue over and over, day after day can lead to replying with a less than friendly sound to the answer.
I've also been guilty of this.
Please don't take it personally. The answer is correct.
Hopefully you'll become another regularly contributing member also.
 

Tom

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Thank you for your response Yvonne. I feel your passive aggressive approach was unnecessary but I shall heed your experience and will separate them as suggested.
Passive aggressive??? What???

Tortoises should never live in pairs. You are seeing why first hand.
 

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