weight advice for a newbie please

Louise66

Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2019
Messages
45
Location (City and/or State)
Milton Keynes uk
hi everyone
I am in the uk and have two two month old hermanns. I have had them a little over a week now and I weighed them for the 1st time last Thursday and a week on weighed again. one that was 19 grams has gained 1 gram to 20 grams the other one who took a few days to settle and begin eating has remained the same 16 grams .is this okay? she still eats little but everone is different surely? should I be worried or try tortoise food? I don't really don't want to do that at this stage if possible.
any advice would be gratefully receieved.
 

SweetGreekTorts

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2018
Messages
980
Location (City and/or State)
Tucson, AZ
Are you weighing them under the exact same circumstances each time? If you weigh them at a different time of the day, before or after they defecate, or before it after they eat, will impact results greatly.

I weigh all my babies every Friday, early morning. I soak them first and they all defecate during their soak, so their stomach and bowels are empty. Then I weigh them. Then I put them back in their enclosures and feed them.

Some of mine stay the same weight for a week or two before they have a small gain. Others gain every week.

As long as yours are not losing weight, then there is no need to worry.

Are you housing them together? If so, you will begin to see one growing much faster than the other. Tortoises don't do well in pairs, even as babies, and see the other tortoise as competition for food and everything. The larger baby will be the dominant one and will be bullying and stressing the smaller one (subtle behaviors you may not see or know are happening). The smaller one will be eating less and hiding more, and simply will not grow much.

I recommend separating them, if you have them sharing an enclosure, and you will see an improvement. I've been through this myself and can say that my babies are much happier in their own space and all are growing incredibly well and healthy.
 

Louise66

Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2019
Messages
45
Location (City and/or State)
Milton Keynes uk
Hi I weighed them exactly the same way as last week and time. I am going to be putting them in separate enclosures this weekend when the new tortoise table comes after advice from this forum. I was relieved she hasn't lost anything really. Thanks
 
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