Weight..!

Dharam

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884B50C6-2ECB-4CE1-B880-3B72233A7988.jpeg Is it possible for any female Indian star tortoise to stay active, eat all you give, still weigh the same..?

Both of my female Indian stars are eating well now but the weight of the smaller female is not increasing..!

The weight of my larger female had increased greatly and she took only 4-6 months to cross 1000gm from 800gm..!

I dnt have the equipment to measure weight after 1kg so I didnt weigh her but she is increasing in size ever since..!

While my smaller female who did undergo a fasting period for around two months eating very little is still stuck at same weight..!

She started eating a month back and is eating heartily ever since..

We do confine her till she eats as the larger female is always ready to steal, this way we make sure she eats her own food.!

Thnx for the advice in advance..!

P.S Do comment on her shell growth if it is pyramided or something..!
 

JoesMum

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Are thrse two kept together? They're very territorial and don't do well as pairs. They should be kept separately.

A failure to gain weight when the other is thriving is the first sign that one of your tortoises is under stress. Bullying isn't always physical, it can be mental too.

One tortoise is always dominant. It stops the other from eating as much. It moves the other tortoise on when it tries to sleep (cuddling up together to sleep is actually one tortoise telling the other to go sleep somewhere else). It generally makes life uncomfortable for the other as it wants it to leave the territory. But the subordinate tortoise cannot leave.

Separate them and you will find the other tortoise will gain weight too. Leave them together and the subordinate one is likely to become sick and could die.
 

Dharam

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I saw some of the signs of aggression on youtube and none is exhibited here..
Plus Indian St. are not known to exhibit aggression towards each other..
At the time of food smaller one is seperated amd she finishes off her meal plus they both have seperate sleeping preferences and actually never sleep together.
I am trying to provide different hiding places for both of them but as of now I cannot seperate them as I cant have a diff enclosure..
Thnx for the advice..
 

JoesMum

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Bullying isn't always physical. They're brilliant at mental bullying too.

Cuddling up together is actually one tortoise trying to stop the other from sleeping somewhere for example

Indian stars are territorial, we see it regularly here on TFO, and the confines of a small captive enclosure make it worse.

Unless they are separated permanently, it is unlikely that both will thrive now.
 

Markw84

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Your tortoise should be growing at that size. Sometimes they will go through periods of very slow growth. The first thing I would check is the temperatures and humidity and enclosure they tortoise is being kept. They will grow best in warm, humid conditions and need a place with good substrate and places to hide beneath plants. IN the wild, they spend most all their time pushed under plants. If they do not feel secure, they will be stressed and that is the first thing to stop good growth. Please read through this I posted to get ideas on how I keep my stars. Your tortoise is pyramided moderately and it appears to be a bit worse with growth the past 3-4 years or so. That would indicate conditions that are too dry, so pay attention to ideas in the post I am linking here.

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-star-tortoise.159167/

Another consideration is parasites. I would immediately check for parasites when I have a tortoise that will not gain weight, especially when others kept in identical conditions are gaining properly. It is easy for parasite loads to get too high in captivity where they can constantly re-infect themselves.

Diet is another consideration, so be sure there is plenty of variety and the proper types of food offered. Especially if there is a high parasite load. Parasites can take over 40% of the available nutrients from the food and keep the tortoise undernourished even if eating well.
 
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