Reptile & Amphibian Forums

All,

In preparing to hibernate my two Russians, I have been doing quite a bit of research. I just read through all of the material on A.C. Highfields site, but was unable to find anything to help me decide if my Russians are of adequate weight to safely hibernate.

In several articles, they mention to "be sure that the tortoise is of adequate weight" before hibernating, but then do not say what the proper weight should be.

There is a chart for measuring other types of torts, but they warn specifically not to use that chart for Russians.

Any ideas?

Depends a lot on gender and individual characteristics.

I had a male that had straight-line shell length of about 5.25" and he was seemed good at 400-425 grams. And then I had another male who was about 5.5" and 500 grams. The lighter animal had a flatter carapace while the heavier animal was more rounded.

I've had a couple large females that were about 6.5" and 900 grams and 7" and 1000 grams.

Weights go up and down with the seasons. Light in the spring, heavy in mid-summer, and then down a little bit before hibernation.