Reptile & Amphibian Forums

sullivan has not gorwn since the day i got her.
she is about 2 1/4 inches long.
i got her in august when she was about 8 weeks old.
i wish she would grow alittle so i know she is ok.
-----
1 sulcata ( sullivan )
1 russian ( foxy )
3 cockerspaniels (wilbur, charlotte and torre )
1 betta ( frederica )

When you say she isn't growing, do you mean length, weight, or both? Do you have a good scale to weigh her on, and are you measuring and weighing her regularly?

I don't think you should worry much. I'm sure the RI she had threw her off track for a while. If she is eating and pooping well, she's probably fine.
-----
Sohni
Northern California

0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
1.1 Rubber Boas
1.0 Leopard Gecko
0.0.1 Hermann's Tortoise
plus my kids' herps:
0.0.1 California King Snake
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa
0.1 Leopard Gecko

i don't weigh her i don't have a scale that would accuratly work. i only measure her with a ruler.
-----
1 sulcata ( sullivan )
1 russian ( foxy )
3 cockerspaniels (wilbur, charlotte and torre )
1 betta ( frederica )

See if you can get a postal scale (maybe for Christmas), a
good digital scale will give you weight increases you just
can't see with the naked eye. Plus you see your tortoise
every day and it's hard to notice growth. When Teddy was
small I weighed him on the postal scale every week and he
averaged exactly 2 grams weight gain per day for a long
long time. Don't weigh him every single day because of
fluctuations with how much he just ate or pooped. But
weekly weighings should show you some growth. A ruler
is just to vague.

I swear if you ask me that Teddy has not grown much and is
still small - when is he going to be huge?!!!! lol! It's
cause I see him all the time. Look at my website, I just
added some new pics last night and you can see the differences
in him. Be patient, it'll happen.
Teddy my tortoise

You don't really need a super-accurate scale; it just needs to be consistent. In other words, if it's off a few grams, it doesn't matter, as long as it's always off the same amount. At hatchling size, I think a scale is probably more valuable because it's hard to measure a wiggly little tort and be accurate. At least with a scale you can measure trends over time. I just got a digital scale that goes up to 6.6 kg. and weighs in one gram increments. I don't need one that big for a hatchling, of course, but it's good for my bigger snakes, too. The surprising thing was that the Cuisinart kitchen scale I was using before turned out to be pretty accurate. So you don't have to spend a lot to get a useful one.
-----
Sohni
Northern California

0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
1.1 Rubber Boas
1.0 Leopard Gecko
0.0.1 Hermann's Tortoise
plus my kids' herps:
0.0.1 California King Snake
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa
0.1 Leopard Gecko

A ruler is not a vary accurate measuring tool, go with a caliper or scale, an accurate caliper will pick up the the growth of the shell. A scale is best, when they are sick the can lose weight while appearing to be the same size, the difference in weight could be only symptom

HTH
-----
Adam
http://anraviary.cjb.net
0.0 African Sidenecked, 0.0 Northern Diamondback Terrapin, 0.1 Redfoot, 0.1 Sulcatta, 1.0 Western Hognose, 1.0 Crested Gecko, 0.1 Mali Uromastyx

Adam, what kind of caliper do you use and where can I find one? It would be great to have one for measuring--right now I squash him up against the baseboard and mark the SCL on a piece of paper and then measure that, but it's hard to do with a struggling tort. A caliper would work perfectly.
-----
Sohni
Northern California

0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
1.1 Rubber Boas
1.0 Leopard Gecko
0.0.1 Hermann's Tortoise
plus my kids' herps:
0.0.1 California King Snake
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa
0.1 Leopard Gecko

Go to cheaperthandirt.com/Then click on reloading/then click on measuring tools/hopefully then you have found a caliper scale.I am not Adam but just trying to help.

I generally just use my digital scale to measure growth. When I need to I borrow one of the machinist's calipers from work. I have cheap digital ones for sale for $30 or $40 here in ontario. They are generally accurate down to 100ths or 1000ths of an inch.

Hope this helps
-----
Adam
http://anraviary.cjb.net
0.0 African Sidenecked, 0.0 Northern Diamondback Terrapin, 0.1 Redfoot, 0.1 Sulcatta, 1.0 Western Hognose, 1.0 Crested Gecko, 0.1 Mali Uromastyx

np
-----
Sohni
Northern California

0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
1.1 Rubber Boas
1.0 Leopard Gecko
0.0.1 Hermann's Tortoise
plus my kids' herps:
0.0.1 California King Snake
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa
0.1 Leopard Gecko

I would not worry about it too much if she seems healthy and is eating well and breathes okay. The thing is, most people don't realize that tortoises are SUPPOSED to grow slowly. It is when they grow too fast that you get the pyramiding and internal organ displacement that goes on. That's why I cringe when people say how happy they are when their mazuri-fed chowhound is growing like a weed. Faster than normal growth in NOT a sign of good health. Tortoises in the wild grow much slower than they do in captivity, and it is because of diet. We feed them too much, and too richly.