ok everybody heres my problem, not so long ago i was very worried that twiglet was underweight at 109g and about 8cms shes only 1yr and a bit old, shes been wormed and a redesigned her outdoor pen so she can graze at her own pleasure, somedays she wont eat at all which is fine but her weight gain is too much just lately, 6august 109g after baths, today 114g after her bath! she hasnt got alot of weeds i think its just that shes not very active so she isnt burning anything off,

any ideas please

sharon xxxxxxx

First of all before you think anything is wrong Sharon remind us what she weighed when you first got her and exactly when was that.  Then you can look at the overall picture and not just take one month weight in isolation if you can understand.

Helen

P.S. Did you gt my mail about your poem?

Hi Sharon,

100+ grams for a tortoise little more than 1 year old is heavy. All tortoises have different metablisms and so may need their food quantities adjusting accordingly. I'd weigh her weekly to monitor the weight gain more closely and try to restict the weight gain to no more than 2g per month as she's already quite large for her age. Providing everything else is in order, cutting down her food, will encourage her to forage more and become more active. How are the temps in her enclosures?

HTH

Darren

Hi Helen,

sorry i couldnt find your mail re the poem hun could you send it again plz :)

twiglet was actually 112g when i got her in may( early in the month), then she lost weight then she was wormed , he told me she was 1yrs old and the vet said that was about right, then after worming she dropped to 106 but its been a slow growth i think till this month, she isnt as active but her appetite has improved, she grazes on weeds for about 10 mins after her morning bath then she basks till mid afternoon then its off she goes to bed about 4/5pm,

darren, her temps seem to be ok i think, shes outside in hercold frame which is covered but has the megaray to bask under the under lamp temp is 34 , the overall outer temps are roughly 18/21 weather permitting but she has her heater in her hutch set at 20 during the day and 12 at night, any ideas

thanks sharon xxxxx

In that case if she was 112 when you got her in May and she is just 114 now then I think you can stop worrying about the amount of weigh she has put on this month.  By the very nature of her having worms her diet was reduced and now she is just starting to eat again.  As Darren says if she is only 1 year old then she needs slow growth, but she's had that since May; so now I would follow Darren's advice from now on and control what she eats and aim for no more than 2 - 3 gr per month.

I sent you 2 private mails re your poem by clicking on your name and going to the TPG mailing page.  It's a worry if it isn't working - please check your spam box and see if they are in there.

I have been contacted by Ginny the President of the San Diego Tortoise and Turtle Rescue Club and she would dearly like to publish you poem in her newsletter and she is awaiting my reply.

If you give permission you'll be internationally famous .  Well done you.

Helen

 Wow id be honoured no need to ask hun i did the poem for all of us to share anyway but yes Ginny can use it lol,

daft question bur where exactley would i find my tpg mailbox, is it with all the others ;(

sharon xxxxxx

Helen would Ginny think i was cheeky if i asked for a copy of the newsletter when its printed so i could show my mum, she would be so proud shes been trying to get me to post off poems for years and ive always said no lol

sharon xxxxxx

I'll let Ginny know then thanks  .

You don't have a mail box as such the message should just go into the general email account you use on your pc. 

I posted some instructions on how to use it in the TPG forum subject heading.  This means we should be able to mail each other privately if we wish without making our email address public.

I know I'm receiving messages from it, but up to now I haven't had a reply to I should be grateful if you could check your spam/bulk/junk mailbox on your usual email account and see if they have been redirected there.

Helen

ok will do hun

sharon xxxxxxx

I don't know how often they are printed, but I'll ask if we may have a copy for both of us lol.

Helen

 yippeee

sharon xxxxx

Congratulations Sharon

Does that mean you got the mail?

Helen             

 nope still not got it helen, i sent you one tho via TPG, its not gone in the spam either its been pinched lol

sharon xxxxxxx

thanks Darren

Well done Sharon I am so pleased for you about the poem, it is well deserved as it was very moving

Jane

 Thanks Jane, my mum has tried to get me to send stuff off to magazines in the past but i hated the idea but this feels right lol

sharon xxxx