Record Keeping

Keep records of your tortoise's weight, length, and of any illnesses or veterinary treatment it may have had. These records will help you to know whether or not your husbandry is successful. Weekly weights are sufficient if the tortoise is healthy and active, but weigh more often if problems occur. Many problems can be diagnosed and treated more successfully by reference to records. The correct (weight)/(length cubed) ratio for adult Testudo graeca or Testudo hermanni is .21 to .23 g/cm3. Hatchlings should have a higher ratio. The length used in this calculation is the straight line length between the supracaudal and nuchal scutes.

Healthy tortoises should not be too light or too heavy, but should grow in proportion, indefinitely. There is no such thing as a 'fully-grown' tortoise. For three weeks, before hibernation, the tortoise should lose weight. Over hibernation its weight should remain virtually constant. For three weeks after hibernation it should replace the weight lost in the autumn, then steadily gain weight over the summer. On any date, the tortoise should weigh more than it did on the same date last year. It is impossible to check this unless records are kept.