hibernation weights ?

[dan murdoch]

hi can anybody tell me how much my hermans should weigh in order to hibernate successfully ? it has a shell length of 140mm.tried to find relevent info ,but no luck.

[karibum]

Sorry, I'm no good at posting links to pages, but if you go to the care sheet section of the forum and click on 'shelled' and then click on hibernation info, it tells you how to work out the bone density ratio for hibernation. Hope this helps.

[ukphd]

Does that bone density ratio apply to old tortoises too? I would think that once the tortoise is fully grown it's not going to get any longer and will get relatively less heavy per cm (so to speak!) so older tortoises will come out lower on the scale? Or am I mistaken? I probably am!

[terrypin]

Originally Posted by dan murdoch

hi can anybody tell me how much my hermans should weigh in order to hibernate successfully ? it has a shell length of 140mm.tried to find relevent info ,but no luck.

hi according to the jacksons ratio at 140mm your tortoise should be above 500grams but according to my own records 600 is a more likely weight to expect at that length.hermans males body shape can be a litlle different to females and are often a lot flatter in shape even though i would be very cautious if yours is under 550 grams or if there is any doubt about the accuracy of the scl.
terry

[dan murdoch]

cool cheers for that mate .found some info in the care sheet section aswell.

[wizzasmum]

Originally Posted by ukphd

Does that bone density ratio apply to old tortoises too? I would think that once the tortoise is fully grown it's not going to get any longer and will get relatively less heavy per cm (so to speak!) so older tortoises will come out lower on the scale? Or am I mistaken? I probably am!

I would ssay it applies more to old torts as most of them are wild caught and therefore more in line with the body shape that Oliphant Jackson used to caculate this ratio. Captive bred and reared often have less heavy shells as the fast growth can lead to porous, thicker and actually lighter shells.