how much to feed tort

[scotton]

I have a hermans tort which I have been told by the breeder will be 4 this june. I am fairly new to keeping torts and his feeding pattern has been quite irregular since I got him. I did not hibernate him due to being a newbie and during the winter months he ate very little but the past couple of weeks he has been eating all the time and looks around for more when his dish is empty. Is it ok to keep feeding him or is there a daily limit.
Also please can you tell me the proper way to measure his shell.
As I said my tort is nearly 4 years old, so when it gets warmer how long would be the recommended time to leave him outside each day?
thanks in advance for your help

[Jon Fish]

He should be outside as much as possible during the summer months. Many people have them outside 24/7. Once night-time temperatures are above 10-12 degrees C, I believe he should be okay at night too, but there is nothing stopping you bringing him in at night if you are concerned it is too cold.

[Mrs Mental]

You should be able to tell his age from his certificate? As for measuring put him on a piece of paper and push it up against a skirting board/door headfirst (he'll pull his head into his shell) and then draw a line at the back of his shell - measure then from the edge of the paper where his head was and to the line that you drew and that'll give you his SCL

As for being outside, mine go out whenever possible during this month, Mr Harries my hardy older Horsfield has already been outside for a few hours a couple of times, the younger two who are nearly 4 years old haven't yet as Im waiting for the temps to increase. From about next month they'll be outside 24/7, I use lockable rabbit hutches overnight for them but if you prefer you can bring him in, quick warm up in the mornings and then pop him outside for the day again. He'll certainly benefit from being outside as much as possible

ETA - feed him once a day, roughly enough to cover his shell, try for a variety of 4/5 different plants/flowers. He sahould be gaining 2-4gms in weight per month

[purplepixie]

A weight gain of 2-3grms a month is a good guide, as to how much to feed your tortoise.
Tortoises will keep on eating if you keep feeding them. This will cause pyramiding if too much food is given.
My tortoises go outside, 24/7 once May is out. I do live in the south east so that helps.

[gjd1989]

check out this for the weighing and measuring.

http://www.longleat.co.uk/documents/Tortoise.pdf

as for the hibernating have a look at the tortoise trust website they have good advice one that.

as to how much hes as to be fed. some of the other folk have covered it really. as long as its the right food. its important that he/she has gained enough weight to shell length in order to go into hibernation.

remember that temperature and lighting will effect how much he eats.

[scotton]

Thank you for all your help, its much appreciated.