Turtles generally look quite heavy and sturdy, but seeing your pet look less like a strong sturdy powerhouse and look more like a pancake will be worrisome to any turtle owner.
This article looks into ways to tell if your turtle is underweight
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Is my turtle underweight?
Occasional fluctuations in your pet’s weight are quite normal, what isn’t normal is persistent weight loss in the animal.
A healthy body condition is needed in your turtle for longevity, immune function, and overall vitality. A change in weight can indicate a potential issue in your turtle.
Here are the signs to look out for that will suggest that your turtle is underweight:
Muscle weakness:
If your pet is not getting sufficient nutrients then this can lead to muscle wasting and the limbs will look thinner
This muscle wasting can negatively impact the animal’s ability to forge, swim, and move around in general
You will not only see your pet’s muscles look thinner if the animal is underweight but the animal will also be weaker.
You can test your pet’s limb condition by pushing or tugging on the animal’s limbs, your pet will resist and you can tell how strong the animal is as you do this.
The animal’s tail will also drop muscle mass if it is underweight.
Sunken eyes:
Another visible clue that, may indicate that your pet is underweight is that it has sunken eyes, sunken eyes are never a good thing in turtles as can mean malnutrition and sometimes it can mean that death is on the way
The shell:
The shell makes up the majority of the animal’s weight so picking your pet up to tell if it is underweight may not work if you aren’t used to how your pet feels when at a healthy weight.
If you know how your pet feels like at a healthy weight, then you’ll feel a slight sufferance in weight when you pick the animal up.
If a turtle when picked up feels hollow then you know that you have a very big problem
What may also work would be comparing the shell to the animal’s body.
An underweight turtle will look like it’s sitting in a shell that is too large. This happens because its body is so thin and underweight
The shoulders:
Another sign that may indicate that your pet is underweight is the animal’s shoulders. The shoulders of a normal turtle will look full but not overly full. The shoulders of the underwater turtle will look sunken in and hollow
Non normal weight:
You can also weigh your turtle, this can help to determine if the animal is underweight.
Weigh your pet and check if this weight is normal for this species of turtle at this age. The general guidelines are generally a good way to tell.
Reproduction issues:
If your pet is underweight then the animal will suffer a decrease in reproductive health.
Because the animal’s body doesn’t have nutrients to function well enough it may start to develop issues with egg fertility, hatching viability, and egg production.
Illnesses:
Another sight that may indicate that your pet turtle is underweight includes issues with its immune system.
Nutrients are needed for a strong immune system, the immune system fights off pathogens and quickly gets the animal to recover from illnesses.
If your pet’s immune system is weak then it will more easily start to suffer from infections diseases and other health-related problems,
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other turtle/tortoise related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: My Turtle Has A Hole In Its Shell, Can Turtles Overheat?, My Turtle Keeps Scratching His Eyes, My Turtle Is Spitting Up Blood, My Turtle Only Laid One Egg, My Turtle Only Eats Shrimp, My Turtle Only Eats Lettuce, My Turtle Tank Smells Bad, Why Does My Turtle Tank Smell Bad After Cleaning?