| Gopherus agassizii, the desert tortoise, is the California State reptile and has been listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Despite conservation efforts wild tortoise populations continue to decline. Even without disease threats and human interference continued tortoise survival in its arid environment is highly problematic. If juvenile tortoises could be identified as “at risk” and remediated many of them could survive to reproductive adulthood. A condition index (CI) is a potential measure of tortoise health. The formula to calculate this index is body weight, in grams, divided by shell volume, which is carapace length X height X width, in centimeters. This formula can be applied in the field with a calculator as measurements are being taken on a tortoise. I found the highest average CI, called the prime CI, to be 0.58 g/cm3 for wild juvenile tortoises based on eight years of tortoise census and measurements. |
