I've noticed that when taking measurements of weight and length during the wind-down period the Jackson Ratio that can be calculated changes hugely during the wind down period.
With tortoises of less than 200g I find there is a situation where a very small change in the length or weight measurement can take the tortoise right out of the 'safe to hibernate' category and into an unsafe one.
If I measure a small tortoise several times I will get several measurements - all different. This despite being really careful.
So, would I be right in thinking that this problem gets less over time so that when the tortoise is a lot bigger and heavier there is less risk of error leading to a wrong ratio?
And, when should the ratio be calculated? If it is at the end of the wind-down period then I've got a couple of underweight critters right here. But if it's taken at the midpoint in wind-down then there is no problem at all.