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purpod Wrote:Greetings All ~

I just read a posting about how large a one year old tortie should be, and altho a pic was shown in the reply, no actual measurements were given... can anyone give an approximation as to size for the first year & perhaps the second year?

In addition, would it be possible for someone to give approximate weights as well..? With Tortie not eating as he used to, I am a bit concerned..

Thanx!
Purpod

hi im sorry i cant help with size as i never recorded length on mine until they were over 4 year old ,although i do have weights until that time.probably the best shaped leopard i have raised from a hatchling is Blue he was captive bred in the UK and was hatched in 1996 up until he was 4 year old his shape was perfect and i have not seen a cb leopard as good as he was then, before or since.by the time he was 5 he was outside in my shed with the rest of the group and was able to forage and graze adlib, sadly he started to grow more quickly and his shape did deteriorate slightly but his health has always been great and to this day he has been active and hardy ,he is now 250mm and my smallest adult male
BLUE at 1year old 65g
at 2 100g
at 3 160g
at 4 285g
at 4yr 6mths 550g 134mm
at 5+ 1040g 165mm
at 7 2080g 220mm
today at 12 years old he is 250mm and growing very slowly.

and in the shed with the other adults he is the smallest still.
TERRY.

purpod Wrote: Dear Terry,

Thanx so much for your info, as well as the cool shots of your Babies ~ What a wonderful looking brood you have there!! So, you kept Blue indoors until he was 5, eh? One more question, if you please.. what kinds of foods to you feed your family? Are there an xtra special treats that your torties enjoy?

I really appreciate your input ~ Thanx again, Terry!
Purpod

hi and its lovely to hear from you i hope i didnt confuse you with all the weights and lengths but a lot of my records are in old exercise books and on bits of paper i have only been on the computer the last few years.the reason i dont allow my hatchlings/juveniles to live with the adults now until they get to 150mm/6" are twofold first the adult enclosure is massive and well planted so it would be impossible to find them and confine them to the shed at night and also i am concerned that they may get hurt in the shed my females are large one is 18" and about 40lb.of course the smaller juveniles and hatchlings do have a smaller outdoor area during the day in good weather and at night are confined to my tortoise room in the cellar.as to diet during winter i feed a tray of mixed weeds mostly coarse plantain and things like hawkbit when available ,my adults are warmed under heat lamps every morning for about 4 hours winter and often 2 hours in the summer after which i open the hatch to allow them access to graze daily ,even in winter some do go out most days.

TERRY

Terrypin.. Did you actually plant the plants in the photos. Those pictures have motivated me to try and make a better outdoor area for my leopard. What kinds of plants are they. My leopard is still pretty small but I would imagine it would take some time to create something that nice looking so when he would be large enough it could be ready for him. Thanks

Also your "http://www.shelledwarriors" link at the bottom of the pae didn't work for me.

fordohio Wrote:Terrypin.. Did you actually plant the plants in the photos. Those pictures have motivated me to try and make a better outdoor area for my leopard. What kinds of plants are they. My leopard is still pretty small but I would imagine it would take some time to create something that nice looking so when he would be large enough it could be ready for him. Thanks

Also your "http://www.shelledwarriors" link at the bottom of the pae didn't work for me.

hi its nice to hear from you, sorry if the link hasnt worked, its not my site and i cant get on myself today. this does happen at times. if you google shelled warriors you can try that way.my leo enclosure is very poor soil, just infill next to the garden wall to stabilise it, as we live on the side of a valley,and dont want to end up with no garden LOL. all i did was plant some pampas and ornamental grasses, hibiscus, then all the rest arrived on the wind so to speak.its taken about 2 years for it to establish its self, the whole area is a sea of weeds. clover, plantain, dandelion, sowthistle ,hawkbit ,mallow, vetch, to name a few
.now the warmer weather has arrived i dont need to feed my adults as they forage for their own food.i dont mean to try and collect customers from this site but if you go to the shelled warriors shop online (EBAY)they sell excellent seed mixtures specifically for leopard enclosures and contain coarse weeds and mixed grasses.so apart from some larger grasses and plants for shade and so they feel secure, you should be able to establish the area from seed cheaply within a couple of years.

terry

hi again this is the area two or three years ago soon after i first fenced it and introduced the leopards to a larger enclosure. i never realised how quickly it would becom established.
terry