# My Leopard Tortoise in an apartment



## KimC90 (Jun 3, 2013)

Hi all! I'm new here and new to tortoises. I just moved into a one bedroom apartment and my friend gave me her leopard tortoise that she couldn't care for anymore. Never in my life would I think I would enjoy a pet tortoise but I love him! Now I just want to be sure I am doing everything I can for him.

He's about 5-6" long 2-3 years old. His tortoise table should be in late this week (I feel horrible every day that he has to be in that terrirum). He's got a mixture of dirt and a bit of sand as his substrate. I've got the mixture light bulb that gives him heat and the necessary UV that I have on for 12 hours during the day on half of his tank. He loves the spring mix, he gets a handful every morning. He also has timothy hay but he seems to just hide in it and not eat it but he's only had it a few days.

I'm really wanting to give this guy the proper care and am hoping I've got him on the right track.

so I think my big question right now is I want to be able to have him out of his enclosure more often to roam my apartment while I am there to watch him but when I get him out he just makes a beeline for a corner or under the furniture. How can I have a more enjoyable roam time for him. 

I was thinking maybe even get some tubs and some ramps so he could have areas with snacks and a comfy place to be in a few corners of my apartment. 

Also any suggestions for apartment living to get him out and some sunlight?

Thanks y'all!


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## Greg T (Jun 3, 2013)

Welcome, sounds like you have some of the basics for leopard care in place. Please make sure you read Tom's threads on leopard care since he covers all the bases. You are in a concerning situation there with an older leopard stuck in an apartment. Once they get that big, they really need to roam and get sunlight outside or you start stunting the growth. I'd really try to figure out how you can get him outside to roam as often as possible, at least 30 minutes a few times a week.

He's also going to need a good sized enclosure. Letting him roam around by himself may lead to problems since he may eat something off the floor and apartments are commonly sprayed with pesticides. Not to mention he isn't potty trained.

The reason he runs for a corner is instinct. Leopards are shy torts at first and they want to find shelter for safety. Until he is comfortable with you and his surroundings, he will run and hide a lot. Even my adults I've had for years will run and hide when someone new enters my yard.

Good luck and keep reading and asking questions so you can raise him as well as possible. We'd love to see some pictures too.


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## Team Gomberg (Jun 3, 2013)

I suggest converting your apartment patio into an outdoor enclosure. You can make planter boxes for him to have soil depth and growing plants/food.

Heather
Sent from my Android TFO app


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## KimC90 (Jun 3, 2013)

*Re: RE: My Leopard Tortoise in an apartment*



Team Gomberg said:


> I suggest converting your apartment patio into an outdoor enclosure. You can make planter boxes for him to have soil depth and growing plants/food.
> 
> Heather
> Sent from my Android TFO app



I wish I could! I have a huge patio but its also my front porch, it has no barrier. I do bring him out when I get home in the evenings and he walks around on the porch for a while and enjoys the weather. 
I was wanting to have some areas in a few corners of my place that were maybe a large plastic box (like under the bed sized container) with some timothy hay, a ramp, and snacks so when I do have him out inside with me he can find some comfortable places to be. Is that a reasonable idea?

(We will only be at this apartment for a year)

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## wellington (Jun 3, 2013)

Hello and Welcome Be sure you don't have any coil type bulbs.as for roaming the apartment, not a good idea. The plastic boxes you mentioned. Do you mean to put him in the box and then maybe another day a different box? I'm not sure what you want to do with the boxes.


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## Team Gomberg (Jun 3, 2013)

I'm not a fan of tortoises roaming the house (or apartment). That's my opinion and some don't agree with me. To me there are all cons and no pros to that. 

I am a fan of giving your tortoise as much space as you can! But tortoise specific space. What if you bought a plastic kiddie pool. Put that in an area of your place. Fill that with dirt and then plants, rocks, hides, etc. He is restricted to tortoise territory only. You could move this pool from inside your house to the patio/ porch area and sit there with a chair watching him cruise the pool in sunlight. If you do this often enough you wont need any artificial UV lighting.  

Here is an example of a pen I made for my leopard hatchling when I was in an apartment. 
It's a large cement mixing tub from Home Depot. I grew my own plants in there and added the potted rose bush. It worked great for while I needed it. 






Since your leo is larger, think this ^ but on a larger scale.

Hope that helps.


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## KimC90 (Jun 3, 2013)

*Re: RE: My Leopard Tortoise in an apartment*



wellington said:


> Hello and Welcome Be sure you don't have any coil type bulbs.as for roaming the apartment, not a good idea. The plastic boxes you mentioned. Do you mean to put him in the box and then maybe another day a different box? I'm not sure what you want to do with the boxes.



Gotcha! I dont have any coil bulbs. As for the boxes I was wanting some cozier spots around my living room for my tortoise to be able to go to while hes out. 

I know there's several reasons some say you shouldnt let your tortoise roam but the daily roaming has really helped my little guy "break out of his shell" so to say. I keep the floors very clean where hes allowed to go and he has never taken interest in any non food item as food. 

Since I do have him in an apartment for the year I want to give him as much space and variety as possible

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## BeeBee*BeeLeaves (Jun 3, 2013)

Congrats on your new baby and welcome to the forum. Read-read-read and ask away. Lots of great peeps that know lots of stuff on this here forum! : )


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## wellington (Jun 3, 2013)

I'm not for roaming the house either. However, I get what your saying. When you do this, just be sure you give all your attention to him and only him. No phone, tv, anything that could distract you. It takes seconds for them to eat something and sometimes you don't even know they took a bite.


Oops, almost forgot. I think your box idea is good. Infact even if you could do a as big of one as possible like Team Gomberg posted.


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## WillTort2 (Jun 3, 2013)

Ok, this may require some out of the box thinking. 

It sounds like you need a large enclosure that can be easily move outdoors for sun time.

Two or three possibilities.

Keep it narrow but make it very long. I would envision 26" wide and 12' long with wheels mounted on one end. This would allow you to pick it up and roll it outdoors like a wheel barrow. 

Another idea would to build your tort table with a removable 2nd story tray that you could carry outdoors.

Or build a tort table on wheels with extension sides that slide in to allow it to fit thru your doors. (Think of a travel trailer)

Good luck.


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## KimC90 (Jun 4, 2013)

By the way this is Dwight


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## wellington (Jun 4, 2013)

He looks a lot like my Tatum


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## Team Gomberg (Jun 4, 2013)

Barb I thought the same thing when I first saw dwight! They do look alike!

Heather
Sent from my Android TFO app


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## wellington (Jun 4, 2013)

Wasn't it your leopard that you also thought Tatum looked like too, except yours is smoother. I'm getting the feeling they might all look alike at that size
I know they are all so darn cute


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## Team Gomberg (Jun 4, 2013)

I totally thought Tatum looked like my leopard with the black blotchy pattern. But this one REALLY looks like Tatum because of the same color pattern and shell.


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## KimC90 (Jun 5, 2013)

Wow they look alike!


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## wellington (Jun 5, 2013)

You didn't happen to get yours from a lady named Jessica, did you? Mine was two in approx. march this year. He was a little over 7 inches in April.


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## KimC90 (Jun 5, 2013)

*Re: RE: My Leopard Tortoise in an apartment*



wellington said:


> You didn't happen to get yours from a lady named Jessica, did you? Mine was two in approx. march this year. He was a little over 7 inches in April.



Im not sure who exactly he came from. I know my friend originally got him from someone at the Austin TX reptile expo 2 years ago when he was a baby

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## wellington (Jun 5, 2013)

Probably not the same. I don't think lady does expos and I can't remember where she is from, but it doesn't seem like it was TX. It would have cool if they were clutch mates


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## jtrux (Jun 5, 2013)

Kiddie pools are cheap, just leave it outside and have a large tub inside for him.


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## KimC90 (Jun 6, 2013)

*Re: RE: My Leopard Tortoise in an apartment*



jtrux said:


> Kiddie pools are cheap, just leave it outside and have a large tub inside for him.



That's a great idea! Do you think a hard plastic one is better then a small blow up one?

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## wellington (Jun 6, 2013)

Absolutely. I don't think anyone uses the blow up. The plastic ones I would safe,y assume that is what they are talking about. If you either do a search on here for kiddie pool or look in the enclosure thread, you should be able to find a few pics of members that uses them.


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## lynnedit (Jun 6, 2013)

I agree, an patio kiddie pool and keep your inside enclosure (although the narrow enclosure with wheels is a great idea!). Sounds like you are getting a new tortoise table? The idea of little pocket plastic bins are OK, but they wouldn't have heat, etc. 
However, what about a couple of bins (holes for drainage) on your patio for growing weeds for extra food?

I like this kiddie pool set up, but there are several examples. If your patio gets fairly hot, consider a piece of wood over one side for additional shade. 
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-69213.html
Also, stay with him when out there, or make a lid.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/attachment.php?aid=23455 
Other lid ideas out there as well, of course.


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## KimC90 (Jun 6, 2013)

*Re: RE: My Leopard Tortoise in an apartment*



lynnedit said:


> I agree, an patio kiddie pool and keep your inside enclosure (although the narrow enclosure with wheels is a great idea!). Sounds like you are getting a new tortoise table? The idea of little pocket plastic bins are OK, but they wouldn't have heat, etc.
> However, what about a couple of bins (holes for drainage) on your patio for growing weeds for extra food?
> 
> I like this kiddie pool set up, but there are several examples. If your patio gets fairly hot, consider a piece of wood over one side for additional shade.
> ...






lynnedit said:


> I agree, an patio kiddie pool and keep your inside enclosure (although the narrow enclosure with wheels is a great idea!). Sounds like you are getting a new tortoise table? The idea of little pocket plastic bins are OK, but they wouldn't have heat, etc.
> However, what about a couple of bins (holes for drainage) on your patio for growing weeds for extra food?
> 
> I like this kiddie pool set up, but there are several examples. If your patio gets fairly hot, consider a piece of wood over one side for additional shade.
> ...



What are the best things to plant, where can I find them?


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## wellington (Jun 6, 2013)

Check out the tortoisetable.org for edible plants and tortoisesupply.com sells sees. The owner, Tyler, of tortoise supply is also a member of the forum.


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## KimC90 (Jun 6, 2013)

By the way I found a picture of Dwight on his car ride to come home with me. I didnt have him home 30 mins before he got new, proper, and clean bedding, real food, and a lamp.
I think he likes his environment much more now


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## wellington (Jun 6, 2013)

Cute. I see he brought his mail with him too LOL.


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