Rescuing a leopard and need help!

[Bionxx823]

Hi, everyone!

I’m rescuing a 24 year old leopard tortoise and would love advice. These pics are from when we got him last night. We worked on gently cleaning his feet. I plan to take him to the vet when we get home (we live several states away from where he’s from).

We live in Pennsylvania and get lots of rain and have cooler summers. Should I still build him an outdoor enclosure or just have supervised outdoor time when it’s not raining or cold?

Do you recommend any books or care guides? Searching Reddit and here is a bit overwhelming. We want to give him the best life he can have and help him in anyway.

Thank you!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Welcome to the forum!

This post is for all new comers:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

And this care sheet is a great starting point for you:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Bionxx823]

Welcome to the forum!

This post is for all new comers:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

And this care sheet is a great starting point for you:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

Thank you!

 

[zovick]

Hi, everyone!

I’m rescuing a 24 year old leopard tortoise and would love advice. These pics are from when we got him last night. We worked on gently cleaning his feet. I plan to take him to the vet when we get home (we live several states away from where he’s from).

We live in Pennsylvania and get lots of rain and have cooler summers. Should I still build him an outdoor enclosure or just have supervised outdoor time when it’s not raining or cold?

Do you recommend any books or care guides? Searching Reddit and here is a bit overwhelming. We want to give him the best life he can have and help him in anyway.

Thank you!

I raised plenty of tortoises in northwestern CT (right on the Appalachian Trail). Also lived in MD for 6-8 years. There will be plenty of days in PA which will be warm enough for your tortoise to stay out all day and even overnight, so I would say that an outdoor enclosure is almost a necessity. In fact, I left my tortoises outdoors 24/7 from Memorial Day to Labor Day while living in the mountains of CT. Every so often, I had to bring them in at night if we got a particularly cold night or a lot of rain, but for the most part, they stayed out as long as the lows were above 50F, and I am talking about some fairly temperature sensitive species, Indian and Sri Lankan Star Tortoises, Leopard Tortoises, and African Spurred Tortoises (sulcatas). All of them were outside 24/7 in those summer months I mentioned unless the night-time low went below 50, and I never had any problems with respiratory issues or pneumonia.

Your tortoise's back nails could stand to be cut and its beak could use a bit of a trim. Hopefully you have a vet who is knowledgeable about tortoises and their needs. If you don't want to do the beak trimming and nail cutting, ask the vet to do so when you take the tortoise.

Best of luck with your new tortoise!

 

[wellington]

Absolutely he needs an outdoor enclosure. That's the best place for a tortoise during fair to good temps. I have two leopards and a Russian that live outside all spring, summer and fall. They have a shed they can go into at night and if the temps get too cold for them, I have heat that I can turn on, but they have the choice to go in the heated area or not. In winter they stay inside a different area of the shed that is heated 24/7 and they stay in that part of the shed all winter.

 

[144 Grandpa Turtle]

Sorry by the time most books are written and published they are already outdated

 

[RandyTortoise]

Hi, everyone!

I’m rescuing a 24 year old leopard tortoise and would love advice. These pics are from when we got him last night. We worked on gently cleaning his feet. I plan to take him to the vet when we get home (we live several states away from where he’s from).

We live in Pennsylvania and get lots of rain and have cooler summers. Should I still build him an outdoor enclosure or just have supervised outdoor time when it’s not raining or cold?

Do you recommend any books or care guides? Searching Reddit and here is a bit overwhelming. We want to give him the best life he can have and help him in anyway.

Thank you!

Looks pretty small for 24 years old. Are you sure of its age?

 

[Ink]

Welcome to the forum. Where did you get him from? Just curious

 

[Bionxx823]

Welcome to the forum. Where did you get him from? Just curious

Relatives

 

[Bionxx823]

Looks pretty small for 24 years old. Are you sure of its age?

Yeah, he was purchased for my brother when he was 10 or 11. He took great care of him but when he joined the military other family took over “caring” for him.

 

[Ink]

Just follow the care sheet and ask questions, especially before you buy items. My leopard tortoise is 19. He is awesome. What is your tortoise name?

 

[Bionxx823]

Absolutely he needs an outdoor enclosure. That's the best place for a tortoise during fair to good temps. I have two leopards and a Russian that live outside all spring, summer and fall. They have a shed they can go into at night and if the temps get too cold for them, I have heat that I can turn on, but they have the choice to go in the heated area or not. In winter they stay inside a different area of the shed that is heated 24/7 and they stay in that part of the shed all winter.

That sounds like a great set up! Do you have to worry about other wildlife getting to them?

 

[Bionxx823]

Just follow the care sheet and ask questions, especially before you buy items. My leopard tortoise is 19. He is awesome. What is your tortoise name?

Thanks! His name is Geronimus. What’s yours named? I was thinking of making him an outdoor enclosure with picket fencing with stones around the bottom to keep him from digging out. I want to put in some tasty plants for him. I just can’t run electricity to it for a heated space. I could bring him in at night. I’ll definitely give him lots of hiding places.

 

[Ink]

My tortoise name is Ink. A solid barrier is better because they won't injury themselves trying to get out. @Tom will be able to help you. Mine is inside but outside when I'm home. He doesn't stay outside overnight or in cold weather. This is what I do.

 

[wellington]

That sounds like a great set up! Do you have to worry about other wildlife getting to them?

No, because I make sure they are locked in the shed every night. They have a big enough area in the shed to get by the heat or not.
Once they go in for the night they are locked in and then it's opened every morning.