Am I ready???

[Levi the Leopard]

My leopard has been in a 36x18 (40gal zilla tank) since 4 months old. He just turned 1 year and is 4.5" 277 grams. It's packed with plants and still has tons of room. It's only used at night and on cold days but it has been a great amount of indoor room. I have also recieved many compliments on my enclosure. No one has said it was too small.

Congrats on becoming a new leopard owner!

Welcome to the Leo club!

 

[ceg827]

My leopard has been in a 36x18 (40gal zilla tank) since 4 months old. He just turned 1 year and is 4.5" 277 grams. It's packed with plants and still has tons of room. It's only used at night and on cold days but it has been a great amount of indoor room. I have also recieved many compliments on my enclosure. No one has said it was too small.

Congrats on becoming a new leopard owner!

Welcome to the Leo club!

Thanks!!! Can you post a picture when you have a chance?

 

[Sh3wulf]

This is a great thread on care opinions and I'm glad to see it. Snack plants have been mentioned a couple times and I'm wondering what kind people are giving and how did you ensure they didn't have pesticides or fertilizers that might hurt a leopard tort?
I would like to add some to my one year olds enclosure for variety and providing him fresh treats on demand but I'm terrified to make him sick
I'm sure Benny would appreciate an advice that would get him a salad buffet lol

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Yes I'll post some pics next time I'm on at my computer.

Until then you can check my profile for previous threads and view it that way.

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@ sh3wulf, i grow my own. I KNOW they are safe

I either transplant patches from my outside pen into the indoor enclosure or i start growing in mini pots and put them in once they grow a little bit.

It's easy, cheap and safe!

 

[ceg827]

I was thinking of planting organic clover. I know my sisters Leo's love it. I wasn't sure about it. I didn't want do something wrong. Thanks everyone!

 

[Tortus]

This is a great thread on care opinions and I'm glad to see it. Snack plants have been mentioned a couple times and I'm wondering what kind people are giving and how did you ensure they didn't have pesticides or fertilizers that might hurt a leopard tort?
I would like to add some to my one year olds enclosure for variety and providing him fresh treats on demand but I'm terrified to make him sick
I'm sure Benny would appreciate an advice that would get him a salad buffet lol

That's a nice looking enclosure. Did you buy it or build it yourself?

 

[Levi the Leopard]

My leopard has been in a 36x18 (40gal zilla tank) since 4 months old. He just turned 1 year and is 4.5" 277 grams. It's packed with plants and still has tons of room. It's only used at night and on cold days but it has been a great amount of indoor room. I have also recieved many compliments on my enclosure. No one has said it was too small.

Congrats on becoming a new leopard owner!

Welcome to the Leo club!

Thanks!!! Can you post a picture when you have a chance?

Here ya go..how it currently looks..

When he was smaller I had hides, but now I like to let the plants be the "hides"

hope you get some ideas from this.

My goal is to use all live plants but they dont last long because I do not have any artificial UV lighting... :/

 

[Tom]

Love this discussion.

Here are my thoughts: Everyone knows a tortoise is not going to suddenly drop dead from being in too small an enclosure. You could start a hatchling just fine in a 10 gallon. It's been done many times. I think most people would agree that a 10 gallon is too small. Most people here seem to think a 40 is big enough. So where is the cut off? As Neal was ever so politely inquiring of Spn785, what is the reason for suggesting one size is okay, but another is too small. Neither a 10, a 40, or 100 is going to kill them based on size. So what are we after?

I've started many sulcatas and leopards in a 40. I don't like it. I feel it's too small and cramped. I don't feel they have enough room to walk and work those little legs. It's not the end of the world, I just prefer that they have more room. When I have previously used a 40, my babies also spent a couple hours a day in a 6' round kiddie pool or a 4x8' planted enclosure. When I put them in these large outdoor enclosures, they make use of every single square inch of them. Years ago I kept my hatchlings in a 15x30' dirt enclosure. I'd rake it out before they went in and at the end of the day there was not a single spot anywhere in the entire enclosure that didn't have tiny footprints in it. Walking is good for them. In a small furniture crowded enclosure there just is not much room left to walk. This is certainly not a life or death matter, as some things are, it's more a matter of preference. Does anyone think that if I release a hatchling in the middle of my five acre ranch that he'll stay in an area 36x18"? No way. Team Gomberg, your enclosure is beautiful. Too small for my taste, but nothing that will somehow harm them. However, to be fair, you also need to show everyone the super duper awesome outdoor enclosure you built where they spend hours a day in the warm sun. You too Neal. A 40 isn't so bad, IF they spend several hours a day in a large outdoor pen. If its just the 40, all the time, 24/7, I think it's too small.

Ceg, no one can tell you exactly what you need. You'll have to set it all up and run it for a few hours to see what needs adjusting. Those coil type bulbs have been known to blind tortoises. I would not use them. If you have a large outdoor enclosure, then I think the 40 will last a little while, but if not, I'd go bigger really soon. I think the ideal conditions are warm and humid. I strive to keep an ambient of 80, day and night, and then offer a basking spot of around 100 for 12 hours a day. I feel a humid hide is essential for leopards, but it must be kept warm. I like to use ceramic heating elements on a thermostat to maintain my ambient temps. This is hard to do in an open topped enclosure, so my preference is for a closed chamber.

There are all sorts of threads on this in my signature. Hope this helps.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Thanks Tom,
If not in this thread it was in another similar to it that i wrote my 40 gal disclaimer...

I use the 40 gal for part time housing only. The tortoise sleeps in here and spends rainy days in here.

Otherwise, he goes out into a large 17' x 8' outdoor pen around 10am and comes back in at 5 or 6pm.

 

[Tom]

Thanks Tom,
If not in this thread it was in another similar to it that i wrote my 40 gal disclaimer...

I use the 40 gal for part time housing only. The tortoise sleeps in here and spends rainy days in here.

Otherwise, he goes out into a large 17' x 8' outdoor pen around 10am and comes back in at 5 or 6pm.

Oh come on Heather! That not just some run of the mill 17x8' pen! It is tortoise PARADISE!

SHOW IT!

... please.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Haha...ok. Hold on.

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daytime pen:

and the 40 gallon for night time and rainy days

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can you find the leopard in the first pic??

look in the flower pot hide

 

[Neal]

Good pictures Team Gomberg.

As you can see Cary, opinions will run the spectrum with housing. I personally think a 40 gallon for a single young leopard will be adequate, for a time. Bigger is always better of course.

You mentioned in the post that the tortoise will mainly be indoors. Do you have outdoor plans?

 

[LeopardTortLover]

"Cold frames" make great enclosures for indoor or outdoor for hatchlings-yearlings, I don't know why nobody mentions these
http://www.internetgardener.co.uk/p...&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=google_base

http://www.internetgardener.co.uk/product/cold-frames/wooden-garden-double-cold-frame-by-grange/6900