Another new leopard tortoise owner - is this normal?

[Gail_NV]

He has been nervous, and shies away when you put your hand into the enclosure, but is this type of breathing behavior normal? It seems he is always breathing like this, even when resting. I did try to sneak a look while he was asleep without him realizing I was there and it did not seem as pronounced. He is eating ravenously, and drinking water, which in my experience with other reptiles that were sick, would not be the case if he had a respiratory illness. But being new to leopard tortoises, I am not sure if that would hold true here as well. He was super active, running around in the vendor display at the reptile show and running around his enclosure when I got him home. He only settled down once I had a cork bark hide in place for him. Now he comes out to eat and drink, but otherwise stays backed into his hide hole. As I understand it, that is normal behavior for a tiny baby as it is instinctual for them to hide from predators since they would make a nice tasty snack at this age.

Here are additional photos as well.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

What a cutie!! He looks fine to me in the video and the fact he’s active&eating is fantastic! Most don’t eat for the first few days to a week when placed in a new home, so you certainly have a trooper here!

Feel free to checked out these links, this thread covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc, definitely double check your bulbs), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better! But I’ll add some more ideas below for closed chambers

Leopard/sulcata starter

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information below on how I’d personally tackle an indoor starter set up for a leopard/sulcata until they’re bigger. Hopefully it helps give people some ideas!” I know it looks like a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes different closed chamber options, some definitely work better than others

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is probably most important to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they come in useful! Welcome to the forum

 

[Gail_NV]

Thank you! It is good to hear that he looks fine. Needless to say as a new owner, who foolishly listened to what the vendor at the reptile expo said - only to find it was mostly wrong - I am being overly cautious and learning all I can to ensure a good and long life for this fellow (or girl if it turns out that way).

I already have plans in place to convert a south facing room into a tortoise house when he gets bigger. Being in PA where it gets so cold, no way he can have an outside enclosure. The window in the room I am going to convert does not have UV blocking glass and he will be able to easily get real sun as well as UV bulb sun as needed. My only concern is that the room is only about 15' by 10' - so hopefully I will be able to set it up with enough enrichments that it will be sufficient space for him when he is grown.

I already grow my own organic vegetables year round in grow tents in the house as well as in the garden during warmer months, so he will have plenty of fresh, healthy greens. Already starting additional trays of 'cat' grass for him as well.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thank you! It is good to hear that he looks fine. Needless to say as a new owner, who foolishly listened to what the vendor at the reptile expo said - only to find it was mostly wrong - I am being overly cautious and learning all I can to ensure a good and long life for this fellow (or girl if it turns out that way).

I already have plans in place to convert a south facing room into a tortoise house when he gets bigger. Being in PA where it gets so cold, no way he can have an outside enclosure. The window in the room I am going to convert does not have UV blocking glass and he will be able to easily get real sun as well as UV bulb sun as needed. My only concern is that the room is only about 15' by 10' - so hopefully I will be able to set it up with enough enrichments that it will be sufficient space for him when he is grown.

I already grow my own organic vegetables year round in grow tents in the house as well as in the garden during warmer months, so he will have plenty of fresh, healthy greens. Already starting additional trays of 'cat' grass for him as well.

It sounds like this baby genuinely landed on its feet with you! I’m so glad you’ve made your way to the forum! It’s such a nice place to document your journey, and if anything ever comes up you have queries on, they’ll always be bunch of folks on here ready to answer, it can be nerve wracking taking care of a brand new species of animal, so never feel like you’re asking too many questions, we can help with anything no matter how small it may seem

 

[zovick]

Thank you! It is good to hear that he looks fine. Needless to say as a new owner, who foolishly listened to what the vendor at the reptile expo said - only to find it was mostly wrong - I am being overly cautious and learning all I can to ensure a good and long life for this fellow (or girl if it turns out that way).

I already have plans in place to convert a south facing room into a tortoise house when he gets bigger. Being in PA where it gets so cold, no way he can have an outside enclosure. The window in the room I am going to convert does not have UV blocking glass and he will be able to easily get real sun as well as UV bulb sun as needed. My only concern is that the room is only about 15' by 10' - so hopefully I will be able to set it up with enough enrichments that it will be sufficient space for him when he is grown.

I already grow my own organic vegetables year round in grow tents in the house as well as in the garden during warmer months, so he will have plenty of fresh, healthy greens. Already starting additional trays of 'cat' grass for him as well.

Here is a second vote for the fact that your tortoise looks perfectly normal in the video.

As an additional note, I will say that I lived in the northwestern CT mountains for thirty years and raised, bred, and hatched many tortoise species there, including Indian and Sri Lankan Star Tortoises which are probably even more temperature sensitive than Leopard Tortoises. it is possible to put tortoises outside in cooler climates. You just have to be sure to watch the temperatures and bring them inside when it begins to cool down. Much of the time, my tortoises were left outside 24/7 between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

 

[Gail_NV]

Much of the time, my tortoises were left outside 24/7 between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

That is good to know, thank you! Now I have to think about where I can build a proper enclosure that is raccoon and skunk proof, as well as neighborhood hoodlums proof. That is one of the more bizarre things about the neighborhood I live in - no one controls their children. They run wild and play in anyone's yard they feel like playing in. When you ask them to leave your yard because they are being destructive or getting into places where they can get hurt, they get snotty about it. The good thing is that most of the kids are growing up, and in 2 or 3 years when Henry is ready to go outside, maybe they will all be moved away somewhere else lol!

And Thank you for the second vote of confidence

 

[Gail_NV]

He had his first warm water soak a few hours ago. Place the container so half of it was getting the sunlight from the window so that he wouldn't get too cool as the water cooled (water was at 85 when I put him in). He didn't seem too keen on it, even though he has soaked himself in his water dish - but it did elicit several very healthy poos

I gave his shell a very gently scrubbing with one of those million fiber super soft toothbrushes and got all of the grubbiness off that he had on him from the reptile show container. He did seem to enjoy that, and strangely, he calmed down and stopped trying to get out of the water when I started to stroke his shell with my finger. I did not expect that reaction.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

He had his first warm water soak a few hours ago. Place the container so half of it was getting the sunlight from the window so that he wouldn't get too cool as the water cooled (water was at 85 when I put him in). He didn't seem too keen on it, even though he has soaked himself in his water dish - but it did elicit several very healthy poos

I gave his shell a very gently scrubbing with one of those million fiber super soft toothbrushes and got all of the grubbiness off that he had on him from the reptile show container. He did seem to enjoy that, and strangely, he calmed down and stopped trying to get out of the water when I started to stroke his shell with my finger. I did not expect that reaction.

Bless him, I’d recommend having two soak tubs set up, so you can transfer him into warmer water once the first one starts to cool, you want to make sure it’s staying warm enough at all times, it also helps for when he’s pooped and you can put him in a fresh one

I’m sure he enjoyed his little scrub down, they can feel sensations through their shell

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Also don’t worry if he’s not a fan of it/seems stressed, a soak routine is important regardless of how they act, some like it, some don’t, it’s very important as this age, daily soaks till he’s a bit bigger