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Irene

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Hya Im Irene, I purchased a Loepard tortoise a week ago, I,ve called her Dora because she loves to explore. Does anyone have any tips i could do with. She is in her Large vivarium with her light. I feed her grated veggie,s Been told defo NO tomatoe,s. But she seems to want to bury herself in the dark part of the tank under the straw quite a lot.
Is this normal? She does,nt feed everyday i do include the pellets and vitamin powder from the shop she was bought from. Thay say she is about 2 and a half to three. She is 4 and a half inches long.. Any little tips would be much appreciated.
There is only myself and hubby at home since our disabled son died last year so she has a quiet enviroment.
Irene.[/size]
 

coreyc

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HELLO Irene welcome to the TFO:) can you give us some more info and maybe post some pic's of her and the Enclosure:)
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Irene:

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know where you are?

If you can find dark, leafy greens in your grocery store, that would be better than the veggies. I think you're in the UK, huh (just by a few things you've said). If that's the case, there's a packaged salad mixture callet Rocket Salad that you can feed your tortoise. Then go outside and try to find some clean weeds to add to that...dandelion, clover, anything that hasn't been sprayed with pesticides or herbicides.

I'd love to see a picture of your new little leopard tortoise.
 

moswen

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welcome irene! i agree with yvonne she gave you a great diet guideline.

there are a few reasons why dora may be hiding under her substrate:
--most likely, this environment is new to her and she's a little scared. new sounds, new smells, new food, new people, it's all too new and too scary just yet. when she figures out you are the "bringer of the food" and you're not going to harm her, most likely she'll start to revere you and come running when she sees you. however, if by another week she hasn't started to become more active i'd look to other possible problems with her environment or internally.
--it could be too hot in her home. tortoises dig under the substrate to cool down. what are your temps directly under the heat lamp (this is called a basking spot) and on the cool side?
--if she does not have an hides or broad leafy plants that she can hide under, she may not feel safe above the substrate, but this kinda goes hand-in-hand with the "newness" of her environment.
--when you say "straw" is this her only substrate? do you provide her any water, or do you have her on a substrate that holds al ittle bit of moisture, like coco coir or cypress mulch, or even dirt? straw is not the best substrate for a tortoise, if you only have it in the area where she hides under that's okay (but not preferred), but at 2-3 years old she may still have a little bit of a need for humidity still yet. i said all that just to say: tortoises also burrow to get into the humid underground, so that they can absorb moisture if they are not getting enough in their diet.
--but, on the flip side of that, if you are providing her environment with lots of water, she may be hiding under the straw because that's the driest place. good, slightly moist substrate is ideal, too wet of conditions can lead to uri's and shell rot. a good way to judge is if you squeeze her substrate in your hand, no water should drip out.

so, if you can answer those questions, we may have a better idea to steer you in the right direction to getting her back ontop of her substrate and happy with her new home! again, straight veggies are not a very good diet for leos, you should definately get her on the right track with some good greens!

and again, welcome to the forum, we're so glad to have you!
 

Irene

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I have a friend who has taken photo,s off her. Im trying to get round the computer to get the photo,s from facebook on to here. Might need help with that. Not a problem. Yes i am in Scotland in the UK. I do not have a private garden but a communial one. I love my new addition and only pet and want to make sure i do everything correctly as the paperwork is a bit vague..
I will purchase the things i have been told about and will get the photo,s on A S A P...
Thank you everyone for the quick reply and i will be back A S A P. To let you all see Dora,s photo,s. and her enclosure. Hopefully with my new friends on this site she will be very happy.
Irene
 

Jacqui

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I know I am a bit late, but WELCOME!! :D Leopards have beautifully marked shells don't they? Sorry about your son. That's just something I can't imagine going thru. *hugs* By now I am sure you have visited the Leopard area and have gotten tons of new advice, correct?
 

Irene

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coreyc said:
HELLO Irene welcome to the TFO:) can you give us some more info and maybe post some pic's of her and the Enclosure:)

Pic,s are now on. Im just learning how to get around the site....

Jacqui said:
I know I am a bit late, but WELCOME!! :D Leopards have beautifully marked shells don't they? Sorry about your son. That's just something I can't imagine going thru. *hugs* By now I am sure you have visited the Leopard area and have gotten tons of new advice, correct?

I posted some pic,s today and did,nt know there was a leopard area, I,ll go look now. She or maybe he has a lovely colour. Thank you for the comment about my Jamie. Much appreciated.
Irene.
 

Neddy

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Hi Irene,

I have a leopard tort called Ralph and he is 4, he is 9'' SCL so I dont think your is that old :)

Providing fresh food is a great option and here is a useful site of what you can and cant feed :)

http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/tortoise_home_1.asp

THey can take weeks to settle in but there are a few things you can do to make the transition run more smoothly:

Bath twice a day and feed straight after
Always have a shallow bath in the enclosure and this should be refreshed everyday ( you may want to but a few pebbles in as they can flip themselves onto the shells so it will help them to get back over).
Substrate should be 50% top soil and 50% sand
Nutrobal should be used sparingly and but on food 2-3 times a week
Nothing wrong with feeding pellets but try adding so variety as leo's need a high fibre diet
And as tempting as it maybe leave handling to a minimum :)

A few questions about your set up:

how big is the viv (I used to keep Ralph in a viv when he was a hatchling but this species is prone to RNS so they do better in tables as it allows for better airflow).
Do you have a ceramic heat bulb and a uv supply or is it a combi bulb
What temps are in the viv?
Do you have a hot end and a cool end?

A few tips:
Feed on slate as it naturally trims the beak
Cuttlefish also does this and is packed with calcium
Leopards are notorious for being picky eats so dont worry :)

I hope this helps

Thanks

Sara xx
 

Irene

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[/size][/font][size=large]
Hya Sara
Dora seem,s quite happy in her new home, i let her wander round the sitting room and hall on an evening for about 30 min,s she always goes to the same dark area,s..
I was bathing her once a day and each time i did this her bowel,s moved so i have changed it just now to every couple of days as i just was,nt sure. she eat,s well. I am feeding her twice a day on baby corn, rocket, cucumber, carrot,s, broccolli, sprout,s and cauliflower.. I give her variety Is this all ok.. She gets the pelets twice to three times a week.
Viv is 3ft x 2 ft x 18inches.. It has a cold and warm end, I am getting a piece off slate tomorrow. Tnks for that tip. the bulb is a combi. A friend bought Dora, she had her three or four days then decided she was frightened of poor Dora.. So that is how i came across her. I will buy anything she need,s so thats not a problem. She hides under the straw that is in her viv at night, she burrow,s and sometimes goes into a little box i have place in there it,s open at both ends but im sure she thinks it,s a bedroom.. I dont know the temp,s of the viv but will get a thermometer She sleeps at the cool end of the viv, What is RNS ? She has cuttle fish but does,nt even look at it.
How long should she be sleeping each day? And if she is 4 and a half inches long what age do you think she is. She seem,s to have grown since i got her 5 week,s ago.. I,ve not measured her as i try not to handle her, but she comes to me when im feeding now so i think she is getting used to me and her food...

Thanks for any tips and if im doing wrong please say...

IRENE


quote='Neddy' pid='212311' dateline='1296345336']
Hi Irene,

I have a leopard tort called Ralph and he is 4, he is 9'' SCL so I dont think your is that old :)

Providing fresh food is a great option and here is a useful site of what you can and cant feed :)

http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/tortoise_home_1.asp

THey can take weeks to settle in but there are a few things you can do to make the transition run more smoothly:

Bath twice a day and feed straight after
Always have a shallow bath in the enclosure and this should be refreshed everyday ( you may want to but a few pebbles in as they can flip themselves onto the shells so it will help them to get back over).
Substrate should be 50% top soil and 50% sand
Nutrobal should be used sparingly and but on food 2-3 times a week
Nothing wrong with feeding pellets but try adding so variety as leo's need a high fibre diet
And as tempting as it maybe leave handling to a minimum :)

A few questions about your set up:

how big is the viv (I used to keep Ralph in a viv when he was a hatchling but this species is prone to RNS so they do better in tables as it allows for better airflow).
Do you have a ceramic heat bulb and a uv supply or is it a combi bulb
What temps are in the viv?
Do you have a hot end and a cool end?

A few tips:
Feed on slate as it naturally trims the beak
Cuttlefish also does this and is packed with calcium
Leopards are notorious for being picky eats so dont worry :)

I hope this helps

Thanks

Sara xx




[/quote]
 

Yvonne G

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Hi Irene:

I was looking at some pictures in our photo gallery here on the forum, and I see a bunch of leopard pictures. But there's also a picture of a guy in kilt! Who is that?
 

Tortoise

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dalano73 said:
Hello Irene and welcome to the forum..

Hello
Welcome to the forum Irene.
I am in Canada but moved from the UK with my tortoise.I belong to the British Chelonia Group
It is excellent. They have regional clubs-I hope they do in Scotland _ I will check it out.
In any case the membership includes a bimonthly newsletter all about Chelonia with great articles and photography.Once a year you get a publication called Testudo which is great too full of useful articles and news of conservation projects going on etc. I still get the membership and seem to be the only overseas member. They would love more overseas members actually-HINT HINT!!! to the folks out there:D
I also have a very knowlegable friend in the UK who would always be happy to answer concerns , she has quite a few leopards as well as most other species in actual fact. Its a bit trickier in the UK with climate but she has got it all figured out for the leopards . She is a chair person of a particular British Chelonia Group.
There are great books too I can recommend written in the UK so quite good as far as understanding the climate there etc.

:tort::tort:There are lots of great people on this forum too and areas just for leopard tortoise owners specifically.

If you want me friends details I can give you her phone number in a private email, I still call her from Canada as she knows so much and lives only for tortoises.

Oh the BCG website also has care sheets for different species too-including the leopards.

Enjoy your leopard

Louise
 
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