First Enclosure

[sorkilson12]

Hello all, This is my first post but I have read a lot of threads here to get advice about my new leopard tort. I'm looking to get advice on any changes I can make on my enclosure to make it better for him. He is about 4 months old, 3 inches or so long and 60 grams. He munches on greens, mazuri, cactus pads and hay. He also loves to roam around and lay in his humid hide. I live in Wisconsin so I plan on building him a closed chamber tank as soon as I can research enough on it and also plan to keep him outside for most summer days that I can. In his tank I have a humid hide to try and smooth out his shell, hay to burrow, a basking spot, food plate, and water dish to soak in. I soak him twice a day. I keep a 100w power sun mercury vapor bulb on during the day and a 50w black night light on at night to keep him comfortable. If you have any advice for me and my little guy it would be appreciated greatly!

Thanks, Ben

 

[ceg827]

Hey Ben, I am so glad you posted this. I am getting my new Leopard this week. Can you tell me what you have the greens on? I am looking for something for my enclosure similar.

Thx
cary

 

[FLINTUS]

Hey Ben, I am so glad you posted this. I am getting my new Leopard this week. Can you tell me what you have the greens on? I am looking for something for my enclosure similar.

Thx
cary

That looks like slate to me-good for wearing down beaks.

 

[tortoise007]

looks like a great enclosure! Welcome to TFO! Just be mindful that this species needs high humidity (70-85) and they don't stay small long. as he gets bigger you will need bigger and bigger enclosures... I really have no idea how he would do outside... hopefully someone with more experience with leopards will help you.

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What are you temps/humidity?

 

[rideburton87]

I just built my tortoise a closed chamber and let me tell ya it was a lot of work and all the 1/16ths of an inch that you didnt think mattered when doing the rough framing all came into play when you putting the final details on it. I would first start off trying to find the glass and the railing for the sliding glass. For me the railing was difficult to find and had to have it custom made from a glass shop by my house (cost $65) so you might just be better off buying an already assembled one from home depot or something. Then I would build some of my dimensions around how tall the sliding glass front is going to be. Other than that dont forget to lay down plastic across the bottom so you can so you can soak the substrate. I would type in "closed chambers" in the search bar and get ideas from there.. Total cost was probably $200 but well worth it.

 

[sorkilson12]

Yeah its slate from home depot. They're mini tile samples that are like 49 cents each and theyre 6x6, work well to keep the food off the substrate. I plan on building him a nice space in my basement for winters around here as it stays warm down there. Im taking the closed chamber idea slowly to do it just right because im sure the 1/16ths do add up and id rather take my time then redo it multiple times. does anybody have a good easy way to raise the humidity in my enclosure? I would like to smooth out his shell as he does have some pyramiding start it seems. Thanks For any advice! Ben

 

[sorkilson12]

And My temps are usually around 105 on that hay, 85 in the humid hide and 95 on his piece of slate. He usually hangs out in the hide or he likes the burrow under the hay. Im not sure about my humidity levels exactly as I don't have a hygrometer.