First Leopard Tortoise

[tbird2017]

Hello, I adopted a sick 1.5yr old leopard tortoise on Monday(first time owner). It had metabolic bone disease from no UV light and a diet of only Romain lettuce. When it was donated to the place I adopted it from it hadn't been eating for two weeks and only weighed .43kg. I finally got it to eat on Wednesday(some collard greens) and it is doing much better today(Sunday). It now eats consistently(staple of mixed collard greens, kale, and dandelion) I have plenty of timothy hay in the enclosure, but it doesn't seem interested. Anybody know any tricks to get it to eat grass hay? Here are a couple pics, I am thinking it is a Babcocki, what do you think?

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. I doubt he'll ever be much interested in dry hay. Weeds, spring mix, santa barbara mix, hibiscus leaves and flowers, mulberry and grape leaves, cactus and Mazuri Tortoise chow are all good food choices too.

Most importantly, where are you? Sunshine will be very important for this guy. I would also do daily soaks for a month or two just to make sure he's very hydrated and help him flush his system.

Your bulbs will be much more effective if they point straight down instead of at an angle like that too. And lastly, have you heard that you should NOT use those florescent coil bulbs for UV? They can blind them.

Good luck with his rehab.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi tbird2017:

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?

Your new leopard doesn't look too bad. But I have some suggestions for your tort table.

That's a great table for a leopard tortoise...nice and big. Take out the indoor/outdoor carpet and line it with plastic sheeting. Add cypress mulch about three or four inches thick. Buy a few house plants in 6" pots and place them down into the substrate, pot and all, around the habitat, but not close to the edges or the tortoise will use them as a ladder. The reason for using cypress mulch, or any substrate, instead of carpeting is you want it to be moist. The main reason your tortoise is pyramided is from being kept too dry.

Get a bigger waterer. A terracotta plant saucer will do nicely. They like to climb into the dish when they drink.

Cut a large plastic plant pot in half lengthwise and use both halves as hiding places, one at each end of the table.

Fix your light so it shines straight down. I think its an MVB, right? It tells you on the box that you will shorten the life of the bulb if you hang it at an angle.

If you can't maintain the correct temp all over the table, you may need to invest in a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) for the opposite end from the light.

Baby tortoises usually won't eat hay. You can clip some nice, fresh (clean with no toxins) grass and sprinkle it over the food, but I really doubt you're going to interest the tortoise in hay.

I have a couple baby leopard tortoises and I feed them from my garden, chopped mixed greens, zucchini, collards, bell peppers, plus they are outside during the day and they can graze on whatever is growing in their little pen.

Thanks for sharing your pictures with us. Your tortoise (babcock, by the way) is very pretty. I love her color (and yes, I think its a female).

 

[coreyc]

Welcome to the forum listen to great advice above hope everything work out

 

[tbird2017]

Hello and welcome. I doubt he'll ever be much interested in dry hay. Weeds, spring mix, santa barbara mix, hibiscus leaves and flowers, mulberry and grape leaves, cactus and Mazuri Tortoise chow are all good food choices too.

Most importantly, where are you? Sunshine will be very important for this guy. I would also do daily soaks for a month or two just to make sure he's very hydrated and help him flush his system.

Your bulbs will be much more effective if they point straight down instead of at an angle like that too. And lastly, have you heard that you should NOT use those florescent coil bulbs for UV? They can blind them.

Good luck with his rehab.

I'm located in Indiana, it is pretty humid in the early summer and cold in the winter, I have been taking him out for an hour or two a day, he grazes on the clover and grass. I have been doing daily warm water soaks this week. He has gotten into the bath on his own once that I have seen. I hadn't heard that about coils bulbs, right now I am running a 160w mercury bulb and a infrared heat bulb at night. Unfortunately I don't have anything to hang the bulbs from to make them point strait down right now, I was hoping the bulb being 160w would negate the less than optimal angle. He is doing much better than he was, I'm going to weigh him again next week. Do you agree that he is a babcocki? Thanks for the reply.

 

[dmmj]

Welcome
I was looking at the pics and thinking to myself. I said self he does not look that bad until I saw the third picture and saw the sloping back end. Sunshine and calcium will make a big improvement in him, sadly I can't say which he is Pbb or otherwise because I am not an expert. I would do as yvonne says and get rid of the carpet ASAP, not the best choice for substrate it won't hurt in the short term, but you can't help keep him humid in the long term on that stuff.

 

[tbird2017]

Welcome
I was looking at the pics and thinking to myself. I said self he does not look that bad until I saw the third picture and saw the sloping back end. Sunshine and calcium will make a big improvement in him, sadly I can't say which he is Pbb or otherwise because I am not an expert. I would do as yvonne says and get rid of the carpet ASAP, not the best choice for substrate it won't hurt in the short term, but you can't help keep him humid in the long term on that stuff.

I was under the impression that leopard torts required a more dry environment. Indiana is already pretty humid during the summer(humidity of over 55% yesterday, and it is supposed to rain every day but friday this week.) I was more worried about causing pneumonia with high humidity than the other way around. What humidity should they be kept at?

 

[dmarcus]

Looks like you have gotten good advice already, so welcome to the forum..

 

[DesertGrandma]

Welcome to the forum! You can buy a light stand at the petstore that will allow you to hang your light pointing straight down. They are adjustable too so you can raise and lower it as necessary to increase or decrease the heat. It has a flat stand on the bottom so it sits under your enclosure and doesn't need to attach to anything else. Can't remember the name of mine, but it was for reptiles.

 

[Jacob]

You Got Great Info Already!
It Might Eat Hay, Later Down The Road If You Wet It Chop It Up and Mix It With His Reg Food!
A Varied Diet Is Important, Dark Leafy Greens, Spring Mix, cactus, Collard Greens, Grasses, Dandelions,etc!
You Need A Muzuri Diet, And Some Kind Of Calcium Supplement!
Natural Sunlight Is The Best, Try To Get Him Outside Daily and Watch Him, Or Even Build A Wooden Pin With Shade Spots!
He Needs A Bedding That Holds Moisture and Hide Box
Soak Him Daily In Warm Water for 15 Min, and Spray his Shell and Enclosure With Water Several Times Daily!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi tbird2017 (Is this wishful thinking? A Thunderbird in the year 2017?):

The thinking that leopard tortoises require a dry environment is old school. Now-a-days we're coming to realize that leopards, in fact, all desert tortoise types, require a more humid environment. The humidity helps them to grow smoothly and cuts back on the pyramiding.

As far as your light goes, it says on the box that hanging an MVB at an angle shortens the life of the bulb.

 

[tbird2017]

Here is my new setup as per the recommendations in this thread: The main problem I am having right now is Spotty(came with the name) doesn't seem to like to bask, she tends to go to a cool corner and stay there unless I move her into the light. She eats, but only after I put her in the light to warm her up and give her a warm bath, or when it's hot outside and not raining and I can take her outside. Any recommendations as to how to get her to keep herself thermoregulated?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi tbird2017:

Now THAT is a nice habitat!

I think that the tortoise will become more social as it becomes more used to its environment. I still have to bring my leopard babies out and set them in front of the food. Your tortoise will get used to the routine eventually.

 

[Neal]

Nice tortoise table. What are your high and low temperatures this time of year where you are? Since you have so much humidity there, I wouldn't recomend keeping him outside after it cools down to the 70's, but as long as the temperatures are warmer than that, I would try to keep him outside as much as possible if I were you. It is definatley a babcocki. Good luck, it sounds like he will be in better conditions.

 

[tbird2017]

Nice tortoise table. What are your high and low temperatures this time of year where you are? Since you have so much humidity there, I wouldn't recomend keeping him outside after it cools down to the 70's, but as long as the temperatures are warmer than that, I would try to keep him outside as much as possible if I were you. It is definatley a babcocki. Good luck, it sounds like he will be in better conditions.

The highs and lows are extremely variable in Indiana, right now it is 86f with a 70% humidity, later today humidity is supposed to reach 90%. the low tonight is 69f. Thursday the high is 71, the low Friday night is 58...etc...

 

[Neal]

Yikes, I can see why you need an indoor tortoise table. Looks good so far, good luck!

 

[SnakeyeZ]

Nice tortoise and nice enclosure. Looks very spacious, the little guy will enjoy the space.

Looks like it's in an awkward part of the house... is that a dinning room table on oneside and computer desk on other?

 

[tbird2017]

Nice tortoise and nice enclosure. Looks very spacious, the little guy will enjoy the space.

Looks like it's in an awkward part of the house... is that a dinning room table on oneside and computer desk on other?

Yes, it is a one bedroom apartment while I'm at school till may

 

[Laura]

you mentioned that it was soft,, is it harder now? Did the school keep it for a while and make it better then it was?
Did they deworm?

 

[tbird2017]

you mentioned that it was soft,, is it harder now? Did the school keep it for a while and make it better then it was?
Did they deworm?

I am going to take it back for a recheck in the next couple weeks. Purdue didn't have it very long, just a few days. They did deworm him. I'm a student there, that is why I got it so quick.