G. P. Pardalis size

[gustaf]

Hey guys all this talk about ethiopian leopard torts have got me curious about pardalis pardalis leopards. They get larger than babcocki. I have heard they can get to be 30 inches. Thats pretty much average healthy sulcata size. Is it fairly common for them to get that big or is it more of an exception. Does anyone have any pics of large p. pardalis leopards they would share? And would you include their length and weight if you can. Sometines its hard to see how big they are in a pic if there is nothing next to them to get an accurate size comparison.

 

[Greg T]

I don't know anyone who has a leopard that big, but maybe someone on here does. My adult babcocki is 16 inches and 22 pounds now at 10 years old. I don't expect him to get much larger. If you really want a big tort then go with the sulcata.

 

[Tom]

I think 30" is not normal. There might be one that size somewhere in the world, but that is not normal. The largest adult South Africans that I have seen here were about 20-22", maybe an occasional 24" one, and 60-70 pounds. I did see a really big one in captivity in South Africa, but I don't know its origin. I would estimate it at 26-27" and well over 100 pounds. It lived in a large outdoor pen at a petrol/cafe station along with some chickens, ducks and children's playground equipment, on the road about halfway between Capetown and George.

 

[gustaf]

Thanks for the input guys. I had seen some classified adds for them and one said they would get up to 30 inches and another just said they get really huge. I wanted to see if there was any evidence of these big guys here in the USA.
Dont get me wrong a 20 or 22 inch tort is pretty good size but its a far cry from 30" and 150+ pounds. And i think they are awesome and wonderful tortoises but it seems like people might be exagerating a bit and telling people what they want to hear to sell more of them even if its not very likely that they will grow that large.(even though it may be possible, just not likely.)
I just dont like to be mis-led and i dont like to see others mis-led. But who knows? Maybe in 15 to 25 years we will start to see more big guys pop up when all these hatchlings being sold now grow up.

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

I saw an ad on craigslist Los Angeles with a picture of the Ethiopian ones. Talk about misleading. Naughty naughty. Sent them a note that hey! that is not what you have. No one in the USA has that one. Never heard back. Ad finally came down. Did you see this thread yet? http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-84022.html

 

[jshaw9_]

Does anyone have any adult leopards? I know a LOT of people have babies on here. Post pics of adult leopards!!!

 

[oswego tort lover]

i have a 18 inch female Gpb and a male Gpb a hair under 18 inchs. the female I believe is around 30 years old. I don't know the age of the male

 

[Tom]

Some of the ones I referred to above were adults in 1990.