Given a tortoise need help

[ravens955]

Hello my tortoise friends

So I had iv been given a leopard tortoise
And have a few questions to people who have one

What's the best food for them
Can they live outside
If so what do they need
How often should they have a soak in water
And if you have any tips or something else iv missed if love to hear

Thank you

 

[RandyTortoise]

Hello my tortoise friends

So I had iv been given a leopard tortoise
And have a few questions to people who have one

What's the best food for them
Can they live outside
If so what do they need
How often should they have a soak in water
And if you have any tips or something else iv missed if love to hear

Thank you

How old is your leopard, where are you keeping it and can you send a photo?
I have five leopards.

 

[ravens955]

Hello
I'm not sure on age my mum gave me the tortoise through someone she knew who didn't want it they told us nothing I believe he is an adult tho due to size currently living outside in like a chickens pen with bedding ( straw and wood pellets) with a UV light

 

[ravens955]

Hello
I'm not sure on age my mum gave me the tortoise through someone she knew who didn't want it they told us nothing I believe he is an adult tho due to size currently living outside in like a chickens pen with bedding ( straw and wood pellets) with a UV light View attachment 392328

The mark on his shell apparently was attacked by dog when was younger

 

[RandyTortoise]

Hello
I'm not sure on age my mum gave me the tortoise through someone she knew who didn't want it they told us nothing I believe he is an adult tho due to size currently living outside in like a chickens pen with bedding ( straw and wood pellets) with a UV light View attachment 392328

It is actually a great looking tortoise! I can’t tell exactly how big it is but it looks like a sub-adult or an adult.
Depending on where you live, it needs a hide (tortoise house) at night that has a Ceramic heating element above or a Kane heating mat where you can set the internal temp of the house at night and on cold days. A leopard tortoise should not be allowed to have its core temperature drop below 80 for extended persists of time. The larger ones are certainly more hardy and can do ok in mid 70s for a day and even lower to about high 60s if they have a basking spot inside the house where they can warm up. Smaller ones need to be inside your house with constantly high temps
I feed mine dandelion greens, cactus pads, escarole and endive, some kale and I mix in Arcadia optimised52 tortoise greens soaked into their cactus as the staple food. Then I give them to graze on a bag of mixed grocery store greens. Pretty much they will eat anything to be honest and easy to care for if you just feed them a varied diet and keep them warm and properly light with uvb lights in your house and sun outside where they have some way to get in the shade etc.
outside I bought a premade tortoise house from a company called PinkTortz you can find them online.
Great tortoise man!

 

[ravens955]

Hello I live in England randy
Would you say same details as you just told me
Cactus leaves hard to come by in this country at the moment he is eating romaine lettuce and baby gem he is very fussy won't eat kale and few other things

 

[Tom]

Hello
I'm not sure on age my mum gave me the tortoise through someone she knew who didn't want it they told us nothing I believe he is an adult tho due to size currently living outside in like a chickens pen with bedding ( straw and wood pellets) with a UV light View attachment 392328

This is a tropical species. It needs warm temperatures day and night. No lower than 26C at night and it should have a warm area over 30C during the day. It also needs a large area to roam. This is a very difficult species to maintain in your climate.

 

[ravens955]

This is a tropical species. It needs warm temperatures day and night. No lower than 26C at night and it should have a warm area over 30C during the day. It also needs a large area to roam. This is a very difficult species to maintain in your climate.

Well okay looks like I'm going to be a spending a small fortune on heaters and new home for him , he roams around my garden during day as it's summer ATM

 

[Tom]

Well okay looks like I'm going to be a spending a small fortune on heaters and new home for him , he roams around my garden during day as it's summer ATM

Here are examples of the type of insulated night boxes you need right now for sleeping over night and cooler summer days:

Single Tortoise Night Box

I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...

tortoiseforum.org

Double Door Night Box

As the years have gone by and I build more of these boxes, I learn more and more each time. This one is the latest and I incorporated everything I've learned over the years. I also tried to take lots of pics so I can explain in more detail some of what is going on. It will take multiple posts to...

tortoiseforum.org

These boxes will get you through the warmer months, but you will need a room sized heated indoor enclosure for most of the year where you are.

 

[ravens955]

Here are examples of the type of insulated night boxes you need right now for sleeping over night and cooler summer days:

Single Tortoise Night Box

I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...

tortoiseforum.org

Double Door Night Box

As the years have gone by and I build more of these boxes, I learn more and more each time. This one is the latest and I incorporated everything I've learned over the years. I also tried to take lots of pics so I can explain in more detail some of what is going on. It will take multiple posts to...

tortoiseforum.org

These boxes will get you through the warmer months, but you will need a room sized heated indoor enclosure for most of the year where you are.

Thanks for your help tom

 

[TammyJ]

Welcome and all the best for you and your beautiful tortoise!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hopefully you might find these links useful too, especially the inspiration one, there’s some good room set up examples and I have a back log to upload too

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

This one is really good to go over and keep on hand too

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

 

[MaNaAk]

Hello my tortoise friends

So I had iv been given a leopard tortoise
And have a few questions to people who have one

What's the best food for them
Can they live outside
If so what do they need
How often should they have a soak in water
And if you have any tips or something else iv missed if love to hear

Thank you

Hello from Essex.

I have a Spur-thighed Tortoise who is spending a lot of time outside at the moment. Make sure your garden is secure and bring them in at night. Jacky likes Spring Greens, Kale (fed moderately on different days), grasses, dandelions, Romaine Lettuce plus cuttlefish and every few days a sprinkling of D3. She is soaked twice a week in a shallow tub which she hates!

MaNaAk