Hello

[Distardie]

I am new here been a Tort mom for 17 days now my babies are Little Foot and Shy Guy they are leopard tortoises. I was told my babies were 3 months old when I got them. But when I look at other leopard torts they just seem soo small. I weighed them in at 34 and 38 grams then 12 days later did another weight and they both gained an extra 10 grams so now they are at 44 and 48 grams. Is there a way to tell exactly how old they really are I am thinking younger then 3 months but this is my first pair of babies and some info just doesnt seem right. When I do a search this forum keeps coming up so thought I would ask here if anyone had a good guess on their age. Here are some pics of my babies

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Well, they DO have a bit of growth on them (the black space between the colored spaces [called scutes] ), and that growth seems to be starting the pyramid process. The babies need to be kept in swamp-like conditions to stop the pyramiding. Notice the second picture - the black new growth is starting an upward growth instead of laying flat. That's pyramiding. Soak them daily in warm water for 15 or 20 minutes, an keep them in a covered enclosure so that the air inside is warm and humid. When leopard tortoises hatch out of the egg, it is monsoon time in Africa. They have evolved living this way, that is, hatching out in monsoon conditions and it's warm and humid, with much greenery and plant growth for them to hide in. The person you bought your babies from probably kept them the way we all did in the past, that is, on dry alfalfa pellets, in an open-topped container and under hot lights.

I would say that they ARE 3 months old or so, but have been raised in hot, dry conditions. You can change that. Please read:

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.78361/

 

[Distardie]

ok yup they are in a covered enclosure with a humidifier running about 85% of the time to keep the humidity up to 90% the temp in the tank is around 85 degrees basking spot runs around 95 degrees. the breeder said he started them on spring mix but I noticed that spring mix had spinach in it and found that spinach is a no feed. So we have been feeding Dandelion, Escarole, Radicchio, Endive, Baby romaine, Mustard greens and Timothy hay. They usually eat it all. We also have a UVB lamp on in the enclosure so they get that natural sunlight effect. I will definitely read article above

 

[Yvonne G]

ok yup they are in a covered enclosure with a humidifier running about 85% of the time to keep the humidity up to 90% the temp in the tank is around 85 degrees basking spot runs around 95 degrees. the breeder said he started them on spring mix but I noticed that spring mix had spinach in it and found that spinach is a no feed. So we have been feeding Dandelion, Escarole, Radicchio, Endive, Baby romaine, Mustard greens and Timothy hay. They usually eat it all. We also have a UVB lamp on in the enclosure so they get that natural sunlight effect. I will definitely read article above

It sounds like you're on the right track.

 

[Ben02]

Hi and welcome!!!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hi

 

[Ray--Opo]

ok yup they are in a covered enclosure with a humidifier running about 85% of the time to keep the humidity up to 90% the temp in the tank is around 85 degrees basking spot runs around 95 degrees. the breeder said he started them on spring mix but I noticed that spring mix had spinach in it and found that spinach is a no feed. So we have been feeding Dandelion, Escarole, Radicchio, Endive, Baby romaine, Mustard greens and Timothy hay. They usually eat it all. We also have a UVB lamp on in the enclosure so they get that natural sunlight effect. I will definitely read article above

Hello and welcome, What type of UVB light are you using? The coil type are not good for their eyes. The flouresnt tube type lamp is what was recommended to me.

 

[Distardie]

Hello and welcome, What type of UVB light are you using? The coil type are not good for their eyes. The flouresnt tube type lamp is what was recommended to me.

I am using the fluorescent tube lamp.