How to do this? Leopard tortoise hatchling.

[Terry_tortoise12]

I bought by first tortoise a few months ago, he's about 7 months old, around 3 inches long. I want to start building a new, upgraded tank for him. I'm pretty confident with woodworking and I have help from my dad so I have that part down. I will make it 2 by 4 feet. I want it to be self-sustaining with plants. I have a snake plant in his current tank, however I know that not enough for a bioactive tank. I want to know what plants I can grow in the tank that will clean and not bother my tortoise at all. Obviosly I will get isopods and a whole cleanup crew, but I'm new to this whole thing and I'm scared to mess it up. Please help or tell me if I'm doing things wrong.

 

[RandyTortoise]

I have leopard tortoises too. I had them since hatchlings. In my opinion, they are the best and always super friendly and even get more friendly as they grow bigger! You will love that little guy in a few years even more than today.

Personally, I would go a bit bigger with my space, if that is possible. Leopards stay pretty small until about 2 years old and then from 2 to 4 years, mine at least, tripled in size! Mine are 5 now and they are 7 pounds and 8 pounds! So personally I would go larger and then start thinking about an outdoor summer/fall pen in two years from now. Now it is too dangerous to be outside for him.

When you build your own, you need to think about heat (ceramic heating elements and uvb day Arcadia T5 long tube type is very good) keeping a basking spot at 90 to 95 and another end at 75 or so so he can regulate his temperatures. Oh, the thing that is good is take some clear plastic and find a way to kind of tent it over the enclosure so you can get the humidity up. The babies grow more smooth and are healthier with humidity. As they get older it becomes less and less important.

Good luck!!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I have leopard tortoises too. I had them since hatchlings. In my opinion, they are the best and always super friendly and even get more friendly as they grow bigger! You will love that little guy in a few years even more than today.

Personally, I would go a bit bigger with my space, if that is possible. Leopards stay pretty small until about 2 years old and then from 2 to 4 years, mine at least, tripled in size! Mine are 5 now and they are 7 pounds and 8 pounds! So personally I would go larger and then start thinking about an outdoor summer/fall pen in two years from now. Now it is too dangerous to be outside for him.

When you build your own, you need to think about heat (ceramic heating elements and uvb day Arcadia T5 long tube type is very good) keeping a basking spot at 90 to 95 and another end at 75 or so so he can regulate his temperatures. Oh, the thing that is good is take some clear plastic and find a way to kind of tent it over the enclosure so you can get the humidity up. The babies grow more smooth and are healthier with humidity. As they get older it becomes less and less important.

Good luck!!

All good advice here, but don’t let the other end go to 75, leopards, especially babies shouldn’t be in temps lower than 80 day or night

I definitely second the comment about going bigger than 4x2, I’d aim for at least 6x3.

I bought by first tortoise a few months ago, he's about 7 months old, around 3 inches long. I want to start building a new, upgraded tank for him. I'm pretty confident with woodworking and I have help from my dad so I have that part down. I will make it 2 by 4 feet. I want it to be self-sustaining with plants. I have a snake plant in his current tank, however I know that not enough for a bioactive tank. I want to know what plants I can grow in the tank that will clean and not bother my tortoise at all. Obviosly I will get isopods and a whole cleanup crew, but I'm new to this whole thing and I'm scared to mess it up. Please help or tell me if I'm doing things wrong.

Just be sure this is a closed chamber set up you’re creating for the humidity, wood won’t hold up unless protected with lining.

Hopefully these links will help you!

Great one for new comers:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

This housing thread covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc, definitely double check the bulb types), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better! But I’ll add some more ideas below for closed chambers

Leopard/sulcata starter

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information below on how I’d personally tackle an indoor starter set up for a leopard/sulcata until they’re bigger. Hopefully it helps give people some ideas!” I know it looks like a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes different closed chamber examples, some work better than others

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

This is toms care guide:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is probably most important to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

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

Hope they come in handy! Please let us know if you have any further questions, welcome to the forum

 

[Terry_tortoise12]

All good advice here, but don’t let the other end go to 75, leopards, especially babies shouldn’t be in temps lower than 80 day or night

I definitely second the comment about going bigger than 4x2, I’d aim for at least 6x3.


Just be sure this is a closed chamber set up you’re creating for the humidity, wood won’t hold up unless protected with lining.

Hopefully these links will help you!

Great one for new comers:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

This housing thread covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc, definitely double check the bulb types), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better! But I’ll add some more ideas below for closed chambers

Leopard/sulcata starter

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information below on how I’d personally tackle an indoor starter set up for a leopard/sulcata until they’re bigger. Hopefully it helps give people some ideas!” I know it looks like a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes different closed chamber examples, some work better than others

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

This is toms care guide:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is probably most important to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

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

Hope they come in handy! Please let us know if you have any further questions, welcome to the forum

THX

 

[chigs184]

I have boston ferns and tropical hibiscus in my enclosure. The hibiscus I grew from seed and the growth was incredible in those conditions. He absolutely loves the hibiscus, the fern he uses as cover, but occasionally nibbles on it.
My enclosure is 4x2 and he's now coming up to 1 year old, he is definitely on the small size for a leopard but I can tell I'll need a bigger enclosure within a year. I'd go 8x4 if you can.