I'm back! And I have a surprise!

[Grace-Sophia]

Hello everyone! I am back after a long break and it feels good to be posting on here again!
I know that I have made many posts on this before but.... I am finaly getting a Leopard tortoise! I pick the little guy up this weekend and I feel truly beyond blessed to be able to get my DREAM species! Any tips would be much appreciated! I have read Tom's care sheet (thanks Tom!), and done lots and lots of research to prepare. I'll post more pictures of him when I pick him up on Sunday, however, here is the photo I have from the person who has him...

Meet baby Jambo!

 

[Introduction]

Hello everyone! I am back after a long break and it feels good to be posting on here again!
I know that I have made many posts on this before but.... I am finaly getting a Leopard tortoise! I pick the little guy up this weekend and I feel truly beyond blessed to be able to get my DREAM species! Any tips would be much appreciated! I have read Tom's care sheet (thanks Tom!), and done lots and lots of research to prepare. I'll post more pictures of him when I pick him up on Sunday, however, here is the photo I have from the person who has him...

Meet baby Jambo!
View attachment 368314

How cute!

 

[Megatron's Mom]

How cute and very exciting.

 

[zovick]

Hello everyone! I am back after a long break and it feels good to be posting on here again!
I know that I have made many posts on this before but.... I am finaly getting a Leopard tortoise! I pick the little guy up this weekend and I feel truly beyond blessed to be able to get my DREAM species! Any tips would be much appreciated! I have read Tom's care sheet (thanks Tom!), and done lots and lots of research to prepare. I'll post more pictures of him when I pick him up on Sunday, however, here is the photo I have from the person who has him...

Meet baby Jambo!
View attachment 368314

Not trying to rain on the parade, just making sure you are aware of the abnormality which is visible in this photo.

That tortoise has an extra or split first left costal scute and that may make the tortoise grow asymmetrically. Sometimes the asymmetry becomes more pronounced as they get older and they can look rather misshapen. If that bothers you, you should opt for a different specimen.

Additionally, there may be other abnormal scutes on that tortoise which don't show in the photo which is posted. Have you any other photos of the animal in case there are others?

 

[Yvonne G]

As a matter of fact, i happen to LIKE the abnormal scutes. Before I started trimming my collecton (old age on my part) I had at least one each with abnormal scutes of leopard, yellowfoot, desert, russian, Texas and box turtle. One of my leopards had a crazy zipper pattern down his back. Unless the tortoise is truly deformed, abnormal scutes is just cosmetic.

Earlier I started a thread here on the Forum where people could post pictures of their tortoises with aberrant scute pattern. Search for it.

 

[Grace-Sophia]

Not trying to rain on the parade, just making sure you are aware of the abnormality which is visible in this photo.

That tortoise has an extra or split first left costal scute and that may make the tortoise grow asymmetrically. Sometimes the asymmetry becomes more pronounced as they get older and they can look rather misshapen. If that bothers you, you should opt for a different specimen.

Additionally, there may be other abnormal scutes on that tortoise which don't show in the photo which is posted. Have you any other photos of the animal in case there are others?

Yes I have more.. please check again. Will this cause harm to him? Will he not live as long or be as healthy?

 

[Grace-Sophia]

Yes I have more.. please check again. Will this cause harm to him? Will he not live as long or be as healthy?

@zovick Are these the scutes you are referring to?

 

[Yvonne G]

I forgot to mention how cute he is. Congratulations!!!

 

[wellington]

My best tip would be to make sure you are buying from someone that is housing it in a closed chamber.
Leopards are hard to grow smooth and almost impossible if not raised in a closed chamber. Once they start pyramiding, they are very hard to get too stop.
There are always many available but not many raised correctly.
Good luck, and congrats. They are a great tortoise. One of my very fave too.

 

[Grace-Sophia]

I forgot to mention how cute he is. Congratulations!!!

Thank you!! And thank you for your reassurance on you reply. It really helps me to know that he can live a normal and long healthy life, even with this abnormal scute! 🥰 and yes, I agree, I LOVE it too!

 

[zovick]

There are additional abnormal scutes on both sides of the tortoise at the rear of each row of costal scutes, so the tortoise has two abnormal scutes on the left side and one on the right. The problem is mainly cosmetic and could lead to a misshapen adult animal. The tortoise's health is not going to be adversely affected, only the morphology of the shell could be off. Improper morphology bothers me, and I never buy such tortoises if I can avoid it, but that's just me.

The other problem I have is that I never sold a young tortoise with abnormal scutes to anyone without fully disclosing that fact to the buyers and selling them the said tortoises at giveaway prices due to the abnormal scutes. It really bothers me that many sellers sell such animals to unwitting buyers without telling them. Some of them even take deceptive photos which don't show the problem areas (it has happened to me, which is how I know).

 

[zovick]

@zovick Are these the scutes you are referring to?

Yes.

 

[SinLA]

I think he's totes adorbs and hope you keep him (but get some money back). Best of all worlds!

 

[Tim Carlisle]

@zovick Are these the scutes you are referring to?

"Character" scutes. 😉

 

[zolasmum]

There is an advantage in uneven scutes (Zola has one too) -he would be much easier to identify if by some misfortune he got out -though of course I hope that will never happen to you !
Angie

 

[Cathie G]

Hello hello so glad to see you 🤗 I missed you 😊. That's a very cute tortoise 🐢. When I received Sapphire I had to make a decision too. His shell had problems but I decided to keep him and see what I could do for him. Almost 17 years later we're still here.

 

[Grace-Sophia]

I picked my baby up today! He’s extremely active and started eating within the first hour! He’s doing great. Jambo didn’t seem to fit him so I changed his name to Lewis 😂 🤎

 

[SinLA]

Love the name!!!!

 

[Tom]

I picked my baby up today! He’s extremely active and started eating within the first hour! He’s doing great. Jambo didn’t seem to fit him so I changed his name to Lewis 😂 🤎

Split scutes can be a genetic thing, but they can also be caused by higher incubation temps, which would also greatly increase the chance that Lewis is a Louise. Just letting you know. Congrats on the baby. You are welcome for the care sheets!

 

[Grace-Sophia]

Love the name!!!!

Thank you! I think it suits him!