Just bought a month old leopard hatchling

[Tortus]

I keep a constant growth chart since the day I got them. We have a weekly Bath-weigh-measure-Vita-shell session every Saturday morning.

... the picture thing was also weekly.... for the 1st 15 or 20 weeks... now its when I notice big changes on the Charts.

I thought about doing it weekly but don't have the patience. I need to see a bigger jump in the numbers. lol

I also need to get some new calipers. This thing squirms around too much anymore to get a very accurate reading with a tape measure.

 

[jesst]

Zenna grew that fast and hasn't stopped growing.....I weigh and measure both of my torts every week just to see how they are progressing. Zenna is 10 months and as of last week she weighs 375g.

 

[Tortus]

4 month hatchday:

That's a 45 gram gain since last month. I thought the cooler season would slow it down...

Month 1: 2", 40 grams

Month 2: 2 1/4", 64 grams

Month 3: 2 1/2", 88 grams

Month 4: 2 3/4", 133 grams

 

[jtrux]

Wow, that's great progress!

 

[Tortus]

5 months old today.

Only a gain of 40 grams last month. I thought it would be more.

Month 1: 2", 40 grams

Month 2: 2 1/4", 64 grams

Month 3: 2 1/2", 88 grams

Month 4: 2 3/4", 133 grams

Month 5: 3 1/2", 173 grams

 

[LeopardTortLover]

Looking great!

 

[Tortus]

Thanks, Laura. I only wish I started the really high humidity earlier. The butt scute and the one above it are a little higher than the rest, but I've always been a fan of tortoises and turtles with a little texture to their shells.

I'll get a pic of the plastron tomorrow morning. It has a cool pattern and maybe someone can take a guess if it's a boy or girl (I know it's still early). I'm thinking girl since it's so round and hatched from the Arizona ground during a really hot summer.

 

[LeopardTortLover]

I didn't even notice any pyramiding! Think you've done really well. The pyramiding on mine is a lot worse and annoys me; only because I want her to be as healthy as possible. I love the pattern on yours.

 

[Tortus]

If those couple scutes were the beginning of pyramiding, I think I caught it early enough for it not to be very noticeable. Before I came to this forum I thought leopards were supposed to be pyramided, so it doesn't really bother me. Some of the scutes on mine were always sort of concave since I got it at almost 4 weeks old. I call them "anti-pyramided". It could just be the way it is and have nothing to do with husbandry.

Yours is still young and you're doing all the right things, so I'm sure it will be a beautiful adult. From all I've read here a little pyramiding is only cosmetic and won't hurt the animal at all. I know perfectly smooth leopards are praised here and it sort of amps up the pressure, but I wouldn't worry much about it. Animal forums are notorious for making people worry over things that aren't very important.

 

[Melly-n-shorty]

Tortus your Leopard is Beautiful!

 

[Tortus]

Thanks, Melly. Can anyone tell if it's male or female yet?

 

[MasterOogway]

5 months old today.

Only a gain of 40 grams last month. I thought it would be more.

Month 1: 2", 40 grams

Month 2: 2 1/4", 64 grams

Month 3: 2 1/2", 88 grams

Month 4: 2 3/4", 133 grams

Month 5: 3 1/2", 173 grams

I am wondering if the petstore was wrong on the age when I purchased him/her. According to them he is 4 months and is so much smaller. Is this normal growth for a baby leo? By the way what a beauty!!!! Is your tortoise a snow leopard ?

 

[Tortus]

I don't think it's furry enough to be a snow leopard.

As far as I know it's just a regular babcocki. I think my 4 month measurement may be off since it wouldn't be still at all that day. It was probably more around 3".

 

[MasterOogway]

I don't think it's furry enough to be a snow leopard.

As far as I know it's just a regular babcocki. I think my 4 month measurement may be off since it wouldn't be still at all that day. It was probably more around 3".

lol ...well hopefully my half pint will grow big & beautiful like yours. I traced him for the first time today and my measurement from last month was way off. He did gain from last week.

 

[Tortus]

I'm sure it will. I plan on getting some calipers for more accurate measurements. The weight is accurate though since I've tested the scale with certain food items and I use tare to subtract the weight of the paper plate.

 

[LeopardTortLover]

Wow! I'm loving that picture! I'm going to guess male because of the long tail.

 

[Melly-n-shorty]

such a beautiful smooth leopard!

 

[Tortus]

Wow! I'm loving that picture! I'm going to guess male because of the long tail.

I'm sort of hoping female and I know it's too early, but those "anal scutes" by the tail look male also.

I admit this is my first leopard so I have no idea what the youngsters are supposed to look like down there.

This is when I first took it out of the shipping container at just under 1 month old. It's covered in mud or poop or something so you can't see the scutes too well. Then again 4 months later at 5 months old just for a closer comparison:

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Shoot, I wanted to make those into 1 side-by-side picture for those with smaller resolution monitors, but the small editing window caused me to make another post.

 

[LeopardTortLover]

Hmm... see I'm not very experienced at sexing at all so you might want to wait for another answer. But on second thoughts it has quite a round body and round anal scutes which would suggest female. But the tail is quite long which would suggest male. It's a tricky one but now im leaning towards female.

 

[MasterOogway]

Wow! I'm loving that picture! I'm going to guess male because of the long tail.

I'm sort of hoping female and I know it's too early, but those "anal scutes" by the tail look male also.

I admit this is my first leopard so I have no idea what the youngsters are supposed to look like down there.

This is when I first took it out of the shipping container at just under 1 month old. It's covered in mud or poop or something so you can't see the scutes too well. Then again 4 months later at 5 months old just for a closer comparison:

---

Shoot, I wanted to make those into 1 side-by-side picture for those with smaller resolution monitors, but the small editing window caused me to make another post.

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Your Leopard has such beautiful coloring. If you don't mind me asking where did you purchase your leo from? Master Oogway has no black at all on his belly. Leopards are so beautiful and each so differ I wonder what Master Oogway will look like as an adult.