leopard food intake

[J.P.]

from what i have read, appetite and growth rate vary a lot among leopards. i just want to know if one of my leopards' appetite is within the normal range.

Since separating my leopards, I noticed that one of them is not feeding as well as the others, based on the amount of leftovers. I used to think that everybody was ok since they eat when i put the food and wheb i get back almost all the food is gone and they are either grazing or napping. Now that they get their own plates, i see that one is eating less. It's at four inches and weights 275grams. Since i noticed the weak appetite, i tried to monitor how much food it's eating and found out that it only eats an average of 9 grams a day...if i compare with the others, it is way below..the other four incher @310 grams eats up to 50grams and even the 3inchers at 120 grams can eat 20 or more grams of food daily...

Weighing method was done 2 ways...first by weighing total food less the leftovers..second was weighing torts prior to feeding and after (poop was factored in too)...the figures match up with a small variance that i attribute to water loss (evaporation of food and poop, and occasional urination). For convenience, water was given after data gathering.

I would not mind it at all if a dainty eater is normal. But i have four of them and all except one are eating a lot more so I am concerned.

 

[wellington]

Did you recently seperate them? Have you made sure all temps and humidity is correct? If it helps, I have three leopards. One male and two females. The two females eat like pigs, totally eating everything I give them. The male does not eat much, maybe 1/8 to 1/4 of what I give him, which is the same as the two females get each but he is of good weight and size. Now that it's winter, he has slowed down even a little more on his eating, like past winters, but the two females still eat like pigs.

 

[J.P.]

Thanks for your reply.

I separated them about two weeks ago. It's the only time I was able to tell one had a weaker appetite. Temps/humidity in closed chamber are as suggested, minimum of 80 in their hide, hot spot of 100, humidity is fluctuating a little but hovers around 80%. They get daily doses of natural sunlight, with available shade of course. It is getting colder at night, but not that cold, around 50F outside, but their enclosure remains warm.

I know husbandry is the number one suspect everytime there's a health issue. But I think if my husbandry is the problem, all my torts will be affected not just one. 1/8 to 1/4 of the amount others eat sounds about the same with mine. But they are all almost the same sizes.

I did notice that she has a rather picky nature...she eats the least on days I mix in vitamins and commercial tort food with the greens, and eats the most on days when I feed all natural.

I experimented by giving the usual mix of food but in separate piles. she likes dark green leaves the most, picks a little on grass and totally ignores any commercial diet. My normal routine is approximately 70% grass and 20% leaves, 10% commercial....for her case, would it be acceptable if i provide higher percentage of what she likes to encourage feeding?

 

[Jodie]

I wouldn't encourage being picky. You might try chopping it smaller so she is less able to pick out stuff. I have been successfully getting an 18 pound leopard to eat better doing this. A varied diet is important to health. Is this tortoise gaining weight, even if it is slower rate? I have also noticed that each of mine will eat less for a while and then more for a while. It seems to come in phases.

 

[phebe121]

My male is small then my female but they eat the same.but as for being picky i dont have a issue with i put like 8 or more diffrent foods in there dish a day . You should try chopping it up alittle and see if that works

 

[J.P.]

Normally, I do chop and mix everything well....if done this way, she will eat but quit sooner....if it's all her favorite, she eats a lot more. The rest do not care what food it is, they always eat a lot.

It's too soon to tell if she is gaining any weight. Sometimes she weights more than the day before, sometimes less. I attribute that to the difference of amounts she eats on a particular day against the size if her poop that day...I have stopped weighing daily since I already confirmed my suspicion that she eats less..i will continue weekly weighing to track any progress or lack thereof.

Their fecal a few weeks back came back negative for worms but there was amoeba on one...already treated with flagyl, all of them to be sure....separated due to that amoeba...the thing is, she was not the one who had it. The infected one is eating like a horse.

 

[J.P.]

Is there data on how much a healthy leopard should eat? Like in terms of percentage to body weight? I may be freaking out about her seeming lack of appettite when the real concern may be that the 3 piggies are actually eating more than ideal...just a thought...

 

[phebe121]

Wounder if that posible i give my to Leo's witch are.4 inch in size about 4cups of food a day ,it would be really nice to see what size they should be and how much one this size should eat like just a general from everone else

 

[Tom]

Is there data on how much a healthy leopard should eat? Like in terms of percentage to body weight?

None that I have seen. Too many variables.

You have stumbled upon, and elaborated upon very well, an issue that has been perplexing me for many years now. It is my latest mystery to try and solve. Appetite. Why do some tortoises of the same age out of the same clutch, with identical upbringing in every way from the day they hatched have such vastly different appetites? My two babies from my "End of Pyramiding Thread" are now four and a half years old. The male, which typically males grow faster and bigger sooner, is now around 25 pounds and 16" long. Not bad for a tortoise of that age. His clutch mate sister who hatched two weeks after him is now around 50 pounds and 20" long. Plain and simple, she eats more and more often. He will eat a few bites and walk away from a food tray, grass or weed patch. She will sit at the food tray and eat it all until there is not a scrap left. Why?

Its clearly all about individual appetite in my case, but WHY??? Why are their appetites so vastly different? I see this over and over in every group of every species. All I can speculate is that there must be some species survival advantage in the wild to clutchmates having variable appetites. Maybe the one who eats a few bites and moves on suffers less exposure to predators? Maybe the one who eats and eats and eats grows larger faster and so is less vulnerable to predators at an earlier age?

I don't have the answer... yet.

 

[redsn8k]

I think humans have the same issue. Pickiness may play into it?

 

[Alaskamike]

I think humans have the same issue. Pickiness may play into it?

This is intriguing. I notice a difference in mine too. I used to raise dogs eons ago , and in any litter I saw these differences. You would typically have one brute who ate like a pig , variations among the rest and one runt.

With pups it also involved competition for food. So I would make sure the smaller ones ate. I believe the issue may be more complex than apatite.

They eat less because they are less hungry ...but....
Are they less hungry because
- their metabolism requires less , moves slower ?
- they are genetically growing slower ?
- the mechanism that triggers " fullness" kicks in sooner with less food?

Look at siblings in humans - you sometimes see the same thing. I have a 6' 1" brother who eats like a bird , always has. At 5'10" I outweigh him by 30 lbs ( I like to think it's all muscle )

Mike

 

[leopard777]

let not forget dwarfism does occur in the animal kingdom , there are some discus who eat tons of protein food but doesnt grow big

 

[J.P.]

great answers everyone. i really appreciate it. it is comforting to know that other more experinced keepers have seen this kind of feeding behavior even in healthy tortoises.

i understand the bit about difference in appettite/growth caused by genetics. starting from hatchlings, there will be differences....the thing is, both the 4 inchers were acquired at the same time and they were exactly the same size, i do not have data about exact weight, but i picked the two most heaviest (by feel) and they felt the same weight. so prior to my purchase, they must have been eating the roughly same amount...

the 4 inchers came from florida about a month ago. maybe the food they were having at the breeder's was acceptable to both, and what i am providing now is not palatable to one? maybe one is genetically inclined to be more adaptable to change in conditions(climate/husbandry/food/etc...)

the reason i brought up his thread is i am terrified of health issues. sice torts are good at keeping their poblems a secret, anything out of the ordinary in their behavior makes me restless. does 1 picky eater in a group of 4 does make it unusual behavior? i guess more time is needed...as long as i can see consistent growth, regardless of slow or quick, i will be satisfied. maybe the appettie will increase when summer comes, or when she has had more time to acclimate. as long as this weaker appettite is not a health issue, i will be a happy tort keeper.

 

[J.P.]

@Tom, wow, your 4.5 year olds are big, even the male...are they SA? mine are babcocki or mixes so i guess i can't expect the same for mine. there's a little roughness on their shells too, so i guess not started as moist as should be, but not that dry too i guess.

 

[Tom]

@Tom, wow, your 4.5 year olds are big, even the male...are they SA? mine are babcocki or mixes so i guess i can't expect the same for mine. there's a little roughness on their shells too, so i guess not started as moist as should be, but not that dry too i guess.

Yes. Mine are all SA leopards.