Leopard Tortoise Questions part 792

[CL84]

Hi all,

New to the forum here as a user but have been getting great info and chuckles for about a year now from various threads.

We recently purchased an 8 inch leopard tortoise from a reptile show here in LA, 2 weeks ago and have a few questions specific to this tortoise.

1. At 8 inches is it still important to keep 80/80 or should that drop down? I've seen/heard a few different things and cautious. He already has some slight pyramiding. If you look at the photo of his shell it looks like whomever had him moved him into a more humid environment after they noticed the pyramiding.

2. The "white" spots on the pyramiding is darker then the new growth "white." Does this mean he was moved indoors at some point or is this a normal pattern? Either way we actually decided to go with him because we liked the variances of color.

3. What are people keeping their 8 inch Leopards in/or where during the winter? I think he's a little small to roam around the backyard plus the seller told me he has been indoors.

4. I have been trying to feed him a grass based diet of Mazuri Tortoise diet for grassland and Timothy hay mixed collards, chard and dandelion and he doesn't seem to want any of it. He will only eat the mixed micro greens and clover in our garden bed. I know that is not their diet but how do I get him back on more high fiber grasses?

5. How old do you think this guy might be? I'm only assuming he's a boy because his shell is growing pretty narrow and he has a slight concave.

Thanks ahead for all of your advice. Please be nice.

 

[TechnoCheese]

Welcome to the forum! Glad you finally decided to join us
Your new guy is beautiful!
For diet, grab some of what he will eat and what you want him to eat, chop everything up super finely or use a food processor, wet everything slightly so it sticks, and mix it all together. You want everything chopped finely enough that he can't pick out the stuff he doesn't want to eat. Slowly increase the ratio of new stuff : old stuff, and over time he should eat what you want him to.

Unfortunately I don't keep this species, so your other questions are a little too specific for me to answer, but I'm sure someone who can answer them will be here soon

 

[Ink]

Welcome to the forum. If you post a picture of the pastron (bottom) and tail someone will be able to tell you male or female. I have a male leopard tortoise named Ink. The white, or light colored parts is new growth, as far as I can tell. Pretty tortoise. There is a care sheet you can search for on the forum for the proper care.

 

[Yvonne G]

When I kept leopards they weren't big grass eaters, preferring the more broad pleaded plants and weeds. They would readily graze on new grass growth tho

 

[wellington]

Actually, if the white or slight yellowish and is between the scutes it's new growth. Otherwise it's just his coloring. Can be white or yellowish in the coloring too.
Temps never lower than 80.
Not sure what you mean by 80/80
At 10 inches he can move outside 24/7 using a insulated heated night box for warming up on those cold days and for sleeping in at night. Make sure when that time comes, he goes in the box every night and you lock him in.
If you soak the mazuri and wipe it on any new foods you want to introduce that he doesn't like, most likely he will eat it. Most tortoises love the older style of Mazuri.
As for the hay, I have never gotten mine to really like it until now and they were hatched 2011. Timothy hay is too woodsy, if you want to keep trying hay, use orchard grass hay.
My leopards had no problem eating grass if it was the new growth. Now they eat any of it.

 

[wellington]

As far as what to keep him in. An aquarium is not big enough. He should have a 3 or 4 by at least 9 or 12 enclosure and I would make it a closed chamber to keep up the humidity. Leopards pyramid quite easy and it's much harder to get it too stop in an open top enclosure. A pop up portable greenhouse would work great for this.

 

[CL84]

Thanks, everyone!

@TechnoCheese - Great idea! Thank you!

@Ink - Attaching a photo. Let me know what you think!

@Yvonne G - Thanks for responding. I have seen your comments before so will incoroporate your advice. He is eating but just preferring to graze rather than eat what's offered.

@wellington - Really appreciate all the advice here. For 80/80 I was referring to the Temperature/Humidity. I love the idea of a pop up green house. I saw a lot of people on yt using one for their tegus. Now I have him in a 5x2 enclosure with a high humidity. I know it's small but it was only to get us through the next month or so before it's warmer here in Santa Clarita, CA. I don't think we can set up a full on 4 by 9 greenhouse enclosure indoors but can outdoors (which is where he will be living). We have purchased radiant panels & thermometer and insulated a new small dog house for him. My only concern is that it's too cold to keep him outside just yet. It has been going down to 39 degrees. But maybe I can added additional heat in the green house (even though some would escape)?

In general, would you think he's around 3-4 years old?

Thanks again!

 

[Tom]

Hi all,

New to the forum here as a user but have been getting great info and chuckles for about a year now from various threads.

We recently purchased an 8 inch leopard tortoise from a reptile show here in LA, 2 weeks ago and have a few questions specific to this tortoise.

1. At 8 inches is it still important to keep 80/80 or should that drop down? I've seen/heard a few different things and cautious. He already has some slight pyramiding. If you look at the photo of his shell it looks like whomever had him moved him into a more humid environment after they noticed the pyramiding.

2. The "white" spots on the pyramiding is darker then the new growth "white." Does this mean he was moved indoors at some point or is this a normal pattern? Either way we actually decided to go with him because we liked the variances of color.

3. What are people keeping their 8 inch Leopards in/or where during the winter? I think he's a little small to roam around the backyard plus the seller told me he has been indoors.

4. I have been trying to feed him a grass based diet of Mazuri Tortoise diet for grassland and Timothy hay mixed collards, chard and dandelion and he doesn't seem to want any of it. He will only eat the mixed micro greens and clover in our garden bed. I know that is not their diet but how do I get him back on more high fiber grasses?

5. How old do you think this guy might be? I'm only assuming he's a boy because his shell is growing pretty narrow and he has a slight concave.

Thanks ahead for all of your advice. Please be nice.

1. This is an incredibly smooth leopard tortoise. I don't see previous pyramiding. Pyramiding is caused by growth in conditions that are too dry. As long as he is still growing, pyramiding is a problem. I would keep this guy mostly in a large indoor closed chamber and put him in a large well planted outdoor enclosure when weather permits. Soooo, not this weekend. He's big enough to live outside now with a heated night box, but I wouldn't do that until late spring. Here is an example of the type of night box:

Single Tortoise Night Box

I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...

tortoiseforum.org

2. Looks beautiful and new growth looks normal.
3. I keep them in indoor 8 foot long closed chambers and move them outside full time in spring with a heated night box at around 8-10 inches.
4. Regular leopards are not grass eaters. Weeds, leaves, flowers and succulents. If you must use grocery store greens, add amendments. Read the food section for how to do that in this thread and the leopard care sheet near the bottom:

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

5. There is no way for us to know. Could be 12 months or 12 years. They all grow at wildly different rates and for a wide variety of reasons.

Your tortoise is male. That tail is a dead giveaway.

More questions are welcome. Enjoy!

P.S. I'm also in SCV, and I was at the Pomona show too!

 

[wellington]

The insulated dog houses don't work. Search for Toms night box threads. That's the kind of outdoor hide he will need.
The greenhouse I will post a pic of what I'm talking about about. Many use this kind as an indoor enclosure and I did also a few years ago
Yes on the 80/80 until he moves outside and then you can add a couple buckets of water to the hide for added humidity. It's in the build of Toms night boxes.
Yes, I would guess 4. Of course they all grow at different speeds, but a couple 3 year olds I hatched was 6 inches at 3 years.

 

[Ink]

Male very long tail, like my tortoise. Congratulations. Did you name him yet?

 

[CL84]

Thanks, @Tom & @wellington

Tom, we just missed each other! I also recognize your Santa Clarita, cinderblock wall in your night enclosure photos... lol. There were 4 Leopards at the Pomona show. There were the 3 in the vivarium where the one had the deformed shell then 1 with another vendor a little further inward. We went with the guy that was a little solo.

Wellington, we went with Kronk becuase he's such a stud!

Just wondering where to set up such a big indoor enclosure (which is not in the garage). This is all very short term as he will be outside soon enough. Next week we'll be moving into the 70's here.

I reviewed tom's night box before going with a dog house. I'm not going to pretend I'm nearly that handy and it seemed a little too large for our needs right now. I tested our dog house out overnight with a dog heater and it maintained a high temperature throughout the night. It was actually a little too hot. But until the panel comes in that was the best test I could simulate. I spent a long time insulating and poop proofing it (a main concern) so before I deem it a complete failure and waste of money, why would this not be adequate if it's function is to keep in heat?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099S2MLMN/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Aside from that, here's a better picture of the pyramiding. It's slight and looks like it was caught early enough.

Thanks again!

 

[wellington]

Thanks, @Tom & @wellington

Tom, we just missed each other! I also recognize your Santa Clarita, cinderblock wall in your night enclosure photos... lol. There were 4 Leopards at the Pomona show. There were the 3 in the vivarium where the one had the deformed shell then 1 with another vendor a little further inward. We went with the guy that was a little solo.

Wellington, we went with Kronk becuase he's such a stud!

Just wondering where to set up such a big indoor enclosure (which is not in the garage). This is all very short term as he will be outside soon enough. Next week we'll be moving into the 70's here.

I reviewed tom's night box before going with a dog house. I'm not going to pretend I'm nearly that handy and it seemed a little too large for our needs right now. I tested our dog house out overnight with a dog heater and it maintained a high temperature throughout the night. It was actually a little too hot. But until the panel comes in that was the best test I could simulate. I spent a long time insulating and poop proofing it (a main concern) so before I deem it a complete failure and waste of money, why would this not be adequate if it's function is to keep in heat?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099S2MLMN/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Aside from that, here's a better picture of the pyramiding. It's slight and looks like it was caught early enough.

Thanks again!

If you added insulation it might be okay. You have the cooler temps to check it out so that's good. Tom has I believe tried dog houses before and found they didn't work.
Be sure to put a door on it that you can shut him in at night. Also get thermostat to run the heat and then it can't get too hot.