Leopard Tortoise Questions

[King Jack4th]

Hey guys, I have had my leopard tortoise for about 6 months and I had a few questions/concerns.
1. Does it look like his shell is Pyramiding? (I recently bought him a HUGE water dish to soak in)

2. Do i have to place him in his water dish every night or will he soak when he needs?

Additional Info:
-His container is sprayed down every morning
-The hot side is around 100F dropping to 95-90F at night

 

[wellington]

Little hard for me to tell, but looks like there may be some very slight start of it. It may just be the angle. He looks good either way.
You should be soaking him in warm water everyday for 20-30 minutes. Also, have a water dish for him 24/7 in his enclosure.

 

[Wartortle]

Even though the enclosure is sprayed down every morning, it's still very hard to maintain the right humidity with an open top. I'd get a humidity gauge so you could measure the humidity. They're only like $10. See the enclosures page for a few ideas. He does have slight pyramiding, but it's not anything to worry about.

 

[Yvonne G]

I, too, have a very open tort table for my leopard hatchlings. What I did to make sure they didn't pyramid was to keep the hiding place stuffed with moist sphagnum moss. The babies would go in the hide and just burrow into that moist moss. They're over 3 years of age now, and very smooth. I've got another one coming up that's just about 6 months and he's living in that tort table with sphagnum moss in the hiding place. It works.

 

[King Jack4th]

Little hard for me to tell, but looks like there may be some very slight start of it. It may just be the angle. He looks good either way.
You should be soaking him in warm water everyday for 20-30 minutes. Also, have a water dish for him 24/7 in his enclosure.

Is the soaking a must? Even with a huge water dish and a moist hide? I am fine if it is. I am just wondering if its a preference kind of thing or a must.

 

[King Jack4th]

I, too, have a very open tort table for my leopard hatchlings. What I did to make sure they didn't pyramid was to keep the hiding place stuffed with moist sphagnum moss. The babies would go in the hide and just burrow into that moist moss. They're over 3 years of age now, and very smooth. I've got another one coming up that's just about 6 months and he's living in that tort table with sphagnum moss in the hiding place. It works.

Thanks for the advice! Adding moist sphagnum moss to his hide right now. Do you soak your tortoises? Is this something I should do?

 

[Yvonne G]

I pay attention the the babies and do it on an individual basis. I have some that will get up every morning and go to the waterer, and others that never go to the waterer. Those I soak every day, the others, that drink on their own, I don't.