Meet Hoppy the leopard tortoise

[Sticky Feets]

Just got my first tortoise 2 weeks ago at the Orlando Repticon. He's about 3 months old. We live in Orlando Florida so he gets to be outside more with the humidity. But been cooped up inside since I got him due to the recent cold snap. He's also featured on my YouTube channel Sticky Feets. Here's pics of his indoor and outdoor enclosure...still debating if I should do a closed chamber for the indoor one cuz we get a lot of humidity as is. (Just learned about them). Average of about 45-65% humidity just indoors already and I've been misting and doing daily soaks. And in about a month the weather will be back to prime conditions for him to stay outside all day. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Sticky Feets]

Also just learned about the dangers of those water bowls, it has now been replaced by a plate

 

[Tim Carlisle]

 

[wellington]

Always best for little ones to be kept indoors for the first two years in a closed chamber where everything, heat and humidity can be controlled. The younger they are the more prone they are to getting sick with rapid changes that nature can throw at ya.

 

[Alaskamike]

Welcome to the greatest tortoise forum in the world !
Well...at least one of the greatest

I too live in Florida - South down by Fort Myers. Just a few ideas , since I’ve raised a few Leopards here. Still have one that’s about 6 yo.

If you want his shell to have the best development , you will need closed chamber indoors. 45-65% is too low humidity to hydrate the shell & keep it from pyramiding in fast growth of youth. You need 80-90%. This can easily be done with a plexiglass top , even Clear plastic cover. Your heat & UV lamp would need to be under the cover. There are many examples on the forum of inventive ways to do this.

I would not put him out day & night even in the summer for the first 2 years- Unless you can make a completely predator proof enclosure , raccoons, possum, rats , feral cats etc can get them. They are also amazing at disappearing acts ; burrowing under mulish, weeds & grass. You’d swear they got out

What I did was to make an outside enclosure. Plant it real good & put them out there during the day , bringing them in to the chamber at night. On monsoon rain days , or other inclement weather they just stayed in. They don’t need 8 hrs of sun everyday to have enough d3.

It’s winter ( Florida winter now ) but on days it is 70+ & sunny he can be out in a planted enclosure, just be sure he has shade & water too.

Get a digital temp readout. I got mine at Wallmart. Shows temp + humidity. The ones they sell in pet stores are junk - don’t trust ‘em.

A heat gun ( got at Home Depot ) is very valuable too. Check basking area often. You don’t want to burn his shell or dry it out too much.

Good fortune to you & your little one
Mike

 

[Sticky Feets]

Thanks for the tips! I'll have to make arrangements for an indoor enclosure then. His outdoor enclsoure is a ZooMed tortoise house so it's safe. I'll just bring him out occasionally to bask in the sun instead of leaving him out all day then. I agree with the crappy pet store products. I keep snakes and geckos too so I have the good hygrometers/thermometers from Home Depot and a temp gun already. Since his only heat source right now is a lighted bulb, at night he goes into a small tub in my snake rack for warmth in the dark. Didn't realize that his mini halogen bulb is mostly a spot heat source, will have to get a CHE too then

 

[Sticky Feets]

None of the research I did prior to getting Hoppy prepared me for the little nuances of tortoise keeping haha, I'll have to just learn as I go

 

[Sticky Feets]

Here's Hop's new enclosure! It's just a 50 gallon tub with the lid split in half and the heating suspended by their cords hanging from my metal storage rack. I replaced his spot basking light with a 65 watt flood light like Tom has suggested in other threads. With the color being so yellow though do I need to add a UVB or some daylight colored bulb so it actually looks like he's outside? The yellow tint looks so indoorsy. Soft white was the only color the bulb came in, couldn't find a daylight one.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hi

 

[Tim Carlisle]

 

[Nursemomzie]

How is Hoppy doing? I just watched your video on youtube and I know you were concerned since he was started out in a dry environment.

 

[Sticky Feets]

He’s doing great. Still small for what others on this forum have had for leos at the 1 year mark, but he finally hit 100 grams and his shell is coming out nice and smooth. I have another post where I’ve been uploading monthly photos to track his shell growth but I haven’t uploaded in awhile.

 

[Nursemomzie]

He’s doing great. Still small for what others on this forum have had for leos at the 1 year mark, but he finally hit 100 grams and his shell is coming out nice and smooth. I have another post where I’ve been uploading monthly photos to track his shell growth but I haven’t uploaded in awhile.

Glad to hear it!