My new leopard tortoise isn't drinking water

Sol33

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I recently got my new leopard tortoise. She isn't a hatchling that is all I know about her age. At the beginning she ate everything I gave her including the mazuri tortoise diet. But now she only eats the clover and the romaine lettuce (I read somewhere however that romaine lettuce is low in nutrition). She also doesn't eat the grass and the wildflowers that I pick for her (I suppose that she's never seen grass since she comes from a store in Hong Kong; Mong Kok where the animals aren't treated very well mistreated). Lastly what scares me the most is that I've never seen her drink from the water bowl in her enclosure. Sometimes i see the water level drop but I think that it's just because it evaporated. I know this is a lot of problems at once but I was just wondering if I was doing anything wrong!
 

Tim Carlisle

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Has there been any change to her environment? Heat and humidity levels up to par? Will she drink when you soak her?
 

Sol33

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In the place I bought her she didn't have a heat lamp or a water bowl and when I soak her she doesn't really try to drink she spends her time trying to escape. When I bring her outside on the grass though she's very active. I know that where I bought her wasn't the best source but I felt really bad for her so I bought her.
 

Sol33

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Sorry it's hard to take pictures of her she's so shy. Also, I am saving up for a new enclosure since I know this one is too small for her. (I don't actually know if she is female I just think of her as a female. IMG_0560.JPG IMG_0559.JPG
 

Tim Carlisle

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Very cute! What are the temperatures (high/low)? What is the humidity level? What kind of heat bulb are you using? What kind of substrate is that? Is your enclosure covered on the top to trap in the heat and humidity? Sorry for all the questions, but they are pertinent to your concerns about eating and drinking.
 

Sol33

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The temperatures are quite high (around 30˚c). The humidity level is at around 55% (It is much higher in the summer). The substrate is hay, soil and corncob grain. Sorry I am not sure about the kind of heat but that I am using since I threw away the box and I can't find it in the store anymore in the store. No the enclosure isn't covered.
 

Tim Carlisle

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Thanks for the info. Without going too deep into concerns with your setup, I'd like you to please take a look at the Leopard Tortoise Care Sheet. It will give you info on the proper lighting, heating, substrate, enclosure parameters, and more. Your humidity level is too low and your temps may not be quite high enough. . Follow those guidelines and she'll start eating like a pig! It worked for my leo.

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.78361/
 
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