I haven't been as open about my South African leopards as much as my other tortoises. There's a reason for that, which isn't good per se, but basically I am very self conscious about them. Despite being around the same age as most of the other prominent SPP's on the forum; they are only about half the size or smaller and I've had some health issues with a few in the group which has been very challenging. After this tortoise filled week and talking with so many other active hobbyists, I now realize that that has been a very selfish thing to do, and that I'm not helping anyone by not sharing something that might have value even though it might reflect a negative light on me.
To give you some background, I picked up a large group in February of 2011. When I picked them up, they were hatchling size with little to no growth. I was told from the person I got them from that they were only a couple of weeks old...I can't confirm this, but after some time and speaking with other individuals who know more about the origins of the SPP in America, I came to suspect that they were quite a bit older. I would estimate that when I picked them up in February 2011, they would have been about 6 months old.
This group almost immediately began to develop problems with respiratory issues and intestinal prolapses (something I have never experienced before). Long story short, many were returned, the healthiest ones were sold off, and I was left with the current 7 which have been the most challenging for me. I have been working on this group with two prominent veterinarians in my area, and now this group seems to be on the right track, they are still just taking their sweet time of getting on pace with the other giants that are out there.
Overall though, I am pleased with how they look and behave now. Almost all of the group is as smooth as I have ever seen a tortoise in person, and this past summer season they all packed on a lot of weight.
Here are the lessons and assumptions I have made from this group; Keep in mind that my intention here is to not bash on any specific person as the individual I purchased these from actually went above and beyond in terms of customer satisfaction, in my opinion. As mentioned above, I have suspected that this group may have been as old as 6 months before I received them. In a tortoises life, that is a very critical time period. Based on my discussions with the person that I purchased from and what I have heard of the person who has the adults that produced this group, the tortoises were kept bone dry with minimal hydration. Basically, they were kept in a manner that we all on the forum would caution against.
To give you some background, I picked up a large group in February of 2011. When I picked them up, they were hatchling size with little to no growth. I was told from the person I got them from that they were only a couple of weeks old...I can't confirm this, but after some time and speaking with other individuals who know more about the origins of the SPP in America, I came to suspect that they were quite a bit older. I would estimate that when I picked them up in February 2011, they would have been about 6 months old.
This group almost immediately began to develop problems with respiratory issues and intestinal prolapses (something I have never experienced before). Long story short, many were returned, the healthiest ones were sold off, and I was left with the current 7 which have been the most challenging for me. I have been working on this group with two prominent veterinarians in my area, and now this group seems to be on the right track, they are still just taking their sweet time of getting on pace with the other giants that are out there.
Overall though, I am pleased with how they look and behave now. Almost all of the group is as smooth as I have ever seen a tortoise in person, and this past summer season they all packed on a lot of weight.Here are the lessons and assumptions I have made from this group; Keep in mind that my intention here is to not bash on any specific person as the individual I purchased these from actually went above and beyond in terms of customer satisfaction, in my opinion. As mentioned above, I have suspected that this group may have been as old as 6 months before I received them. In a tortoises life, that is a very critical time period. Based on my discussions with the person that I purchased from and what I have heard of the person who has the adults that produced this group, the tortoises were kept bone dry with minimal hydration. Basically, they were kept in a manner that we all on the forum would caution against.
