Need Leopard Tortoise help!

Status
Not open for further replies.

nchan94

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Messages
30
Hey guys, Im new to the thread so I don't really know how this goes so imma wing it XD

Im from Hong Kong and I own 4 Leopard Tortoises, 2 are 1 months old and the other 2, I believe are almost 1 year old.

I put them together in this big tank and they seem to get along well with each other.

I just have a few questions that I need answering and can't seem to get a straight answer online.

1. What Kind of substrate should I use? The guy who sold me the turtles said I should use this corn cob bedding, but online said I should use 50/50 mix of play sand and coconot coir. So i used the 50/50 sand mix. Is this a good choice? Im afraid the turtles would accidentally eat the soil or play sand and I know thats bad for them :S any suggestions?

2. I've been feeding them Kale + grass + Mazuri Tortoise diet pellets. I've been mixing them together every morning. Any suggestions? What kind of vegetables can I use instead of kale?

3. How humid should the tank be?

4. I saw this rabbit food package called "Birch Back Herbage" and all it contains is weeds, grass and hay and it claims to be a high fiber diet. Would this be appropriate for the turtles? Right now I'm buying dried grass from a local pet store and the owner said its "American Grass" :S. What do you guys think?

I know its a lot but I'll appreciate it if you guys could help me out!

Thanks!
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,390
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Welcome to the Forum, nchan94!

I like orchid bark. I don't use any sand at all because I've seen radiographs of baby tortoises with sand impaction.

You can offer them any dark, leafy greens including kale. Maybe you can moisten the rabbit food, chop it smaller and give that in addition to his fresh food.

Baby leopard tortoises will grow nice and smooth if you keep them in a humid environment. If you can make your big tank a closed chamber in order to keep the humid air inside, that would be good. If not, then you can make them a humid hiding place. But don't let them get cold while they're in a moist environment.
 

nchan94

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Messages
30
Well actually to be more precise, the sand is some sort of "calcium sand" made for desert reptiles. The sand contains calcium in it. Do you think thats bad?
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Wild leopards eat a lot of broadleaf weeds, succulents and leaves. They don't eat a lot of grass, dried or otherwise, unless we are talking about the South African subspecies.

I agree with Yvonne about the substrate. It's difficult to make a recommendation because we don't know what is available over there, but I like orchid bark, coco coir and cypress mulch. I would never use corn cob bedding or any sand at all.

I'm not a fan of grocery store foods, but if that's all you can get then favor endive and escarole heavily and mix in lots of other variety.
 

Greg T

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 8, 2008
Messages
1,183
Location (City and/or State)
League City, TX
Welcome to the forum.

For a substrate, I have tried the sand/dirt mix and it works okay as long as you keep it moist. If you spray the tank a few times a day with water, that helps keep the substrate moist while also increasing the humidity. You need to start thinking of how you will keep them in another year because they will outgrow that tank quickly.

Feed them lettuce like red or green leaf, and spring mix which has several type of lettuce. I found Kale to be too tough. Keep their main diet based on lettuce and you can mix in other stuff for variety. I don't know what type of "american grass" you have, but that sounds strange. They also will also eat cactus pads if you can find those. You can mix in some treats like melons or strawberies occasionally also. I feed mine wetted mazuri every other day or so too.
 

Laura

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
7,502
Location (City and/or State)
Foothills above Sacramento CA
calcium sand is still sand.. and Not good...
Be sure all are eating, your enclosure is big enough for four animals, and soakings are important as well.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
nchan94 said:
Well actually to be more precise, the sand is some sort of "calcium sand" made for desert reptiles. The sand contains calcium in it. Do you think thats bad?

Yeah. That's bad. Even worse than regular play sand. If there are any mineral or calcium deficiencies in your diet, they may decode to intentionally eat that calcium sand. I would scrap it.
 

nchan94

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Messages
30
Tom said:
Wild leopards eat a lot of broadleaf weeds, succulents and leaves. They don't eat a lot of grass, dried or otherwise, unless we are talking about the South African subspecies.

I agree with Yvonne about the substrate. It's difficult to make a recommendation because we don't know what is available over there, but I like orchid bark, coco coir and cypress mulch. I would never use corn cob bedding or any sand at all.

I'm not a fan of grocery store foods, but if that's all you can get then favor endive and escarole heavily and mix in lots of other variety.

Wouldn't it be dangerous if the turtles eat the dirt or the soil?
 

LeopardTortLover

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 17, 2012
Messages
962
Location (City and/or State)
Manchester, UK
Wouldn't it be dangerous if the turtles eat the dirt or the soil?

Nope, its more dangerous if they eat sand as it can cause impactions. Dirt/soil will degrade and pass through. And yes, coco coir and coco fibre are pretty much the same thing.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,390
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Have you checked your local pet stores? It comes in a compressed brick and here in the states it's called Bed-A-Beast.
 

erosal

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2013
Messages
20
Location (City and/or State)
Hong Kong - Cebu
emysemys said:
Have you checked your local pet stores? It comes in a compressed brick and here in the states it's called Bed-A-Beast.

unfortunately the pet store that i bought my tortoise doesnt have coco coir. they offered me corn cob instead. they were using it as well on their tortoises :(
 

Tortus

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2012
Messages
970
Location (City and/or State)
Maryland
nchan94 said:
Is coconut Coir the same as coconut Fiber?

In my experience they're pretty much identical. I was using coconut coir bricks that I had left over from a terrarium. After they ran out, I switched to Eco Earth coconut fiber bricks.

Visually, they look the same to me. But the Eco Earth seems to be more absorbent. When I dump water on it, it soaks in right away. Where the coir I was using before the water would lay on top and soak in more gradually.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top