New baby

[RubyG]

Hi, I'm new to the forum. I recently purchased a baby leopard from craigslist. (I'll say "he" as, of course it's too young to tell.) He is not in good shape. The owner cared for him, but not properly. Bad enclosure, bad substrate, only romaine lettuce, no calcium and no uvb bulb. I was not going to leave him, so I bought him. She says he's 16 months old. He is about 4 inch. His shell is deformed. My question is, at 16 months, and good husbandry, is there a chance his shell will return to somewhat normal? I'm not all about cosmetics, just curious. I have him in a 54 gal tub, cypress substrate, humid hide and started on a good diet (hay, grass, weeds, flowers, varied greens, calcium etc). I have an infra red bulb for night time, and a uvb for day. I'm keeping his enclosure covered in plastic and the temp and humidity are around 80deg/50%. So hoping he's not too far gone, and he'll be okay.

Can't seem to ad a picture, when I figure it out I will.

 

[G-stars]

Hello and welcome.

Glad you were able to save him. Most likely no his shell won't change, however you can contribute to what his new growth will look like. What are your temps? Warm side, cool side, basking and night? Also I believe leopards need a bit higher humidity levels. Which bulb are you using for his UV requirements. Sorry for all the questions, just trying to help out in getting everything the ideal conditions for your little guy.

 

[Jodie]

Ideally his humidity should be about 80 %. Never cooler than 80F with basking area near 100F. Glad you saved him. Oh and for night heat a CHE on a thermostat is best. The light messes with sleep. Make sure the UVB is not one of the coil bulbs. Use an MVB or the long tube lights. Good luck with this little one, and again good job saving him.

 

[RubyG]

 

[RubyG]

Hello and welcome.

Glad you were able to save him. Most likely no his shell won't change, however you can contribute to what his new growth will look like. What are your temps? Warm side, cool side, basking and night? Also I believe leopards need a bit higher humidity levels. Which bulb are you using for his UV requirements. Sorry for all the questions, just trying to help out in getting everything the ideal conditions for your little guy.

I've only got one thermometer, will have to get another for cool side. Warm side is in the 80s, with 50-80% humidity. UV bulb is a zoo med power sun 100 watts. Infra red is 75 watt. Thank you for your reply.

 

[RubyG]

Ideally his humidity should be about 80 %. Never cooler than 80F with basking area near 100F. Glad you saved him. Oh and for night heat a CHE on a thermostat is best. The light messes with sleep. Make sure the UVB is not one of the coil bulbs. Use an MVB or the long tube lights. Good luck with this little one, and again good job saving him.

Thank you! What is a CHE on a thermostat? I've covered his humid hide so it is dark, even though the infrared is on at night. uvb is a zoo med power sun, not a coil.

 

[Neal]

Phew, he is in rough shape. Lucky you have him and you're here.

His shell will never appear "normal", but that's not to say that he can't live a long and healthy life now. Seems like you're off to a good start, keep researching!

 

[Levi the Leopard]

MBD would be my concern.

Feed good foods, supply calcium and make sure it gets plenty of good ol' sunshine!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Ruby, and welcome to the Forum!

It's hard to say what contributed to the shell sinking in over the hip area like it does. It could be from lack of calcium, so MBD (metabolic bone disease), but that area also has a couple scutes stuck together, so that might be the contributing factor. Just hard to say. Other than that area over the hips the shell doesn't look bad at all. If you'd like to try an experiment, you can buy some extra virgin, cold pressed coconut oil (I think you may have to look in a health food store), dip a Q-tip into the oil and paint the area between the scutes that are stuck together. When 'painting,' rub with a bit of pressure, back and forth, back and forth. Then leave it on for about 5 minutes then wipe it off with an absorbent cotton cloth. This may stimulate some new growth in that area and help it to spread apart. If you do decide to try this experiment, I'd love for you to keep us in the loop so we can all learn if it worked or not. They grow slowly, so it may take a while. Be patient.

I operate a turtle and tortoise rescue and I've been wishing someone would turn in a tortoise with 'stuck' scutes, like yours, so I can try the experiment. So far none.

 

[Jodie]

Thank you! What is a CHE on a thermostat? I've covered his humid hide so it is dark, even though the infrared is on at night. uvb is a zoo med power sun, not a coil.

Ceramic heat emitter. It is heat only. Replace the red light with it. Plug it into a thermostat. You can get both from LLL Reptile or Tortoise Supply i believe.

 

[RubyG]

Hi Ruby, and welcome to the Forum!

It's hard to say what contributed to the shell sinking in over the hip area like it does. It could be from lack of calcium, so MBD (metabolic bone disease), but that area also has a couple scutes stuck together, so that might be the contributing factor. Just hard to say. Other than that area over the hips the shell doesn't look bad at all. If you'd like to try an experiment, you can buy some extra virgin, cold pressed coconut oil (I think you may have to look in a health food store), dip a Q-tip into the oil and paint the area between the scutes that are stuck together. When 'painting,' rub with a bit of pressure, back and forth, back and forth. Then leave it on for about 5 minutes then wipe it off with an absorbent cotton cloth. This may stimulate some new growth in that area and help it to spread apart. If you do decide to try this experiment, I'd love for you to keep us in the loop so we can all learn if it worked or not. They grow slowly, so it may take a while. Be patient.

I operate a turtle and tortoise rescue and I've been wishing someone would turn in a tortoise with 'stuck' scutes, like yours, so I can try the experiment. So far none.

I do have coconut oil, I will try this. Do I do it once a day?

 

[RubyG]

Ceramic heat emitter. It is heat only. Replace the red light with it. Plug it into a thermostat. You can get both from LLL Reptile or Tortoise Supply i believe.

Thanks I will look for it

 

[RubyG]

MBD would be my concern.

Feed good foods, supply calcium and make sure it gets plenty of good ol' sunshine!

He's outside now, probably the first time in a year based on what previous owner said (she was thinking of putting him outside... Smh!)

 

[newCH]

Glad to hear you saved him from the previous owner. What did you name him ?

 

[RubyG]

Glad to hear you saved him from the previous owner. What did you name him ?

His name is Bolt

 

[newCH]

Great name ! I love it !

 

[gingerbee]

Welcome!! Love leopards so glad you got this guy!!! Sounds like he'll thrive with you!!

 

[Yvonne G]

I do have coconut oil, I will try this. Do I do it once a day?

I really don't know. I would think once a day would be enough, though.

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. I don't know if anyone suggested this yet, but I would try to get the humidity to 80% but make sure the temps day and night don't fall below 80. You might call the previous owner and ask if the leopard was indented like that when they got it. If it wasn't, then MBD might be a better guess then the fused scutes. Glad you got him and are doing right by him. Even with the little problems, he is still a cutie