New member :)

[rhino56]

Hi all I just got a baby african leopard and am super excited about him/her.


My family has had them for years as pets so i'm somewhat familiar with their care but joined to learn as much as i can about them so i can really take care of him. I'm calling him a boy even though i don't know, only 2 months old.
My brother had one for years called Leo and it got big, sadly he passed away so my uncle took Leo the tortoise. After about 5 more years my uncle had a house fire and Leo was killed. That was about 6 years ago now and he still hasn't gotten another tortoise even though he's had them his whole life. He was very heart broken by the loss. They become family members really, like any pet that is around for years.
Right now i have him in a kiddie pool, with dirt in it, Saint Augustine grass with a tray of water in the center.
I have a heat light keeping one side of the pool warm with a rock he can bask on. I'll replace the light tomorrow or the next day with a metal halide light. and get a heat rock for at night. I just have iceberg lettuce for now and he ate some right away after a few sips of water when i got him.
I am going to get Romain tonight and anything else i can find that's good for him to eat.
here he is
http://www.ls1truck.com/upload/files/1/0514131425.jpg

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome Might just be the angle of the pic, but looks like there is very slight pyramiding starting. Toms great thread on raising a smooth leopard is listed below in my post. The third one is on leopards, the first is a good newbie read and the middle one is on raising smooth sulcatas, which will also pertain to leopards.

 

[sibi]

Be careful with the temps. If you keep your Leo too hot or with not enough water or soaks, this can dehydrate your baby thus causing pyramiding. Tom's care sheets can help you correct what you may need to do. As a side note, another of Tom's threads is below my name. If you have a dog, plan on getting a dog, or allow people to bring dogs to your home, then you need you to read it. Thanks.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

(So sorry about your brother)

 

[rhino56]

Thank you all very much, i've been reading a lot here about caring for my tort. One thing i noticed is he seems to move his head up and down for breathing? not all the time but is that normal? I've never taken care of such a young tortoise before so i don't know what's normal for them.

 

[JHoneycutt]

Cool tort. That's the same kind I want too. Until then tho, I'm pretty clueless about torts so I just keep doing homework and looking at everyone else's torts to gather information. Good luck!

 

[RuthJanice]

Beautiful baby! Welcome to the forum.

 

[lkwagner]

Welcome!
Are the temps warm enough all over the enclosure? Do you have a temp gun?

 

[rhino56]

Welcome!
Are the temps warm enough all over the enclosure? Do you have a temp gun?

I havent' checked yet but they seems to be plenty warm, it warm on one side where he has a dry rock to dry out on and a water spot in the center which is mid warm and then a cooler area out from under the light. I have very accurate temp measuring equipment so ill do that to be sure.

i think the bobbing up and down is kinda normal, i think i remember old Leo doing that too. just been such a long time.
I am a reef keeper so i am nuts about accuracy on temps, ph, calcium levels all that LOL.

 

[Instinct]

Welcome to the forum!
I'm sorry to hear about the passing of your families previous torts.

Your new little one is adorable though!

 

[shanu303]

Hello and Welcome to TFO!!! [/align]

 

[rhino56]

Thank you all My little tort seems to be doing just fine, gets a warm bath in the am and goes poo, then eats a variety of romain, turnip greens, kelp and mustard greens. Got him a heat rock for at night and just got to hook up the MH light for him. Temps are around 106F under the hottest area to 76F in the coolest area. I mist him everyday and the grass also, so basically he goes from an hour or 2 wet conditions to a few more hours of dry condtitions.
I am starting a new tub for him with bermuda grass with an area of lettuce and mustard greens growing. This will get about 6 to 7 hours of natural sunlight as it's in my patio. I'll have a shaded area for him also.