New owner to two 2month old leopards

[PeriwinkleDandelion]

I recently purchased two leopard tortoises and was getting mixed answers on temperatures and humidity. I live in Arizona so summers can be brutal and winter mild/ freezing. Due to how small they are they sleep indoors because we have predators in our area. Some say they can take basking up to 105 degrees but others say 80-90. As for humidity, some say 60% at least. I have it at about 30-40% because other sites said no humidity. I was wondering what others are doing to keep their little guys happy. They do go outside for hours to soak up the sun and run around.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

welcome to the forums! the basking stop temps should be around 95 and the cool side should be no lower than 80. humidity should be at 80% with moist substrate. humidity is a must for hatchling care, if the have no humidity there shells will become deformed. keeping 2 leopards together is not a good idea the bigger one will become dominant and put unneeded stress into there environment. read this entire care sheet. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

 

[Jodie]

Read the care guides in the Leopard section. There is a lot of bad info out there. Welcome to the forum. A lot of experience people here, and really great info. I keep my babies at 80% humidity. Basking area about 100F. Never colder than 80F

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

can you pot some enclosure pics? are you using a coil bulb? do you soak daily?

 

[cmacusa3]

Welcome! Follow that care sheet and you will be a happy tort owner. Those are 2 nice looking leopards!

 

[PeriwinkleDandelion]

Jodie, and the rest of the gang, they are buddies. Thank you for the tips! The temp never drops lower than 80 on the cool side. Got to love Az for that! I use a bark with coconut fiber mixed in. I am getting the hay soon, recently found I was allergic to it, go figure! So had to take care of that first to be able to be near it. They are flood lights for basking. My pet stores do not have a wide selection but it keeps temps up. The other side of the enclosure gets hot 90+, and they stay in a 90 gallon tank for the night. It was the best way to keep humidity up and temp. They do get soaked daily since that seems to be their favorite thing. Then I feed them a variety of foods like grass, dandelion, flowers, et cetera. No fruits! They stay outside while I read for hours. I want to build the enclosure outside but with the feral cat, owl, and frequent coyote, I wanted to wait till they became bigger. We also get 117 degree temps during summer which is to much for them for weeks. I like that I can control the temp/humidity. They are very active and happy, had them a month now so I feel like I am doing some things in the right direction.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

Jodie, and the rest of the gang, they are buddies. Thank you for the tips! The temp never drops lower than 80 on the cool side. Got to love Az for that! I use a bark with coconut fiber mixed in. I am getting the hay soon, recently found I was allergic to it, go figure! So had to take care of that first to be able to be near it. They are flood lights for basking. My pet stores do not have a wide selection but it keeps temps up. The other side of the enclosure gets hot 90+, and they stay in a 90 gallon tank for the night. It was the best way to keep humidity up and temp. They do get soaked daily since that seems to be their favorite thing. Then I feed them a variety of foods like grass, dandelion, flowers, et cetera. No fruits! They stay outside while I read for hours. I want to build the enclosure outside but with the feral cat, owl, and frequent coyote, I wanted to wait till they became bigger. We also get 117 degree temps during summer which is to much for them for weeks. I like that I can control the temp/humidity. They are very active and happy, had them a month now so I feel like I am doing some things in the right direction.

tortoises can't have friends, thats a human thing. are they the same age? do not replace the substate with hay. it gets moldy if you put any water on it and it cant hold humidity.

 

[leigti]

When you tortoises get older, and you have them in separate outdoor enclosures , they will probably dig burrows to escape the heat. Also make sure that they have lots of shade, plants around if at all possible, and you can hose down the area with water a few times a day, or have a misting system. That will help with those ridiculously hot days. But right now it is dangerous to have them out there in hot weather.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

When you tortoises get older, and you have them in separate outdoor enclosures , they will probably dig burrows to escape the heat. Also make sure that they have lots of shade, plants around if at all possible, and you can hose down the area with water a few times a day, or have a misting system. That will help with those ridiculously hot days. But right now it is dangerous to have them out there in hot weather.

leopards are not a burrowing species.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello and welcome to the TFO from Phx. AZ . Leopards rule ! My leopards do great here , but that may cause I flood my enclosures daily I have about 20 leopards . They are great . My biggest problem is a dust storm and small parts of plastic ( Frys food bags) bags !

 

[PeriwinkleDandelion]

Thank you guys. I will not purchase hay, which is great then since it makes me swell. Hahaha and keep coconut fiber/moss/ orchid bark. I have plants in there and hide outs too. I appreciate all the helpful tips!

 

[leigti]

leopards are not a burrowing species.

Oh okay. I stand corrected. For some reason I thought they did, sorry.

 

[PeriwinkleDandelion]

Wow grandpa turtle that is a gorgeous enclosure! So nice to see a fellow Az resident too. I enjoyed taking them outside after we had the rains recently since the humidity was up and moist out. Do your twenty torts all stay together and not fight? Mine are not thank goodness. Probably because they are so young. They are always near each other and sleep together. But like others had mentioned that aggression can happen and when that time comes I will separate. I am home 24/7 so I am always around them.

 

[leigti]

Thank you guys. I will not purchase hay, which is great then since it makes me swell. Hahaha and keep coconut fiber/moss/ orchid bark. I have plants in there and hide outs too. I appreciate all the helpful tips!

I am allergic to hey also when we are all saying to separate your tortoises and then you see a picture of a bunch of them together the difference is a pair of tortoises versus a group of tortoises. Pears almost never do well at all, where a group of three or more usually works out better, unless it is two males and one female and then it is a disaster for the female.

 

[PeriwinkleDandelion]

Oh okay. I stand corrected. For some reason I thought they did, sorry.

Mine burrow half way, not completely though and only if able to. Az dirt does not allow for it, hard as a rock. So they play in the garden bed where they can use softer dirt. They even slightly burrow in bark I have noticed. I always thought them not the burrowing kind to and I was surprised they will dig a little.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

Wow grandpa turtle that is a gorgeous enclosure! So nice to see a fellow Az resident too. I enjoyed taking them outside after we had the rains recently since the humidity was up and moist out. Do your twenty torts all stay together and not fight? Mine are not thank goodness. Probably because they are so young. They are always near each other and sleep together. But like others had mentioned that aggression can happen and when that time comes I will separate. I am home 24/7 so I am always around them.

are the torts the same age?

 

[PeriwinkleDandelion]

I am allergic to hey also when we are all saying to separate your tortoises and then you see a picture of a bunch of them together the difference is a pair of tortoises versus a group of tortoises. Pears almost never do well at all, where a group of three or more usually works out better, unless it is two males and one female and then it is a disaster for the female.

I have heard horrible stories about female and two males. Make me completely shocked!

 

[PeriwinkleDandelion]

are the torts the same age?

Yes same age.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

Yes same age.

is one tort bigger than the other?

 

[PeriwinkleDandelion]

is one tort bigger than the other?

Yeah by a little bit.