New to forum and new Leopard

[KateZ]

I am excited to see a forum dedicated to tortoise enthusiasits. I am a new member and tortoise owner. Earlier this year I adopted an eight year old Sonoran desert tortoise. I feel in love with him immediately. I knew I would have to add another tortoise to the family to get me thru the long hibernation of my Sonoran. I decided on a Leopard tortoise. I went about the planning of a separate habitat as I had heard that mixing species was not advised. Is this true? I did build a lovely habitat outdoors complete with two little cottages, a borough, law , green plants, hibiscus, etc.

When I got my little leopard earlier this week he seemed so tiny that I instantly k ew that the outdoor habitat would not work until he grows a bit more. Her is 13 months and about 5.5 inches. Still seems so tiny and fragile in. Or parison to my Sonoran. I rant immediately and bought a 20 gallon cement mixing plastic container. I bought the lamps used for daylight and heat. I am maintaining a basking spit at 93 degrees and an ambient temp of 82.

I have the right substrate, water dish etc. he seems to enjoy his daily soak, sleeps well and is eating. He does seem finicky. At a year I,d he seems to only like his romaine, mazuri and a slice of zucchini. He is eating only once a day. What foods can I introduce to him at one year old?

Since I live in SCottsdale, Az where it can get quite warm in the summer and a little chilly in the winter whe. Will a leopard be ready for an outdoor habitat?

 

[BILBO-03]

Hi and Welcome! the basking spot should be 100, and a picture would really help of the enclosure and tort.

 

[KateZ]

Hello,

Okay. Thank you. I will make the temperature adjustments. The first photo is the outdoor habitat that I built for him but he is still too small and the weather in Arizona ia a little cooler than usual The second photo is his indoor hanitat. 3.5 ft by 2 ft. It won't be an ideal spot for him for long as I wanted him to have room to roam and graze. The out door habitat now has sod laid down as well. If leopards prefer humid and hot temps I suppose winter in Arizona 70-80s may never work or will they do better as they grow?

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Kate
Your outside enclosure looks great !

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

These will help ! And I snuck in a pic of my leapards !

 

[KateZ]

Thank you. I love the chart. Thanks much. I just started growing some of the prickly pear cactus today. Is that dandelion growing in your yard too? You gave me some good ideas for planting. Thank you..

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Thank you. I love the chart. Thanks much. I just started growing some of the prickly pear cactus today. Is that dandelion growing in your yard too? You gave me some good ideas for planting. Thank you..

My 23 leopards keep me happy and yes I have desert torts also ! And many more ! Cause torts are a lot like " lays chips " cannot have just one !

 

[Greg T]

Your enclosures look fine. 70-80 degrees is okay if plenty of sun or a heat lamp available. They will want to stay warmer if possible. As it gets bigger, you can keep it outside longer and it will acclimate to lower temps. I will leave my adults outside until the temps fall below 60, but I know a guy near me who will leave his adults out in the 40's. I'm not condoning that, I wouldn't do it myself. They are pretty tough animals once they get several years old.

 

[wellington]

Love the outdoor enclosure, beautiful. For the inside enclosure, cover it and pour warm water in it and mix it around. Try to get the humidity up to 80% while your housing him inside. Raise the temp to 100 for basking and over all temps and night temps not below 80 with the 80% humidity. When he does move outside, you can try to make him a warm humid hide or spray the enclosure down to get some humidity.

 

[wellington]

Your enclosures look fine. 70-80 degrees is okay if plenty of sun or a heat lamp available. They will want to stay warmer if possible. As it gets bigger, you can keep it outside longer and it will acclimate to lower temps. I will leave my adults outside until the temps fall below 60, but I know a guy near me who will leave his adults out in the 40's. I'm not condoning that, I wouldn't do it myself. They are pretty tough animals once they get several years old.

Who is it that lets their leopards out even into the 40's? He's a member right? I remember a member a few years ago mentioning this. Don't remember if it was you or the actual person your talking about. I would love to know the exact way they do this. Also, there is a member, possibly this same person, that either only fed Mazuri, or fed a lot of Mazuri every day. Would love to find that person too and get an update on those torts. Can you help to get the info from your friend?

 

[KateZ]

Great progress for my little guy. 13 months old now. Been with me for two weeks. He is starting to eat now, enjoying the Arizona ☀️. Plenty of UVB, heat and humidity all are working magic. After losing quite a bit (he got down to 163 g) he is now weighing in over the past three days at about 182 g. So relieved. He is still getting a calcium injection for a few more days. He is tiring of store bought kale, romaine etc. he hasn't really shown interest in the mazuri. It's time to start planting landscaping that he prefers. Is hibiscus ok? Any other recommendations?

Also - do the white marks on the shell indicate growth on the leopards?