Newbie

[blyned1]

Hello all,

I am new to the forum. I currently own a three year old Leopard tort. His indoor enclosure is an Exoterra( 90 x 45 x 60 cm) terrarium( I removed the top to help with airflow). The substrate is a mix of reptisand and coconut fiber. He also has and outdoor sweater box filled will bermuda, lettuces, and clover. His indoor enclosure is kept at 80-90 degrees, and outside is whatever the temp. is in AZ.
His diet consists of Mazuri pellets every other day, and a mix of greens, grass, and lettuces. All topped off with a calcium powder. He is soaked every other day.
My biggest concern is that he is not very active and he has been growing very slow. He will come out to eat, and then he will travel to his little hut and stay there for the remainder of the day. Even when he is in the sweater box, he is normally hidden in one of the corners. He is a healthy eater and drinks when he is soaked. The only time he really cruises is when he is on the floor. Even then he books it to a "safe" place and hides. No discharge, and no labored breathing from him. Is he just super shy? Any suggestions would be greatly apprecited. TIA

 

[Jacqui]

Hi! Just to give us an idea, how slow has his growth been? How much growth would you guess since you brought him home? With the temps, are you saying the entire enclosure is that one temp or is that the highest or the lowest temp? How much outside time does he get?

 

[Arizona Sulcata]

Welcome fellow Arizonan!

 

[tortle]

Your enclosure sounds too small. It just might need more room, hence why it only cruises when it's on the vast floor.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Tia: Welcome!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[pam]

Welcome.

 

[blyned1]

Sadly I have not been keeping a log of his growth. 90 is the high. I try to give him at least three hours out doors, broken up through out the day. He goes out in the morning for an hour, noon an hour, and then in the evening. I worry that he will get too hot outside, even with the shade he has. I know it's probably silly, considering they are from Africa, and it's horribly hot there. LOL
I am looking to build a more permanent outdoor enlclosed area for him. I know that some ppl keep their torts outdoors here in AZ. He just seems too little to do that. Any suggestions?

 

[Neal]

How big is your tortoise?

My leopards are outside full time in AZ at one year of age. Even as new hatchlings, I get them outside when I can. I would imagine a 3 year old would do really well outdoors all the time.

You'll need a lot of shade in your outdoor enclosure. These types of plants make very good shady areas - http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-The-Best-Plants-for-Outdoor-Enclosures#axzz23X752Y7y

 

[TORTOISEMAN1]

Welcome!

 

[blyned1]

Thank you for the plant list, I want to add more variety to his enclosure. I re-vamped my lettuce patch and turned it into a new area for the tort. I kept some areas of lettuce and planted some bermuda seed. You can see pics of it in the enclosure area of the forum.
My biggest concern right now are the flies. They are horrible! I have been keeping him out for longer periods of time in the mornings and evenings before it gets super hot. He does seem more frisky. I even caught him nibbling on some of the lettuces.