Personality of Leopard

[July]

What is the personality of the leopard tortoise? I have only experience with Redfoots and I heard one breeder refer to them as "pretty rocks". I'm thinking of getting one, but love to see them out and crawling around and being interested in life. Tell me how yours are--shy? Outgoing? Or does it just vary individual to individual?
Thanks!

 

[wellington]

A little of all I would guess. My male 3 1/2 year old first leopard Tatum is very friendly. I can touch all his legs, tail, head neck, he doesn't care what I do. When he does walk his area, he walks it like he's the king. However, he does like to stay inside his tort garage more. My two females, well the one lives being outside and is the first too the door to go out. She just likes to eat all day. The other, I haven't had very long. She is shy at first, then pops out her head and all limbs. She likes to graze and roam. My first one I raised since he was about 3 months, lots of hands on. The other two were already 3 and 4 years old and I don't think they had as much hands on.

 

[Jodie]

In my experience they are very much so individuals. My first, Mort is moody. One day he is very friendly and comes to me when I am feeding him or whatever, the next he sucks in and won't talk to me at all. My biggest and newest is always very social and sweet. I have 4 little ones. The one I have had for 9 months is also very social and super sweet. He always comes out when I am in there. These 3 will all eat from my hand. My 3 new little ones are sweet but shy. They will not usually take offered food from my hand, but they are friendly when I pick them up for soaking or whatever.

 

[Elohi]

I have 4 leopards. Three of them just recently turned a yr old and then I have an older female that is two and a half.-ish
My three one year olds are very comfortable with everything I do and never retreat to their shells. They are used to being handled frequently and even enjoy head rubs. Beans and Freckles seem to like handling the most. Watson could take it or leave it but never retreats to his shell.
Summer I just adopted recently and she is still not 100% sure of everything. She may retreat to her shell but never for very long, she's too curious to stay in there too long, I think.
I really like the personality of each of them. They are much more than pretty rocks to me.

Here is a funny little clip of Beans shaking his tortoise butt.
http://instagram.com/p/tDSSW8stz2/

 

[Tom]

This topic always stirs up controversy. First of all there are two main types available here in the states, with a third type being crosses of the two. There are "regular" leopards. These come from many parts of the range and have been mixed with each other and South Africans for decades. No telling what you've got. "Normal" leopards tend to be shy and not very outgoing. Then there are the South Africans. They are as outgoing and bold as any species you will ever see. Especially the males. Fearless.

Because of all this mixing of tortoises from different locales, if you get a true South African descendant, you will have a bold curious outgoing tortoise. If you get a regular leopard you could have any number of genetics mixed in there and their personalities run the whole spectrum from totally unafraid to very shy.

The above opinion is based on observations of hundreds of captive leopards and a few wild ones over a span of more than 20 years.

 

[lisa127]

Thanks for this thread. This is the tortoise I have always dreamed of getting so it's nice to read people's opinions.

 

[Alaskamike]

I have two that are 8 & 9 months old. The are bold and have no fear of me or anything. The are what look to be " regular " leopards ( single spots ) They were handled allot. I have no idea if that made a difference.

 

[July]

This topic always stirs up controversy. First of all there are two main types available here in the states, with a third type being crosses of the two. There are "regular" leopards. These come from many parts of the range and have been mixed with each other and South Africans for decades. No telling what you've got. "Normal" leopards tend to be shy and not very outgoing. Then there are the South Africans. They are as outgoing and bold as any species you will ever see. Especially the males. Fearless.

Because of all this mixing of tortoises from different locales, if you get a true South African descendant, you will have a bold curious outgoing tortoise. If you get a regular leopard you could have any number of genetics mixed in there and their personalities run the whole spectrum from totally unafraid to very shy.

The above opinion is based on observations of hundreds of captive leopards and a few wild ones over a span of more than 20 years.

 

[July]

So not to change the direction of my original thread, but how does one know what type or mix they may or may not be purchasing? Maybe you can reference another thread, but when I see pictures that the breeder has-what indicators may tell me if they are "regular" or "normal" or some mix?

 

[Tom]

So not to change the direction of my original thread, but how does one know what type or mix they may or may not be purchasing? Maybe you can reference another thread, but when I see pictures that the breeder has-what indicators may tell me if they are "regular" or "normal" or some mix?

That's where you fall into the two types available here in the states.

Type 1: Could be pure Tanzanians (just for example), or it could be Kenyans mixed with Tanzanians, mixed with a South African. There is no way to know.

Type 2: South African Leopards. You will know that you are getting one of these because they are roughly twice the price and the people selling them know what they have.

There is a thread here on the forum demonstrating the differences in appearance between the two.

 

[MichaelS]

I've been dealing with leopards for about six months now and have purchased 'regular' leopards from three different breeders here on TFO. My opinion is it has to do with how much contact they have had with humans as to how 'shy' or 'bold' they are in general but also individuals have there own 'personalities' as well. I will say that very young hatchlings like two to three weeks old seem to be more bold regardless of the source. My experience is with about 20 hatchlinges ranging from 3 weeks to 5 months old. I know it is small sample size but that is my two cents.

Now as for South African leopards, I bought 12 hatchings and they are all fearless like Tom says. In fact I tried very gently to get a few to withdraw into their shells so I could get a still photo and had no success... my avatar was taken when that one was asleep

 

[Tom]

I've been dealing with leopards for about six months now and have purchased 'regular' leopards from three different breeders here on TFO. My opinion is it has to do with how much contact they have had with humans as to how 'shy' or 'bold' they are in general but also individuals have there own 'personalities' as well. I will say that very young hatchlings like two to three weeks old seem to be more bold regardless of the source. My experience is with about 20 hatchlinges ranging from 3 weeks to 5 months old. I know it is small sample size but that is my two cents.

Now as for South African leopards, I bought 12 hatchings and they are all fearless like Tom says. In fact I tried very gently to get a few to withdraw into their shells so I could get a still photo and had no success... my avatar was taken when that one was asleep

A few years ago I hatched out some "regular" leopards for a friend at the same time that I bought 3 dozen SA leopards right after hatching from a breeder. This was during one of the big initial arguments about leopard personalities. Several forum members as well as many friends and family had the opportunity to come to my ranch and see the kiddie pools and tubs of different types of leopards side by side. The difference was striking. Completely and totally obvious even to people who knew nothing of tortoises or this debate. The regulars sat still, hid in their shells and wer not interested in contact. They seemed very afraid and unwilling to engage or even move. All of them. In contrast, the SA babies just motored around with out a care about who was picking them up, trying to touch them or looming over them with wide eyes.

My question for people who assert what you assert is: How do you know the personality traits you are seeing are based on individual personalities, or handling, and not on genetic mixing of different types?

I know of at least six members of this forum that are knowingly, intentionally mixing SA leopards with regular leopards despite my protestations and begging otherwise. Do you think its possible that you have a mix? I can just about guarantee you have a mix of some sort or other. I know of only one man in the whole country who is breeding locale specific leopard tortoises.

 

[Yourlocalpoet]

My leopard tortoise is 11 years and most likely a P. Babcocki. Can't remember what she was like when she was a baby to be honest.

I haven't made any attempts to 'socialise' her, as people say, in fact, I try to handle her as little as possible. She is handled for bathing and being taken outside everyday but that's where it ends. I don't head rub, chin rub, feet rub, or whatever.

She is neither shy nor outgoing, as her 'mood' often changes. Sometimes she's scared of her own shadow, but sometimes she'll walk up to me if I'm digging in the garden or something, (or probably more accurately, she walks over me or pushes past me) she'll hand feed from anyone, and is generally quite inquisitive.

I would say she's very shy compared to the observations from others who have P.Pardalis though.

Either way, she's been a pleasure to watch grow up and is one of the most beautiful tortoises I've ever met. But hey, I'm biased.

I do believe there is a very interesting thread from a few years ago about the differences, try that one.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/pardalis-pardalis-vs-pardalis-babcocki.22468/

And @Tom, I wish you'd post more photos of your leopards, they must be big now.

Sent from my iPhone using Tortoise Forum

 

[Neal]

On the subject of the different variants of leopard tortoise - As a proponent of the argument that personality is more attributed to the individual tortoise than to a specific species or locality, my opinion of their respective personalities is that it is primarily influenced by how the tortoise was raised and is cared for. I've raised a lot of both variants and have not been able to conclusively say that one variant typically displays one sort of behavior over the other. Too many exceptions one way or the other. Having made observations of tortoises in a variety of different settings and husbandry methods, those that are raised with a lot of human interaction, or are otherwise well fed and cared for, almost always display good personality as I interpret the behavior.

As stated before, the topic has stirred up much controversy. Many of us with a vast amount of experience have made widely different observations from each other and we all think our observations are the general attributes of the species. The problem is that personality has so many interpretations that it's a difficult argument to substantiate one way or another. When the topic comes up, I try to encourage the inquirer to observe a tortoise whenever you can before buying it. That is the best way to be comfortable with your purchase if personality or behavior are a deciding factor.

So, that's what I would encourage you to do if you're considering a leopard tortoise and personality is a deciding factor. If you cannot make a visual observation before purchase, find a reputable breeder that you would trust and request one that shows the behavior that you like.

 

[MichaelS]

My question for people who assert what you assert is: How do you know the personality traits you are seeing are based on individual personalities, or handling, and not on genetic mixing of different types?

Well of course I can not say for sure what the root of the personality traits are as I have not run any genetic tests so we will never know the answer definitively. And I don't disagree with what you say at all, I'm just stating my personal observations. I currently have 5 'normal' hatchlings from one TFO breeder... 3 hatched in April and two the end of August and they share the same sire and dam so we are talking about the same genetics in this case. They came into my possession about three weeks ago. The three older ones that spent the first several months of their lives with the breeder are noticeably more 'shy' than the two younger ones who I got at two weeks old. Again this a very small sample size so in my opinion from what I've seen human contact does play a roll in shaping 'personalities' to some extent but I'm sure genetics does also.

I know of at least six members of this forum that are knowingly, intentionally mixing SA leopards with regular leopards despite my protestations and begging otherwise. Do you think its possible that you have a mix? I can just about guarantee you have a mix of some sort or other. I know of only one man in the whole country who is breeding locale specific leopard tortoises.

Sure it is completely possible that all or any of my 'normal' leos have some 'mix' in them. They are all very different looking. Some have a more rounded carapace and some are more oval. Some are lighter and some darker. One had a double dot in the first vertebral scute and some have extensive speckling on the skin just like my SAs. So yeah I'm pretty sure that I have 'mutts' but the OP will mostly likely end up with a mutt leo also unless they go with SA

 

[Elohi]

I don't know about this one...she *could* be a cross. She does have very freckled skin.




But I'm pretty sure these two are straight babcocki's, if I remember what Greg T said correctly.

 

[Jodie]

So I am confused. I think I understand some of the differences with the regular verses the SA. The SA have 2 dots in the schutes. Regular have one or none. The freckles on the skin though, what is that indicative of? Regular or SA?

 

[Amanda81]

So I am confused. I think I understand some of the differences with the regular verses the SA. The SA have 2 dots in the schutes. Regular have one or none. The freckles on the skin though, what is that indicative of? Regular or SA?

The freckled skin is a trait of South African leopards. I had 5 Leo hatchlings, 3 from one place, 2 from another. My first 3 are "regular" Leo. No visible traits of the South African Leo. The have their own individual personalities and moods from day to day. One of them will suck in his shell if he even thanks u r going to touch him, one is social, he will hang out, stare at ya, keep eating if I stick my hand down next to him, and then the other one, he goes both ways, depending on his mood. The other two I had (they died) they had some of the traits that South Africans have, freckled skin, some of their sibling had the double dots on their scutes.(they were sold as "regular" ones. These two were very outgoing. Never sucked in their shell, always active, I personally seen a big difference in them. When I was deciding on what species to start out with I started reading about them. I have always wanted an Aldabra but after finding out how much they was, I decided that wasn't the best choice to start out with, so I researched the sulcatas and the leopards. I read that the sulcatas have great personality, their social w people, I also read that leopards are "live rocks". I loved the way the leopards looked but wanted something w personality I could some what interact w so I got sulcata hatchlings. A little while later I ended up falling weak and got my leopards. And after having both species for a little while now I honestly think my leopards have just as much personality as my sulcatas do. Maybe the personality difference is more noticeable when their older but right now I don't see it. I am wanting to get a couple of the South African leopards now, but I have to part w the sulcatas to do this so I'm still trying to decide on this. But honestly they have became my favorite. They are far from a "live rock".
This is just my opinion.

 

[Amanda81]

This is Duke. If he thinks you are coming near him, this is what you get, everytime.

This is Dent, always out, he is always interested in what's going on.

On the left, is Ivory. She is my day to day girl. She might be friendly and social or she might only come out her hide to eat. (Of course that's Duke to the right, sucked in his shell cause he thought I might touch him, lol)

 

[Jodie]

It's funny. That's what I thought about the freckles. My Pepe doesn't have any of the physical characteristics of the SA, but he is my most out going. My trio all have freckles, but are all very shy. Neither of my older two have freckles either and are very social. Well Mort is moody, but he is often social and very inquisitive. Unless I am confused this is opposite of your experience, and how they "should" be.
Aldabras are amazing. My husband can rest easy though because it would be almost impossible to keep anything that large with our winters. The Leopards are going to be more t h an enough of a challenge. Lol.
Thanks for the answer Amanda.