Hi everybody! Today I bought my very first Leopard Tortoise he/she is 5 months old. I plan to move him out to a large outdoor inclosure with a greenhouse I have outside along with my Hermanns and Russians. How long should I quarantine the new leopard and how exactly do you do that? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated
Quarantine procedures
- Thread starter von345
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You don't mean you're going to keep three different kinds of tortoise in 1 enclosure, do you?
I would keep the newbie in own space for at least an entire year of seasons....I also would not elect to mix the species you have mentioned...completely different sizes, personalities and levels of aggressiveness .....just saying.
I would NEVER put a leopard in the same yard as a Hermanns or a Russian. I would never put a Hermanns and a Russian in the same yard. It is my opinion that species that would not ever have contact in the wild should never be kept in the same habitat.
I quarantine new tortoises for 6 months.
I quarantine new tortoises for 6 months.
Yvonne, do you quarantine in every instance of bringing in a new tort? Whether it be that the tort was bought from a breeder, or a petstore or even if it was adopted and rehomed from another owner?
I hardly ever add to my existing collection, but if I were adding, I certainly would quarantine and vet check for 6 months before adding them into my herd.
I take in rescues all the time. Each rescue gets his own pen. After the rescue has been adopted, I clean out the pen, cleaning up anything visible, then water the heck out of it before adding another tort. I like to keep the pens vacant for at least 2 weeks, letting the sun do its job, and in the meantime, I rake and clean up as often as I can, to turn over the grass exposing it to the sun. I wish I had more room so I could leave the pens empty for a longer period of time, but you work with what you've got.
I take in rescues all the time. Each rescue gets his own pen. After the rescue has been adopted, I clean out the pen, cleaning up anything visible, then water the heck out of it before adding another tort. I like to keep the pens vacant for at least 2 weeks, letting the sun do its job, and in the meantime, I rake and clean up as often as I can, to turn over the grass exposing it to the sun. I wish I had more room so I could leave the pens empty for a longer period of time, but you work with what you've got.
Yvonne I am doing something like what you do I love my yard sectioned off for the different species. So I guess in a way they are all quarantined in some way. Thank you for the advice. When you move them to a new enclosure do you just clean with water?
if you have separate enclosures then what is the quarantine for? A quarantine is intended to keep a new animal away from existing animals until you know they're healthy.
Quarantine is meant to avoid contact with each other and each other's waste, so as long as they each have separate enclosures, you are fine. I hoped this is what you meant. You do not need to worry about airborne spreading. Worms is the biggest danger. Do be cautious walking from one enclosure to the other. Poop on your shoe is a problem.
sounds adequate to me
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No. Even a rainstorm would mingle poop and substrate around.
My quarantine pen is a full 25 feet away from the nearest active enclosure. It has its own food bowls and it's own water source and pool. I'm also a 6 month to a year guy.
My tortoises have survived two "plagues". Both times bought on by adding new tortoises.
The stories are real and advice is real. Its wise to take your time adding to your herd. Take the right steps and time now it will pay off. I do 6 months I have a enclosure empty just for that reason. I haven't added to my group in awhile tho doesn't happen often
