What advice would you give?

[Nm767]

Be been looking into getting a leopard or sulcata for several months now and have decided on getting a leopard tortoise.
I do eventually want a sulcata but I just think its better to wait on That till I can dedicate a very large piece of land to it.

I haven't started any work on an enclosure for a leopard because I've been looking at so many different ones for ideas.

I want to start with a hatchling. I do want it to have as much outside time as possible and plan to do an indoor enclosure in my garage for when needed.

I live in Lodi California where it gets 110 + outside and has already been mid 80s.

Basically I'm looking for any advise that you can give someone planning on getting a leopard that may not be covered in the care guide.

Any advise you wish someone would have given you?

 

[Jacob]

As Hatching's they get very dehydrated fast, you want to soak them and keep them humid and hot.
Its always best to have natural plants and hides for shade to get of them out of the heat. There are many great
leopard and sulcata threads, just read up

 

[dmmj]

I got 2 hatchling leopards awhile back and I soak them every day, I think that is probably the most important thing to stress. I am not an expert on leopards but I have had tortoises for a long time now so if you have any specific questions feel free to ask.

 

[wellington]

Check out Tom's threads at the bottom of this post. All really good for leopards. I wish I had found them before I had gotten my leopard. He would be smooth instead of having some pyramiding.

 

[EKLC]

Build your enclosure before getting your tortoise. Make sure you can maintain proper temperatures (100 basking spot, 80 cool side) and night temperatures (80) and high humidity (at least one hide with 80%+).

Read all you can on the forums in the mean time, and then you'll be ready and much better off than going into it blind

 

[Greg T]

If you have never had a tort before, my advice is to get a yearling versus a hatchling. Much easier once they get a little older. I build an enclosure in my garage each winter and it works great. With a hatchling and those high temperatures, especially if you keep the garage door closed, you face a good chance of overheating/ dehydrating a young tort. You might consider keeping him inside the house for the first year. A hatchling enclosure doesn't need to be huge. Good luck!

 

[Neal]

I agree with Greg here. New hatchlings can be challenging if you have never had a tortoise before, though, it gets easier as you develop more experience. I would recommend going with as large of a tortoise as you can afford.