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What kind of tortoise do i have?
- Thread starter Aleq
- Start date
It's a leopard tortoise, Aleq. And he's very under weight. A healthy, full bodied tortoise should not be able to pull so far into his shell. Can you give us some idea how you're caring for this tortoise, what you feed him and where he lives?
It looks like the pictures were taken in a vet's office?
It looks like the pictures were taken in a vet's office?
I have a leopard and he looks like a leopard to me but there's two sub species - pardalis babcocki (the most common) and pardalis pardalis. Don't ask me to explain the difference though!!
It doesn't look like he has had been well cared for - the shell looks quite misshapen.
It doesn't look like he has had been well cared for - the shell looks quite misshapen.
Yvonne he doesn't belong to us I work at a vet hospital and with all the information we were finding on them the body traits were not matching. According to notes I have down he was being fed fruits and veggies with greens and calcium supplements sprinkled onto his food. He was originally kept in large tank with two heat lamps and uv lights owner has since moved him to outside during warm parts of the day. Does the fact that he has 5 toes on the front and four on the back really determine much of if hes not a leopard tort??
No. I just counted the toes on one of my leopard tortoises and she has five on the front and four on the back.
It would be a good idea to advise this owner that the tortoise needs more food. A good one to put on weight is Mazuri Tortoise Diet. You feed this in addition to the greens and veggies, not instead of. (and no fruit)
The tortoise also could benefit from being soaked in warm water daily for about a half hour each time. I couldn't really see his eyes, but I'll bet he's pretty dehydrated.
It would be a good idea to advise this owner that the tortoise needs more food. A good one to put on weight is Mazuri Tortoise Diet. You feed this in addition to the greens and veggies, not instead of. (and no fruit)
The tortoise also could benefit from being soaked in warm water daily for about a half hour each time. I couldn't really see his eyes, but I'll bet he's pretty dehydrated.
The reason he's not bigger is because he wasn't raised properly. They need heat, humidity, good food, sun and exercise. I'll bet this tortoise was raised dry because the keepers thought he comes from a desert-like country. Not so - the baby tortoises hatch during the monsoon season and the warmth and moisture help them grow smooth and strong. I doubt he'll ever be a big tortoise, but they can put a little more weight on him with a better diet.
Thank you Yvonne & Lyn for your advice I will notify my owner. we see quite a bit of exotics at my hospital but this one stumped us so I always like to do research and ask around to better care for our patients. this little guy has an appointment today so I will pass this information along. we are getting some blood work today just to check and make sure all internal organs are functioning ok and everything else looks good. again thank you
May I ask the name of your Hospital?
I used to go there when Dr. Stock worked there. Is he still there? Now I use Dr. Lynch. She used to be the vet at the zoo and she comes here to my house.
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There are not, I repeat not, two subspecies of leopard tortoises. There are several geographic phenotypes. The most giant are from the northern most part of the range, second largest, most southern part. Some breeders have tried to go Ball python on leopard tortoises giving them cool sounding "this one is more rare than that one" names. There are some folks out there who have a reasonably good idea of the geographic origin of the animals in their care and bred true to the location, for the most part. No subspecies though.
You definitely have a regular leopard tortoise. They grow at very different rates depending on many factors. This one is not all that small for its age and it also appears to be male, which would also make it smaller.
These might help the owner:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
This one was written for sulcatas, but just skip to the food list as leopards are not nearly as much of a grass eater:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
These might help the owner:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
This one was written for sulcatas, but just skip to the food list as leopards are not nearly as much of a grass eater:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
