So I found a fairly large Leopard Tortoise at work about a month ago and had made a post about it here previously. Flyers have been put up and ads have been put on Craigslist and Backpage to try to find the owner. As of yet no one has come forward to claim him as theirs. There have been lots of people offering to take him not knowing what type of turtle/tortoise he is or how big he is since I didn’t post that info. But no one has come forward to say that they lost a large leopard tortoise.
So he has been having free roam of my backyard at home and readily eats the grass, weeds and has all but destroyed most of what I was told is a large patch of Wandering Jew plant. I’ve been supplementing his diet with turnip greens as well since that was the only kind of greens from the grocery I could get him to eat. He loves cantaloupe and will come from across the yard to take it out of my hand. (He only gets about 2 little pieces a week though) He would not touch mustard greens, bell pepper, parsley or anything else. I’m going to post a few more times on Craigslist to see if I can find the owner but I’m not holding my breath on that happening. So I wanted to see if there is anyone in the New Orleans area that is capable of taking care of him in the winter months? I don’t want to ship him anywhere because he is rather large and I’ve never done that before. There is a Repticon show coming up on September 12th and 13th in Baton Rouge and I may try and see if I can find anyone there that would be able to properly care for him.
I’ve been looking through this site since I’ve gotten him and If I can’t find anyone to take him in I will end up building a box that I saw Tom make in his “my best night box design yet” thread. I have a detached garage I could keep the box in and just feed him his turnip greens and maybe have some weeds growing to feed him in a greenhouse that I have access to. I already have heat lamps, UV lights, calcium supplements etc.. as I am not new to the reptile world. I currently have ball pythons and have previously (20+ years ago) had iguanas, kingsnakes, water dragons and even an alligator for a while. I’m just not used to having a large tortoise that from what I’ve read is very intolerant of cold temperatures. I’m not sure how the whole box thing would go over since he is fairly large and when he poops it is usually a lot so that is sort of my last resort if I can’t find anyone that can properly take care of him during the cold months. My 3 year old loves teenage mutant ninja turtles and has become quite attached to the tortoise and loves going out to the yard to check on him. However, he realizes that if the owner comes forward we have to give him back. I really thought someone would have claimed him by now but seeing as no one has and it is getting close to October when the temps start to dip around here I figured I should see if anyone is nearby that would be willing to take him in so that if I still can’t find his owner and now anyone to take him in I can at least have enough time to build something for him to stay in during the winter months. I'm going to give the owner another week or two to come forward though just in case they missed my previous ads for the missing turtle/tortoise I had posted previously.
I would want to see whatever set up you have that you would be keeping him in during the winter months to be sure he will 1. be adequately taken care of and 2. not just be picked up from me only to be sold willy nilly to someone else. Just so it’s clear you would not just be getting him for the winter months but he would be yours to keep. I’m not looking for anything out of this – just a good home for him to go to. If you’re nearby and think you could take him in reply or message me.
So he has been having free roam of my backyard at home and readily eats the grass, weeds and has all but destroyed most of what I was told is a large patch of Wandering Jew plant. I’ve been supplementing his diet with turnip greens as well since that was the only kind of greens from the grocery I could get him to eat. He loves cantaloupe and will come from across the yard to take it out of my hand. (He only gets about 2 little pieces a week though) He would not touch mustard greens, bell pepper, parsley or anything else. I’m going to post a few more times on Craigslist to see if I can find the owner but I’m not holding my breath on that happening. So I wanted to see if there is anyone in the New Orleans area that is capable of taking care of him in the winter months? I don’t want to ship him anywhere because he is rather large and I’ve never done that before. There is a Repticon show coming up on September 12th and 13th in Baton Rouge and I may try and see if I can find anyone there that would be able to properly care for him.
I’ve been looking through this site since I’ve gotten him and If I can’t find anyone to take him in I will end up building a box that I saw Tom make in his “my best night box design yet” thread. I have a detached garage I could keep the box in and just feed him his turnip greens and maybe have some weeds growing to feed him in a greenhouse that I have access to. I already have heat lamps, UV lights, calcium supplements etc.. as I am not new to the reptile world. I currently have ball pythons and have previously (20+ years ago) had iguanas, kingsnakes, water dragons and even an alligator for a while. I’m just not used to having a large tortoise that from what I’ve read is very intolerant of cold temperatures. I’m not sure how the whole box thing would go over since he is fairly large and when he poops it is usually a lot so that is sort of my last resort if I can’t find anyone that can properly take care of him during the cold months. My 3 year old loves teenage mutant ninja turtles and has become quite attached to the tortoise and loves going out to the yard to check on him. However, he realizes that if the owner comes forward we have to give him back. I really thought someone would have claimed him by now but seeing as no one has and it is getting close to October when the temps start to dip around here I figured I should see if anyone is nearby that would be willing to take him in so that if I still can’t find his owner and now anyone to take him in I can at least have enough time to build something for him to stay in during the winter months. I'm going to give the owner another week or two to come forward though just in case they missed my previous ads for the missing turtle/tortoise I had posted previously.
I would want to see whatever set up you have that you would be keeping him in during the winter months to be sure he will 1. be adequately taken care of and 2. not just be picked up from me only to be sold willy nilly to someone else. Just so it’s clear you would not just be getting him for the winter months but he would be yours to keep. I’m not looking for anything out of this – just a good home for him to go to. If you’re nearby and think you could take him in reply or message me.