Over-protective newbie asking more questions:

[kmloughran]

New to Leopards, and trying to get a feel for "normal behaviors"... (Mo is AROUND 1-ish year old, and weighs 52g)

1. Do they normally make noises? mine occasionally kind of quacks in the bath.
2. Do all of them typically have gas? mine farts before pooping.... bubbles in the bath before pooping, and a noisy one today when I was watching him in his enclosure, right before he pooped.
3. Do they always take a minute to get moving after basking? Mine will kind of move his legs and head in and out like he's trying to get the blood flowing before he will start walking around.
4. What are the signs of a respiratory problem? (don't think he has one, just need to know what to watch out for... overprotective parent)
5. His belly-shell is somewhat pliable. It has a little give when pushed on gently, is this normal? (his top shell is hard)


I'm sure I'll come up with more. Thanks for any info... and YES, I have read the care sheets....

 

[dmmj]

Let's see
1 yes, they can be noisy
2 yes
3 the leg movement is them breathing
4 several the most prominent are lethargy, mucus from nose and mouth, swollen eyes, open mouth breathing
5 their shell can be playable, leather like for quite a while as long as it's not getting softer then it's okay

 

[wellington]

Ditto

 

[Tom]

New to Leopards, and trying to get a feel for "normal behaviors"... (Mo is AROUND 1-ish year old, and weighs 52g)

1. Do they normally make noises? mine occasionally kind of quacks in the bath.
2. Do all of them typically have gas? mine farts before pooping.... bubbles in the bath before pooping, and a noisy one today when I was watching him in his enclosure, right before he pooped.
3. Do they always take a minute to get moving after basking? Mine will kind of move his legs and head in and out like he's trying to get the blood flowing before he will start walking around.
4. What are the signs of a respiratory problem? (don't think he has one, just need to know what to watch out for... overprotective parent)
5. His belly-shell is somewhat pliable. It has a little give when pushed on gently, is this normal? (his top shell is hard)


I'm sure I'll come up with more. Thanks for any info... and YES, I have read the care sheets....

1. None of my 100+ leopard hatchlings ever made any noise. This can be a sign of RI. What are your four temps?
2. Not typical, no. Occasionally I will see a bubble in the soak water, but not typically.
3. Sounds like breathing to me too.
4. Lethargy, bubbles, squeaking noises, noisy breathing, excessive yawning, closed eyes…
5. The larger they are they less flexible it should feel. Hatchling plastrons should feel like a plastic butter tub lid.

Something is wrong if your baby is only 52 grams at one year old. They hatch at 20-25 and should hit 50 within a couple of months.

How was the baby started? Wet or dry methods? What do you feed it? How often do you soak it?

 

[kmloughran]

1. None of my 100+ leopard hatchlings ever made any noise. This can be a sign of RI. What are your four temps?
2. Not typical, no. Occasionally I will see a bubble in the soak water, but not typically.
3. Sounds like breathing to me too.
4. Lethargy, bubbles, squeaking noises, noisy breathing, excessive yawning, closed eyes…
5. The larger they are they less flexible it should feel. Hatchling plastrons should feel like a plastic butter tub lid.

Something is wrong if your baby is only 52 grams at one year old. They hatch at 20-25 and should hit 50 within a couple of months.

How was the baby started? Wet or dry methods? What do you feed it? How often do you soak it?

He was a "return" to my pet store, because his previous owner was on the organ transplant list and couldn't have reptiles. They didn't really have much information about him, they guessed he was around a year old, maybe, but I was wondering if you would have better a guess. He's just now starting to develop white spots between his scutes, if that helps determine age... "about a year" was a guess from the guy at the reptile shop (a VERY reputable place called East Bay vivarium in Berkley, CA). So I really think the guy just guessed the age wrong, but he seems to be in good health. He only yawns occasionally (when he's waking up/leaving his basking area to come get some food). Temps are 100 in basking light. 94 where he sleeps, 85 in "cooler warm" area, and 80 in the coolest corner. All substrate is wet, except for a small area on the hot/basking area that he really doesn't get on that much. do i need more dry areas in his enclosure, or is it ok that he's almost exclusively on dampened coir? Thanks for all your help. -Kev

 

[Tom]

He was a "return" to my pet store, because his previous owner was on the organ transplant list and couldn't have reptiles. They didn't really have much information about him, they guessed he was around a year old, maybe, but I was wondering if you would have better a guess. He's just now starting to develop white spots between his scutes, if that helps determine age... "about a year" was a guess from the guy at the reptile shop (a VERY reputable place called East Bay vivarium in Berkley, CA). So I really think the guy just guessed the age wrong, but he seems to be in good health. He only yawns occasionally (when he's waking up/leaving his basking area to come get some food). Temps are 100 in basking light. 94 where he sleeps, 85 in "cooler warm" area, and 80 in the coolest corner. All substrate is wet, except for a small area on the hot/basking area that he really doesn't get on that much. do i need more dry areas in his enclosure, or is it ok that he's almost exclusively on dampened coir? Thanks for all your help. -Kev

Damp substrate is good, but wet substrate seems a bit much.

I don't like coir for this species and instead prefer orchid bark.

The only way to know the age is to know the hatch date. He doesn't look a year old from what I can see in your avatar pic, but that's just speculation based on a tiny pic.

94 is on the upper end of an acceptable day time ambient, but I think its too high for night time. They need night temps around 80ish with humidity. It shouldn't be that hot at night.

I'm going to guess you have an open topped enclosure. If that is the case, a closed chamber would solve all your issues here with humidity, wet substrate and heat.

Check it out:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/

 

[kmloughran]

Damp substrate is good, but wet substrate seems a bit much.

I don't like coir for this species and instead prefer orchid bark.

The only way to know the age is to know the hatch date. He doesn't look a year old from what I can see in your avatar pic, but that's just speculation based on a tiny pic.

94 is on the upper end of an acceptable day time ambient, but I think its too high for night time. They need night temps around 80ish with humidity. It shouldn't be that hot at night.

I'm going to guess you have an open topped enclosure. If that is the case, a closed chamber would solve all your issues here with humidity, wet substrate and heat.

Check it out:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/

Nope closed chamber. And substrate is not wet, it is damp (adequately but not overly hydrated). I just changed one of my ceramic heating elements to a 150w on the warm side (it is on a thermostat set to 92) the 100 w CHE is the transition between the hot and cool side. and is set at 83.

humidity in the enclosure sits around 72%+/- all day long (ranging from 65% to 78%).

would you recommend putting bark on top of the coir, or removing an area of the coir and replacing that area completely with orchid bark? (I'd like to at the very least keep a mixed substrate.)

Yeah, I've seen your pictures before of your enclosures, always impressive. I'll likely use some of your ideas for my outdoor enclosure when he gets bigger (and we get our new house). Right now I'm using the same enclosure at @Elohi. I have two flood lights for basking, two 24" UV tubes for basking and growing testudo mix, and the two CHEs I mentioned earlier. He has two water dishes, a basking rock, and a feeding rock. There are 3 hides, one halved flower pot covered in dirt, on the hot side, one humid hide on the cusp of the hot side, and one half-log hide on the cool side. Have some live plants (in pots) in the enclosure to provide some hiding places for him.

I know everyone has their own way, and there are many different opinions on how to "do it right". I'm just making sure that i'm not doing anything dangerously wrong. Thanks again for all your information.

these are the enclosure:

 

[Tom]

About the substrate: Coir works, but I find it too messy for this species. If you like it there is no need to change anything. It is safe and it would be my second choice of substrate.

Why do you have your CHEs set so high? I use the CHEs to hold my ambient no lower than about 80. My basking lamps warm things up a bit during the day time, but the CHEs just keep it from dropping when the basking lamps kick off at night.

I think your enclosure look great. Are those planters for grazing? It looks like they stand tall above the substrate, but I can't tell in the pics.

 

[kmloughran]

About the substrate: Coir works, but I find it too messy for this species. If you like it there is no need to change anything. It is safe and it would be my second choice of substrate.

Why do you have your CHEs set so high? I use the CHEs to hold my ambient no lower than about 80. My basking lamps warm things up a bit during the day time, but the CHEs just keep it from dropping when the basking lamps kick off at night.

I think your enclosure look great. Are those planters for grazing? It looks like they stand tall above the substrate, but I can't tell in the pics.

So I should lower the temp of the CHEs? I'll head in and do that now, I'll set it to hit around 84, the enclosure is near a sliding glass door which can get colder at night. Thanks for the tip, that should save some energy!

The big planter will be for grazing once it starts taking root. and establishing itself. it's elevated for now so that it can grow without being eaten.

 

[Tom]

So I should lower the temp of the CHEs? I'll head in and do that now, I'll set it to hit around 84, the enclosure is near a sliding glass door which can get colder at night. Thanks for the tip, that should save some energy!

The big planter will be for grazing once it starts taking root. and establishing itself. it's elevated for now so that it can grow without being eaten.

With two CHEs indoors in a covered enclosure, I'm guessing they can hold it at 80, right? Does your night temp drop too low even with the two CHE's? I don't think 84 will hurt anything, but I like to let them drop a little bit at night.

Just talking tortoises here. Sharing my thoughts. If you like 84, I think it will work ok.

 

[aneta]

wow,so beautiful the habitat

 

[aneta]

This is mine for now ,it takes long time for education and all .. ...I was thinking to build like glass house on the right side with hole in it and make like a green house (my friend is a glazier)but the box have to stay for now I just bought the wood and get it made .. ,and I don't like plastic too much ,what would be the best option for me ?my temperature right now are 75 low and 93 high ..humidity is different all the time in diff places in habitat ,,like for instance on my wet coconut coir with the basking spot humidity is like 40% but next to my water dish on dry are is like 80% on the colder side ,..I got this new digital thermometer with sensors on it ,does My tortoise look a little bit pyramided?he is like 1 year 2 months ..,also I noticed when i covered the coconut coir with piece of glass it did raise humidity but also fungus on wood ,,,,,some people put like plastic shower curtains ,just plastic but how about plastic and heat this could infuse some toxicity ,pardon my englishand i also red orchid barks are not good with heat from the lamps giving up some toxic fumes ....what You guys thin?mahalo