hi there,
I've had Hoppy (leopard tortoise) for about a month and a half now and it seems like he's only gained about 3 grams. 45 the day I got him and has been varying between 46-48. I try to weigh him after he poops cuz one night he was up to 52 and I got really excited. But then he pooped out 7 grams... He eats adequately I think...doesn't eat all day like I would assume tortoises do, but he makes massive poops every day or every other day. And I've seen his growth lines between his scutes changing colors so he must be growing.
The breeder I got him from told me his clutch was missed and was found hatching from the ground on august 12 so that makes Hop just under 5 and a half months old. I don't think the breeder had him in a closed chamber from the pictures that he showed me (open air tub) and the fact that he's a bit pyramided. I quickly switched him over to a closed chamber about a week after I got him. Temps at 80-82 and humidity 91-99. I soak him everyday and even sprinkle water onto his food to hydrate him more. I've only seen him drink once during a soak but his water dish gets tracked with dirt every day so hopefully he's drinking when I'm not watching. Hop isn't super active...he usually just hangs around the basking side of his tub and never goes to the other/darker side even though that's where the CHE is. He spends a lot of his time burrowed under some dead grass roots. But he comes out on his own when the lights come on in the mornings and depending on what food is out he may be eating more or less (tends to eat more if there's cactus...). I read that leopards are one of the slower growing species so maybe he just needs more time to gain weight? Here's some pics of when I first got him to his most recent pic so you can see his growth lines are thickening. I read in another post that it could also be parasites too so I wouldn't mind running a fecal on him, especially since he hatched underground and probably ate his moms poop.
I'm seeing new growth by the bottom of his side scutes where the black is more prominent. Also he had a bit more white coming in vertically between the scutes.
I've had Hoppy (leopard tortoise) for about a month and a half now and it seems like he's only gained about 3 grams. 45 the day I got him and has been varying between 46-48. I try to weigh him after he poops cuz one night he was up to 52 and I got really excited. But then he pooped out 7 grams... He eats adequately I think...doesn't eat all day like I would assume tortoises do, but he makes massive poops every day or every other day. And I've seen his growth lines between his scutes changing colors so he must be growing.
The breeder I got him from told me his clutch was missed and was found hatching from the ground on august 12 so that makes Hop just under 5 and a half months old. I don't think the breeder had him in a closed chamber from the pictures that he showed me (open air tub) and the fact that he's a bit pyramided. I quickly switched him over to a closed chamber about a week after I got him. Temps at 80-82 and humidity 91-99. I soak him everyday and even sprinkle water onto his food to hydrate him more. I've only seen him drink once during a soak but his water dish gets tracked with dirt every day so hopefully he's drinking when I'm not watching. Hop isn't super active...he usually just hangs around the basking side of his tub and never goes to the other/darker side even though that's where the CHE is. He spends a lot of his time burrowed under some dead grass roots. But he comes out on his own when the lights come on in the mornings and depending on what food is out he may be eating more or less (tends to eat more if there's cactus...). I read that leopards are one of the slower growing species so maybe he just needs more time to gain weight? Here's some pics of when I first got him to his most recent pic so you can see his growth lines are thickening. I read in another post that it could also be parasites too so I wouldn't mind running a fecal on him, especially since he hatched underground and probably ate his moms poop.
I'm seeing new growth by the bottom of his side scutes where the black is more prominent. Also he had a bit more white coming in vertically between the scutes.