CL84
New Member
Hi all,
I recently acquired two 3 year old Leopard tortoises. Its original owner is getting out of the hobby so was looking to rehome them. I was told they were previously living in an enclosed vivarium and raised on a varied diet (even though the one in questions's shell tells a different story). This tortoise is 3 years old and I am curious about the following after scrolling through post after post.
1 - I have seen posts that tortoise all grow at different rates. It seems very small for a 3 year old leopard and it's mate/brother/sister is even smaller at 3.5 inches. I SA that is 20 months old and nearly 9 inches. Any thoughts about it's size?
2 - I have done the Susan Donoghue scale and came up with these numbers - Current weight 276g Target weight 232g. Could it be possible this tortoise is over weight? March 19th it was 219g and as of today is 276g although one poop can drop him down nearly 11g. I ask because I notice that it doesn't retract into its shell and when I try and nudge it, it cannot. I thought it was just comfortable with me but maybe a bigger issue?
3 - I believe this is a hybrid but wouldn't that mean it should grow a little bigger? Its mate has double dots on its scutes and dots on its plastron plus is even smaller at 3 years old. Any thoughts on if it is more one than the other?
Additional info... I have it in an enclosed chamber Pitre style with cypress mulch instead of a paper towel. It's soaked every other day for 20 mins and spends 3 hours outside weather permitting. I grow timothy hay, pansies, violas, micro-green sprouts, dandelion which they have access to. Also Mazuri TD and calcium. They eat non stop and don't appear unhealthy besides the one possibly not fitting into it's shell.
Any thoughts would help. THANKS!
p.s. how can we get rid of the salacious bots on here?
I recently acquired two 3 year old Leopard tortoises. Its original owner is getting out of the hobby so was looking to rehome them. I was told they were previously living in an enclosed vivarium and raised on a varied diet (even though the one in questions's shell tells a different story). This tortoise is 3 years old and I am curious about the following after scrolling through post after post.
1 - I have seen posts that tortoise all grow at different rates. It seems very small for a 3 year old leopard and it's mate/brother/sister is even smaller at 3.5 inches. I SA that is 20 months old and nearly 9 inches. Any thoughts about it's size?
2 - I have done the Susan Donoghue scale and came up with these numbers - Current weight 276g Target weight 232g. Could it be possible this tortoise is over weight? March 19th it was 219g and as of today is 276g although one poop can drop him down nearly 11g. I ask because I notice that it doesn't retract into its shell and when I try and nudge it, it cannot. I thought it was just comfortable with me but maybe a bigger issue?
3 - I believe this is a hybrid but wouldn't that mean it should grow a little bigger? Its mate has double dots on its scutes and dots on its plastron plus is even smaller at 3 years old. Any thoughts on if it is more one than the other?
Additional info... I have it in an enclosed chamber Pitre style with cypress mulch instead of a paper towel. It's soaked every other day for 20 mins and spends 3 hours outside weather permitting. I grow timothy hay, pansies, violas, micro-green sprouts, dandelion which they have access to. Also Mazuri TD and calcium. They eat non stop and don't appear unhealthy besides the one possibly not fitting into it's shell.
Any thoughts would help. THANKS!
p.s. how can we get rid of the salacious bots on here?