Back With A Question About Leopards

Hi out there. I've been MIA for a long time but back to try to find an answer to my question. At what age/size do leopards usually learn how to go into their heated house by themselves? Of my four, only one female finds her way back in after they have been taken out for feeding,etc. The other three, including the male Humphrey that is a year older, still never go back in on their own. Will they ever learn? They seem smart enough about other things. Or, maybe they don't mind the cold weather here in AZ??? Would appreciate any input. Thanks.

Of all my species of tortoise, the only two I have to hunt down at night and put away are the leopards and the Manouria. You just have to resign yourself to putting them away each night.

Some never learn.

There might be other reasons why they don't go in too. One of the other tortoises could be telling him/her to get out of their territory. They might not like the door or ramp. They might feel exposed in there. Could be lots of reasons.

Bottom line is: If they don't put themselves away, then you have to.

Hi Joy!

I deal with this quite a bit as well. They may never learn, but I don't think it's because the tortoise doesn't know what's best for himself. I think most of it has to do with the AZ weather in that it's very warm during the day and often stays "comfortably warm" until the sun goes down. Leopards are not active when there is little light, as has been my experience. I've noticed on the days that stay relatively cold, they will always find there way back in. On the days where it's warm and stays like that until the sun goes down (like 90% of our winter days), they are almost always out.

When it's warm they want to be out and moving, then after awhile they'll find some where to rest where it feels comfortable to them and when it darkens quickly they don't want to move back to their warm hide without any light. If it's cold out, they'll recognize that it is cold and will want to go back to their hide while it's still light out where they know it's warm when they are ready to rest.

This is a very perceptive observation, Neal. And thinking back, it fits. Thank you for that.

Thanks so much for the help! I was hoping that they would learn to put themselves away when it starts to get dark, LOL. When it is up to about 60* , I will open the door and let them decide if they want to come out, sometimes they will and sometime they won't. If it is closer to 65-70 they will usually all come out. But if they haven't eaten for awhile I feel that I should pull them out and feed them while their bodies are still warm and hungry.

I've been a fan of your threads. Your closed chamber was stunning and the leopards always looked great.
You've gotten great answers from great people...maybe now you could bless us with updated photos of your bunch!

Hey, I agree with Heather. Oh, the rest too, but with Heather and the updated pics

When it gets warmer I will get out and take a few. They are growing like weeds.

Hey out in tortoise land!!! Thought I would update this thread since it's been over a year since I asked the question about leopards putting themselves away when it's cold outside. Humphrey is about 5 years old now, the other three a year younger. All summer their outdoor pen was left open and they learned to go inside when the heat wasn't turned on yet. We trimmed the lower bushes in the yard so I think that encouraged them to seek the shelter of their pen instead of hiding under bushes for shade from the sun. When the weather got cold they started to put them selves away most nights in their pen. On the days that our weather was going to be below freezing we always checked to make sure they were inside and they were. The smallest one, which has turned out to be a male has worried me a bit as he stayed in the pen all the time through the winter. He basically stayed in the pen on the heating mat. I took him out a couple of times to encourage him to eat. But, alas he has come out with the warmer weather we are getting, so I guess he is more of a hibernater than the other three, or maybe just because he is smaller. Anyway, just thought you might find this interesting but remember this is in Arizona weather so take that into consideration. I wouldn't recommend this for you in the colder climates to have the same results.

Of all of my torts, the ones that have the most issues going back in are one of my male stars, a female leopard and occasionally a male leopard.

The female leopard that refuses is kind of unusual in that she is very tolerant of cold weather. She will cruise around and graze when the weather is in the 30's and 40's as if it was a hot, summer day. If the temps do not dip below freezing, I do not even bother putting her away. She's been this way since she was a baby when I first allowed her outside. Some are just more tolerant than others.

Mine don't have an issues of retreating at night. I have an issue of if I don't close them in at night that some come out to early and end up taken an "after morning graze nap" in the cool morning air. It rarely happens but on occasion it does, and it's always my females. I've not once found my males out of the box once the sun goes down. They always retreat.

Good to hear from you again Joy!

Just curious, what direction does the opening of your tortoise house face?

Interesting weather we are having. Looks like we'll be in the 90's mid week and upper 50's for a low! I haven't seen my box turtles yet, but I noticed the dirt in their pen has been disturbed a bit, like they're moving around and stuck their heads out of the ground at some point.