Favorite foods leopards
- Thread starter von345
- Start date
Are they joining other leopards that you already have? If not, you should house them separately. Pairs do not do well.
I typed this up for sulcatas, but there is a good list of foods if you skip the text and scroll down a little:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
These might help you too:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
I typed this up for sulcatas, but there is a good list of foods if you skip the text and scroll down a little:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
These might help you too:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
Indoor enclosure or outdoor?
To grow plants indoors you need good lighting.
Outdoors my/the leopards favorites are grasses, mallow, dichondra, clover, sow thistle and once I move and set up my new enclosure- I aim to grow the broadleaf weed mix from tortoise supply. Everyone raves about it.
To grow plants indoors you need good lighting.
Outdoors my/the leopards favorites are grasses, mallow, dichondra, clover, sow thistle and once I move and set up my new enclosure- I aim to grow the broadleaf weed mix from tortoise supply. Everyone raves about it.
Mine LOVE hibiscus.
It's not the best in nutrients but it makes my Nini go wild 
haylee345
Member
It's really hard growing plants in the enclosure if you maintain appropriate humidity levels. Plants tend to get root rot, too much or too little UVA/UVB depending on distance from your bulb, and too much heat if close to a heat bulb. Tortoises also just trample everything. That being said, baby leopard tortoises spend most of their first years hiding under plants I think and that's my 6 month old's favorite place to be.
If you buy some regular chia seed online or from the grocery store and sprinkle it around, you may have some luck with it growing. It's great as food. Some would argue against this, but I went to Lowe's and bought a couple potted tropical plants, shook as much dirt as I could from them, repotted in terra cotta pots, put a layer of coco coir on top, and half buried the pots in the enclosure.This helps keep them from getting trampled and keeps the chemical soil and perlite out of her reach. The leaves aren't good for her so I try to keep them where she can't reach. They're full of chemicals and oxidizing chemicals that are bad. I check regularly for nibbled bits and keep tastier food on hand at all times so she doesn't get tempted to try. The bromeliad has done especially well. I consider them better than plastic plants which can also get nibbled, but not ideal.
I've also seen people grow grass mix in small plastic tubs like what salad mix grows in and rotate them in the enclosure. That looks really cool. I tried that a bit with a small tupperware container. I have a 4'x4' raised garden bed on my patio that I'm growing tortoise seed mix in. When it warms up a bit I'll transplant my started kale, mustard greens, mesclun seed mix, collard greens, snapdragons, nasturium, and hollyhock into a smaller patio box. The big box full of grass and eventually smaller flowers like poppy will be her outdoor vacation enclosure until she gets bigger. Once some of those are well established I may try putting them in pots and putting them in her enclosure.
If you buy some regular chia seed online or from the grocery store and sprinkle it around, you may have some luck with it growing. It's great as food. Some would argue against this, but I went to Lowe's and bought a couple potted tropical plants, shook as much dirt as I could from them, repotted in terra cotta pots, put a layer of coco coir on top, and half buried the pots in the enclosure.This helps keep them from getting trampled and keeps the chemical soil and perlite out of her reach. The leaves aren't good for her so I try to keep them where she can't reach. They're full of chemicals and oxidizing chemicals that are bad. I check regularly for nibbled bits and keep tastier food on hand at all times so she doesn't get tempted to try. The bromeliad has done especially well. I consider them better than plastic plants which can also get nibbled, but not ideal.
I've also seen people grow grass mix in small plastic tubs like what salad mix grows in and rotate them in the enclosure. That looks really cool. I tried that a bit with a small tupperware container. I have a 4'x4' raised garden bed on my patio that I'm growing tortoise seed mix in. When it warms up a bit I'll transplant my started kale, mustard greens, mesclun seed mix, collard greens, snapdragons, nasturium, and hollyhock into a smaller patio box. The big box full of grass and eventually smaller flowers like poppy will be her outdoor vacation enclosure until she gets bigger. Once some of those are well established I may try putting them in pots and putting them in her enclosure.
haylee345
Member
What you don't see is wet coir writhing with bugs. I found a huge millipede under her water dish last week! They're my phobia. I built her a nice indoor enclosure bc I might be living in an apartment for 2 or 3 more years so it'll be awhile before she gets an outdoor enclosure besides y 4'x4' patio garden.
