Hello everyone! New leopard owner!

[AndreaT]

Just wanted to say hello! I'm hoping to use this forum frequently as I am a new leopard tortoise owner. I just got my first one yesterday at a reptile expo.

My name is Andrea and I live in the far NW suburbs of Chicago. Yesterday my boyfriend and I went to the Expo in Wheaton, then headed out to Tinley Park to see the NARB conference. It was a lot of fun.

Aside from the new addition (still unnamed), we have 2 Diamondback Terrapins, a dog, 2 cats, a bearded dragon, and a leopard gecko. My western painted turtle recently passed away, which was one reason we chose a tortoise. There was a hole in my heart that needed to be fixed.

I'm nervous about my new tortoise because he/she is teeeeeeeny and I'm so afraid of how fragile he is. I still haven't seen him eat and he is so small, when I put him in for a bath, he lowers his head and I remove him because I don't want him to drown!

I know I will be consulting this forum frequently and I'm happy to be here!

 

[dmmj]

Welcome I just acquired 2 leos myself. Mine are just about 2 months now and doing quite well. DBTs are some pretty looking turtles def. ones I would like to get myself.

 

[dmarcus]

Hello Andrea and welcome to the forum...

 

[DanaLachney]

I'm nervous about my new tortoise because he/she is teeeeeeeny and I'm so afraid of how fragile he is. I still haven't seen him eat and he is so small, when I put him in for a bath, he lowers his head and I remove him because I don't want him to drown!

I know I will be consulting this forum frequently and I'm happy to be here!

That's ok if they lower they're head during a soak it means they are drinking! I freaked out the first time I found my redfoot nose deep in her water bowl but learned she was just getting a drink of water which she often does. Just make sure ur little one has access to water at all times. I'm not sure what they told u at the reptile expo but people here have EXCILLENT advice on how to keep a tortoise. Good luck and post pictures soon

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. When he lowers his head he is trying to drink. They must submerge their mouth and nostrils in order to drink. Tortoise husbandry has come a long way in the last couple of years. We have found a lot of the old info on how to raise leopards to be not only incorrect, but detrimental. Here are a bunch of threads for you to peruse. Some of them talk about sulcatas a lot, but the care for a leopard is the same for me.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Helpful-Threads#axzz1pazClQQa

 

[dmmj]

Wow I can't believe I missed that in your post, as said above it is fine for them to dunk their entire head to drink, it can be scary to first time owners. You just want ot make sure the water level is low enough so they don't have to struggle to lift their heads out when they need to. The water level should be right around their plastron ( bottom shell)

 

[wellington]

Welcome . I also own a leopard and I live in Chicago. You will get all the help you will need from this forum.

 

[nicoleandrocky]

Welcome

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi there, Andrea!

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

 

[AndreaT]

Thanks everyone! I will try not to panic then! I am a little worried because I don't feel he is doing well and I'm a bit concerned that maybe the person who sold him to me was looking for some $$. I don't know. It breaks my heart because you would think people would be responsible breeders.

Is it normal for hatchlings to have zero activity and basically have their eyes closed the entire day? The only time he had any activity is right when I purchased him and he walked on my legs in the car while in the parking lot. He was real active. But now he just seems miserable.

 

[dmmj]

Low activity is normal, they tend to sleep a lot sometimes, but eyes closed are another matter. Would you be able to describe your enclosure and or post pictures of it?

 

[AndreaT]

My boyfriend and I have started building an enclosure for him, a 4' by 3' enclosure. As of right now, he is in a 40 gal breeder tank with a Reptisun 10.0 UVB bulb (the long one, not a coil), a CHE for nighttime as it got down to 65 degrees overnight, and a 100w bulb for warm side (which is at 90 degrees). He's on plantation soil. I have a hide log for him as well. He doesn't move around a lot though.

I bathed him again earlier and saw that he was drinking, so I'm wondering if he was just really thirsty. He also had his eyes open right after. I'm still worried though, because he hasn't eaten.

 

[Jacqui]

Welcome! It is not too unusual for a newly acquired tortoise to not eat for a few days.

 

[l0velesly]

My leo loves to drink water.. and he does so by dunking his whole head in the water! When mine first arrived, it drank a lot of water.. and still does
He should eat if you place him under the UV lamp. Warmer temps help out in making them eat.

 

[AndreaT]

I just hope he is going to make it. I read in another thread about sulcatas that someone put their hatchling in a small dish of baby food? Is that something I should try? I'm so worried.

 

[yarok]

welcome.

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[Zamric]

Welcome to the Forum!

babyfood soaks are great for young ones! Use a mixture of 50% babyfood (carrots, beets, squash.... any vegi really) and 50% warm water. you might even sprinkle in a little powdered calcium!

 

[TORTOISEMAN1]

Welcome to the forum!