Hi From South Africa

[Lou101]

Good Day Everyone

So I recently got a tortoise from an elderly lady that unfortanetly passed away just after she gave me her little tortoise.

Anyway, the sad thing is I have no idea what type of tortoise he/she is !! Seeing as i can't ask her.
So would anyone please be so kind on to advise/tell me on what type of tortoise i might have ?
I have no idea of the age or sex?
He/she is about the size of the palm of your hand.

Butttt. here is a few photos of my lovely tortoise who has yet to be named.

 

[christinaland128]

Beautiful little Tort! Congratulations, and welcome to the forum!!

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum!

That looks like a leopard tortoise that is in pretty dire need of being set up in a humid habitat. Please read the threads at the top of the Leopard section to learn how to care for your new baby.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello and welcome to the TFO from AZ, USA . Sorry to here about your friend . But yes that's a leopard tort .


Sent from my iPhone using TortForum

 

[Blakem]

Welcome.


Here's some great plant identification websites I use.

http://www.tlady.clara.net/TortGuide/diet.htm#plantlist

http://africantortoise.com/edible_landscaping.htm

http://m.thetortoisetable.org.uk/m/plants_19.asp

 

[Neal]

Welcome to the forum!

You can get some good information on leopard tortoise care here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/leopard-tortoise-care-sheet.63792/

It would be a good idea to search through the leopard tortoise sub-forum as well.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

So that we may learn, what part of the RSA are you in, and how was she caring for this tortoise? Any idea how old it is?

 

[Lou101]

Hello and welcome.

So that we may learn, what part of the RSA are you in, and how was she caring for this tortoise? Any idea how old it is?

Well the old lady kept it in a box and only fed it some cabbage everyday.
I live in gauteng and it gets fairly hot and fairly cold during the year. I have set up an outside pen the tortoise seems to be enjoying its new life a lot more.
Regarding Age- i have no idea at all. And as far as growth, i have yet to notice him/her to get bigger. Looks the same size

 

[Lou101]

Well my little tortoise is living outside were it is normally quite humid, but it is starting to get colder and dryer as winter is closing in

 

[Lou101]

Welcome to the Forum!

That looks like a leopard tortoise that is in pretty dire need of being set up in a humid habitat. Please read the threads at the top of the Leopard section to learn how to care for your new baby.

Well my little tortoise is living outside were it is normally quite humid, but it is starting to get colder and dryer as winter is closing in

 

[Tom]

So sad for the little guy/gal. Glad its with you now.

Regular soaks will help this little one. I would soak every day for at least a couple of weeks.

Do you see him/her eating the weeds and grass outside? Great if yes. If not you might have to keep feeding what he's used to and mixing in the new weeds and grass until he/she understands that all that stuff around him is food.

 

[Yashil Ghazi]

Hey there

Its great to hear of a fellow South African owner.

First off , welcome to the forum. I think that you will find that the info you get here is awesome.

Your torts diet obviously needs to be changed , but seeing as we are about to go into winter here , you can expect him to eat less and be a little lethargic.

Also , a little word of warning. In the RSA torts are considered to be illegal as pets without permits , to protect wild torts ending up in the pet trade. Please, Be very careful who you tell. Do not trust anyone who you dont personally know. People, like petshop owners, and certain vets will report you so be very careful.

Its probably not a good idea to keep him outside during the nights , especially in Jozy. so its probably a good idea to make 'tortoise table' for the nights and cold days .

When summer comes around , your gonna find that your tort wants to walk a around a lot. Dont believe any of those stereotypes that tortoises are slow and dont move much , because when its warm , your tort is gonna want to move.

For now a pen , around 2x3 meters will do , but in the long run your tort is gonna need your whole garden.

Also watch out for monkeys and birds. Make sure you cover your torts pen in chicken wire.

Diet info is fairly easy to come by , leopards eat mostly grasses and hays with a lot of weeds inbetween . The cabbage that he was being fed was a big ' no no ' . However seing as this was his diet , he will fuss to change it. So you can expect him to be stubborn for a while. Also leave pieces of cuttle bone in your torts enclosure. He will chew on these and it will sharpen his beak and provide a great source of all important calcium.

Your probably wondering what soaking is. Its simply a way of making sure that your tort is well hydrated. A simple google search will show you the correct methods of doing this.

Also , if you could show us with a few more pictures of your tort , we would love to see them and also check that your tort is ok. Closeup pics of his face , back of neck , ear area and tail will show of any problems.

Exercise is also a big thing with these little guys. When your tort walks his shell must be completely off the ground. But seing as it's winter here , he wont be too into walking.

All the best with your new tort. They are truly special animals , and if you take good care of him , he will be with you for a very long time.

Feel free to pm me or ask any other questions .

Best wishes

 

[CourtneyG]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I am also a SA, but I live in the states now. Not to sound like the bad guy here, but native species cannot be owned as pets.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[ascott]

Also watch out for monkeys

So interesting how the critters that can cause harm vary so much from place to place....

 

[pam]

Welcome