How do I know if my leopard tortoise is growing too fast??

Tom

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We don't do reddit here. You'll have to tell the story again and post pics if you want more input. That is not an unusual amount of weight gain at all for a well started, well hydrated, healthy baby leopard.
 

Yaaapops

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We don't do reddit here. You'll have to tell the story again and post pics if you want more input. That is not an unusual amount of weight gain at all for a well started, well hydrated, healthy baby leopard.
My apologies! I’ll copy and paste the text from Reddit to a comment on here :)
 

Yaaapops

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I purchased my lil guy (or girl) from a reptile shop back in April and was told he could be anywhere from 3-6 months old. He is a leopard tortoise and when we got him he weighed 44grams :) he was also raised in a dry environment so I’m not sure if that stunted his growth..

I have now had him for just under 6 months and since then he has grown to 250grams!! I have not seen anyone else on here with over 200 grams growth in less than 6 months time. I’m worried I may be doing something wrong or my tort may be getting a little too fat but from what I’m reading online that may not be possible if I’m feeding the right things.

I mostly feed him endive and escarole but I also mix in green leaf lettuce , hibiscus, spineless cactus and zoo med dry pellets here and there as well. I will also use miner all about once a week.

Please let me know if any more information is needed or what I could improve :) thanks a bunch everyone!
 

Tom

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I purchased my lil guy (or girl) from a reptile shop back in April and was told he could be anywhere from 3-6 months old. He is a leopard tortoise and when we got him he weighed 44grams :) he was also raised in a dry environment so I’m not sure if that stunted his growth..

I have now had him for just under 6 months and since then he has grown to 250grams!! I have not seen anyone else on here with over 200 grams growth in less than 6 months time. I’m worried I may be doing something wrong or my tort may be getting a little too fat but from what I’m reading online that may not be possible if I’m feeding the right things.

I mostly feed him endive and escarole but I also mix in green leaf lettuce , hibiscus, spineless cactus and zoo med dry pellets here and there as well. I will also use miner all about once a week.

Please let me know if any more information is needed or what I could improve :) thanks a bunch everyone!
I would suggest more variety in the diet and less grocery store greens. Other than that, and without any pics, it appears your routine agrees with him.
 

Yaaapops

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I would suggest more variety in the diet and less grocery store greens. Other than that, and without any pics, it appears your routine agrees with him.
I’ve tried :( he doesn’t eat the hibiscus leaves I cut up or the grass mix I grew and it’s been pretty hard to get/grow anything here in the Arizona summer. That’s why I’ve been adding in some spineless cactus bc I heard that was good and has been growing well for me. I do occasionally add in different greens from the grocery store that you have mentioned like mustard, dandelion, bok Choi but not near as frequently.
 

Markw84

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Here are the updated pics, the last one is him 4/5 months ago :)
Your tortoise was actually growing quite nicely and smooth prior to when you got it. However, all the growth since you got the tortoise is extremely pyramided. You need to make some changes to the enclosure and how you are keeping it as the pyramiding going on now will be quite extreme if things stay as they are.

Can you possibly post picture of the enclosure with good views of how it is covered? Also how the lighting is placed and what types of lights you have? We can help if you are interested.
 

Tom

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I’ve tried :( he doesn’t eat the hibiscus leaves I cut up or the grass mix I grew and it’s been pretty hard to get/grow anything here in the Arizona summer. That’s why I’ve been adding in some spineless cactus bc I heard that was good and has been growing well for me. I do occasionally add in different greens from the grocery store that you have mentioned like mustard, dandelion, bok Choi but not near as frequently.
No tortoises eats new things when first offered. It takes a lengthy introductory process to get them to try new things and learn to like them. Start by chopping up a tiny amount of the new stuff. Make it super fine and then mix it in with old favorites. Use hardly any at first. Over days and weeks, gradually add more and more of the new stuff. It takes a long time, but they eventually get to a point where they will eat most anything.
 

Yaaapops

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Your tortoise was actually growing quite nicely and smooth prior to when you got it. However, all the growth since you got the tortoise is extremely pyramided. You need to make some changes to the enclosure and how you are keeping it as the pyramiding going on now will be quite extreme if things stay as they are.

Can you possibly post picture of the enclosure with good views of how it is covered? Also how the lighting is placed and what types of lights you have? We can help if you are interested.
Thank you for the input! That is super strange to me since he was born and raised on hay in a dry horse watering thing before getting to me and since then I have had him in a green house with humidity above 60 at all times usually around 70. I’ll get some pictures up on this post in a little bit. Could it be from what I’m feeding him??
 

Yaaapops

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No tortoises eats new things when first offered. It takes a lengthy introductory process to get them to try new things and learn to like them. Start by chopping up a tiny amount of the new stuff. Make it super fine and then mix it in with old favorites. Use hardly any at first. Over days and weeks, gradually add more and more of the new stuff. It takes a long time, but they eventually get to a point where they will eat most anything.
 

Yaaapops

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Your tortoise was actually growing quite nicely and smooth prior to when you got it. However, all the growth since you got the tortoise is extremely pyramided. You need to make some changes to the enclosure and how you are keeping it as the pyramiding going on now will be quite extreme if things stay as they are.

Can you possibly post picture of the enclosure with good views of how it is covered? Also how the lighting is placed and what types of lights you have? We can help if you are interested.
Sorry I replied to Tom on accident!!
 

wellington

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Thank you for the input! That is super strange to me since he was born and raised on hay in a dry horse watering thing before getting to me and since then I have had him in a green house with humidity above 60 at all times usually around 70. I’ll get some pictures up on this post in a little bit. Could it be from what I’m feeding him??
No, it's due to the way he was raised before you got him. The pyramiding had already started, you can see it in the pic you posted from when you got him. Once it starts it's hard to get it to stop. Specially in that kind of leopard. Been there done that. It's not the diet. It's the way you got him. Getting the humidity to 80 or higher will help a little more. If you are using a mercury vapor bulb, the humidity can't win against a mvb. Been there, done that too. Unfortunately the harshness or the mvb was discovered too late for my hatched hatchlings. But luckily not used too long before they left for their new homes and was discovered before they could continue with them.
 

Yaaapops

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Your tortoise was actually growing quite nicely and smooth prior to when you got it. However, all the growth since you got the tortoise is extremely pyramided. You need to make some changes to the enclosure and how you are keeping it as the pyramiding going on now will be quite extreme if things stay as they are.

Can you possibly post picture of the enclosure with good views of how it is covered? Also how the lighting is placed and what types of lights you have? We can help if you are interested.
Lights are 100w Che placed on the thermostat only goes on at 79 and off at 82 for night time. The other one is a 65w floor bulb just a normal dura max one. The back is a T5. His temps stay from 83/85 on the cool side - 88/90ish on the warm side during the day and 79-82 during the night time. Humidity is always above 60 usually around 70. I give him baths 5/6 times a week I try everyday but forget on some weekends. Let me know anything else you’d need to know
 

wellington

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I don’t think I have one do I??
If that was too me, I deleted that post. We posted at the same time, so once I seen you list your lights and heat I deleted the post.
But you need to get humidity upto 80% day and night. Get the substrate wet, not puddles, but wet not damp.
I personally would raise basking to 95. I personally would also get over all temp day and night 80. We usually tell people to raise it to 85 if they have a sick tort.
 

Yaaapops

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If that was too me, I deleted that post. We posted at the same time, so once I seen you list your lights and heat I deleted the post.
But you need to get humidity upto 80% day and night. Get the substrate wet, not puddles, but wet not damp.
I personally would raise basking to 95. I personally would also get over all temp day and night 80. We usually tell people to raise it to 85 if they have a sick tort.
Awesome thank you!! When I get the basking a lil higher the area around it goes above 90 as well? Is that okay? And the warm side gets to 85/86 during the day then.

I can move my Che’s thermostat from 79-82 to 80-83 and I think that will fix that issue
 

wellington

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Awesome thank you!! When I get the basking a lil higher the area around it goes above 90 as well? Is that okay? And the warm side gets to 85/86 during the day then.

I can move my Che’s thermostat from 79-82 to 80-83 and I think that will fix that issue
Maybe leave it. 90 isnt bad.
 

Yaaapops

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Maybe leave it. 90 isnt bad.
Yeah it was a hard game I was playing cuz when I lowered the light the average temp over everything went up 1-2 degrees ? I could also try raising his lil rock and putting some coco under it as a lil mound that might work
 

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