Just because they're beautiful

[diamondbp]

I decided some recent pictures of my gorgeous p.pardalis were due. Over two weeks in there brand new closed enclosure and their growth lines are exploding with new growth.

Thanks again to Tom, Neal, and all the leopard experts that have paved the way.

My largest is no doubt a male now, and my second to largest is looking very female. Although I've never been flashed, his tail size has increased substantially over the last few months.

I think the smallest of my bigger ones is a young male too.

My "female"(I hope) is a die hard rock eater! Even though they have cuttlebone and supplements often she always munches away on the shell in my yard.

So enjoy these photos long live the leopards!

Female(I hope) photos first

 

[diamondbp]

Male

 

[diamondbp]

Smaller male (I think)

 

[wellington]

Yes they are. I just love the leopards.

 

[tortadise]

Very nice. Fantastic spotting on all of them.

 

[Tom]

It looks like you came and took pics of MY tortoises. They are nearly identical in so many ways. Thanks for the pics. Nice bunch you've got there.

 

[Jodie]

Beautiful group. I can't wait for my guys/girls to get big enough to start guessing sex. Well we guess now, but would love to be a bit more confident. Yours look great. I love the plastron markings on the small male.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Looking good Byron

 

[Maro2Bear]

Really nice herd of torts there! Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to future pix.

 

[KTyne]

They sure are gorgeous! I'm falling more and more in love with Leopards. If only we lived on a large property already!!

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Beautiful!

 

[gingerbee]

Nice torts love them!!'

 

[diamondbp]

Thanks everyone . I really appreciate the comments. I got these torts soon after I joined TFO and thank God for the forum because they are truly a biproduct of all the wisdom given.

 

[Moozillion]

WOW!!! Just stunning animals!

 

[diamondbp]

BTW I didn't get a picture but I was officially flashed by my male today after his soak. So although I knew he was a male, now I REALLY REALLY know........yuck

 

[diamondbp]

Another pic of them waking up this morning. Closed enclosures = incredible growth

 

[Moozillion]

WOW!!! What a beautiful bunch!!!

 

[Jacqui]

Really a beautiful bunch, one of the prettiest groups I think I have seen.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Byron, is this the new closed chamber you built? I remember you used to do partially open enclosures, right?

Or is this a picture of the heated tort house, you were building one of those, too? Right? ... lol tell me I'm remembering correctly and not way off my rocker!

 

[diamondbp]

Byron, is this the new closed chamber you built? I remember you used to do partially open enclosures, right?

Or is this a picture of the heated tort house, you were building one of those, too? Right? ... lol tell me I'm remembering correctly and not way off my rocker!

This is my new totally sealed enclosure other then the hole that runs the wires in. It is 32" wide by 24" tall and 8ft long. It has two 150watt CHEs on the far ends and one 100 watt in the middle that are all set on a temperature probe to 84 degrees. There is also two mercury vapor bulbs two feet from each end set on timers for night and day cycles. The mercury bulbs are directly over a piece of basking slate that stays roughly 105-110 degrees. The substrate is sphagnum peat moss topped with cypress mulch. They are soaked every morning and misted in the middle of the day by my son.
I only have pictures of it during construction but I will post those and take some new photos of the final set up soon. I currently house my larger leopards on one side and my babies on the other separated by a 2"x6" piece of wood.

I did previously use a partially enclosed set up but this new set up has made a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE in just 4 short weeks. Every single one of my leopards (some who haven't grown much since I got them) have really taken off in weight and size. I'm kicking myself big time for not setting this up sooner but being in Louisiana I would house them outside much of the year. But this seems to create an even better environment for the young ones to flourish. They still go out for a few hours on a warm louisiana winter day for some natural sunlight.

So here are pictures during construction, and a few comparison shots from 2 weeks ago vs now. The new growth is coming in big time and I couldn't be happier.

If you are someone reading this and still are on the fence about the effectiveness of totally enclosed humid set ups, GET OFF OF THE FENCE and get on board. It's no doubt the key to very happy healthy GROWING leopards. Pictures below will be loaded from my phone