Leapord sleep pattern

[jackmac]

Hey ppl,
Curious if there are any sleep patterns/cycles for baby leapords in general. My buddy seems to sleep from around 6-7pm till 8-9 am, and also takes a few naps in the day. He does seem pretty active when he is awake and also has been eating more than expected. Thanks.
Jack

 

[ewam]

Mine actually sleeps from about 4:30 pm to 7:00 and I have never seen him take take nap.

 

[Neal]

That's right on par with all of my hatchlings and adults. They are active in the morning when it is just starting to warm up, they sleep during the afternoon when it is the hottest. Then they are active again in the evening when it is cooler.

 

[pi01]

Hmmm! Now I am a little worried. Actually I was worried before I read this thread. Elvis seems to sleep a lot. I would estimate 90% or more. I worked from home Friday and watched him wake up, eat, move under a plant and sleep until 5 ish when he ate again before heading in to his dry hide and back to sleep. I assume he sleeps all night as well. He eats very well, drinks. He is very active when I put him outside in the sun. Based on the other posts, I am guessing this is not normal. Ideas?

 

[jackmac]

Hmmm! Now I am a little worried. Actually I was worried before I read this thread. Elvis seems to sleep a lot. I would estimate 90% or more. I worked from home Friday and watched him wake up, eat, move under a plant and sleep until 5 ish when he ate again before heading in to his dry hide and back to sleep. I assume he sleeps all night as well. He eats very well, drinks. He is very active when I put him outside in the sun. Based on the other posts, I am guessing this is not normal. Ideas?

How old is Elvis? What kind of temps do you have in your enclosure? Being a new owner, I am still experimenting with different temps....very difficult indeed!
Jack

 

[Neal]

Hmmm! Now I am a little worried. Actually I was worried before I read this thread. Elvis seems to sleep a lot. I would estimate 90% or more. I worked from home Friday and watched him wake up, eat, move under a plant and sleep until 5 ish when he ate again before heading in to his dry hide and back to sleep. I assume he sleeps all night as well. He eats very well, drinks. He is very active when I put him outside in the sun. Based on the other posts, I am guessing this is not normal. Ideas?

As long as he is eating and drinking and getting some exercise outside you should have nothing to worry about. Is he gaining weight?

 

[pi01]

Hmmm! Now I am a little worried. Actually I was worried before I read this thread. Elvis seems to sleep a lot. I would estimate 90% or more. I worked from home Friday and watched him wake up, eat, move under a plant and sleep until 5 ish when he ate again before heading in to his dry hide and back to sleep. I assume he sleeps all night as well. He eats very well, drinks. He is very active when I put him outside in the sun. Based on the other posts, I am guessing this is not normal. Ideas?

How old is Elvis? What kind of temps do you have in your enclosure? Being a new owner, I am still experimenting with different temps....very difficult indeed!
Jack

Jack - Thanks for the reply. I am not 100% certain but I would estimate 9-10 mths old. Temps - I felt (up until recently) the enclosure had a good temp gradient. Under the spotlight it was 100-110 and about 85-90 on the far side. After reading this post and that they like to sleep during the heat of the day, made me wonder if the temps were a bit too high. I made several adjustments last night...
1) Moved the spotlight further toward the end
2) increased the angle about 30-50% from pointing straight down
3) moved the CHE closer to the warm end
The lights were off when these were completed so I need to check temps tonight when I get home to see if they successfully dropped a few degrees.
I am also going to replace my T8 and put it on a seperate timer so the spotlight comes on first, followed by the T8 2 hours later. The T8 will then cut off two hours earlier then the spotlight for a total "on" time of 8 hours.
Thanks again!

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Hmmm! Now I am a little worried. Actually I was worried before I read this thread. Elvis seems to sleep a lot. I would estimate 90% or more. I worked from home Friday and watched him wake up, eat, move under a plant and sleep until 5 ish when he ate again before heading in to his dry hide and back to sleep. I assume he sleeps all night as well. He eats very well, drinks. He is very active when I put him outside in the sun. Based on the other posts, I am guessing this is not normal. Ideas?

As long as he is eating and drinking and getting some exercise outside you should have nothing to worry about. Is he gaining weight?

Hi Neal - Yes, he is gaining though I have not checked it in the last couple weeks. I need to purchase a digital scale so I can check more regularly... I may just be paranoid, but like most of us here I take this very seriously and want to make sure he gets the best care possible. Thanks for the help!

 

[Neal]

Is your spotlight an MVB? If so, you need to keep it pointed straight down. You will loose a lot of life out of the bulb if it is not positioned properly.

 

[Tom]

What's a T8? Just want to make sure its not a coil type florescent bulb. Those can damage their eyes.

Neal is right. Your MVB needs to point straight down. Adjust the height of the fixture to get the temps where you want them.

 

[Neal]

What's a T8?

They're the tube type bulbs. Florescent lights.

 

[pi01]

Is your spotlight an MVB? If so, you need to keep it pointed straight down. You will loose a lot of life out of the bulb if it is not positioned properly.

No it is not. It is a 75w reptile spotlight. For now it is keeping the temps where I want them tho I may switch to a PowerSun when our temps drop this winter.

---

What's a T8? Just want to make sure its not a coil type florescent bulb. Those can damage their eyes.

Neal is right. Your MVB needs to point straight down. Adjust the height of the fixture to get the temps where you want them.

Sorry. Flashback from my aquarium days... T8 is a standard sized tube flourescent. It is not a coil type which is a compact flourescent.

 

[Neal]

OK, then I would say placing it at an angle is good if it gets the temps to where you want them.

 

[pi01]

Quick Update: I checked the temp at the basking spot last night with a more accurate thermometer. Turned out it was close to 125! YIKES! I purchased a new dome light fixture with a dimmer and dialed it down to exactly 105. I also replaced the floursecent tube (10K) with a reptiun 10.0. A MUCH more appealing, softer light. The reptisun appears much more blue and I would guess close to a 12-15k light. I am hoping these small adjustments make a difference in his activity level and sleep pattern. Thanks everyone for the feedback! (Neal - I apologize if I hijacked your thread!!!)