My second tortoise: (Baby) Leopard Tortoise

[TheWarTortoise]

I have decided that I'm going to get a baby leopard tortoise! I just want to know, any info that I should know? I'm going to post some pictures when I get him too I just want something like a pros and cons list. I was going to get a Redfoot Tortoise, but they need humidity.

Thanks!
-Mitchell (TheWarTortoise)

 

[lovelyrosepetal]

Just to let you know, baby Leopard Tortoises need humidity, also. If you are going to buy a baby tortoise, I think they all need humidity. If you can't or won't provide humidity you might want to consider an adult. Good Luck!

 

[russiantortlover12]

Lovelyrosepetal, that is not true leopard torts dont need humidity in fact they should not have humidity it causes respitory issues. Just leave a water bowl in there terrarium and soak them 3 times a week

 

[Yvonne G]

Lovelyrosepetal, that is not true leopard torts dont need humidity in fact they should not have humidity it causes respitory issues. Just leave a water bowl in there terrarium and soak them 3 times a week

Hi russiantortlover12, and welcome to the Forum!

What you have heard about raising baby leopard tortoises is "old school," and might be harmful to your baby leopard tortoise. There is a very new school of thought about this subject, and you can read about it here:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-31227.html

We have recently learned that keeping leopard and sulcata babies the dry method, like you suggested, causes them to grow pyramided.

 

[TortoiseBoy1999]

Baby Leopard tortoise's DO need humidity and it is VERY crucial. They will only get a respiratory infection if they are kept cold. If s/he is kept warm and humid s/he will be fine

 

[wellington]

Lovelyrosepetal, that is not true leopard torts dont need humidity in fact they should not have humidity it causes respitory issues. Just leave a water bowl in there terrarium and soak them 3 times a week

Sorry, but you are very wrong. Read the threads at the bottom of my post. All of them, even the sulcata ones are the correct way of raising a healthy, smooth leopard.

---

I have decided that I'm going to get a baby leopard tortoise! I just want to know, any info that I should know? I'm going to post some pictures when I get him too I just want something like a pros and cons list. I was going to get a Redfoot Tortoise, but they need humidity.

Thanks!
-Mitchell (TheWarTortoise)

Baby leopards need humidity, 80% humidity and higher temps. Not lower then 80. They will need this for their first year for sure and even upto two years. Read Toms threads at the bottom of my post. They all are the correct way of raising a smooth, healthy leopard.

 

[russiantortlover12]

I don't mean my humidity there should be a humid hide but other than that it should not be more than 50 percent

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't mean my humidity there should be a humid hide but other than that it should not be more than 50 percent

Still "nope!" You need to do more research, as Wellington suggested, by reading the threads she links in her signature.

 

[TortoiseBoy1999]

Still "nope!" You need to do more research, as Wellington suggested, by reading the threads she links in her signature.

Ditto! 

 

[wellington]

I don't mean my humidity there should be a humid hide but other than that it should not be more than 50 percent

Still "nope!" You need to do more research, as Wellington suggested, by reading the threads she links in her signature.

Yes, please do more research. It is all available on this forum to learn. Too many people on here have done the work, research and experiments, to prove that your ideas of tortoise keeping is bad for the tortoises.

 

[Neal]

50% humidity will be just fine for a baby leopard tortoise as a minimum. More would not hurt of course.

Actually, we have not done enough research to identify how much humidity is in fact necessary to prevent pyramiding. But having kept tortoises in conditions less than 50% with good results, I think it's a good baseline.

 

[Tortus]

50% humidity will be just fine for a baby leopard tortoise as a minimum. More would not hurt of course.

Actually, we have not done enough research to identify how much humidity is in fact necessary to prevent pyramiding. But having kept tortoises in conditions less than 50% with good results, I think it's a good baseline.

I've been hearing 80% minimum from a few people here. I'm wondering if someone like Tom has done enough experiments to determine the exact humidity minimum to guarantee a smooth leopard tortoise? I may have missed it. I've heard him pretty much guarantee high humidity and warmth from very early on will produce a smooth tortoise, but I don't recall any exact numbers aside from temperature.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I have decided that I'm going to get a baby leopard tortoise! I just want to know, any info that I should know? I'm going to post some pictures when I get him too I just want something like a pros and cons list. I was going to get a Redfoot Tortoise, but they need humidity.

Thanks!
-Mitchell (TheWarTortoise)

Hi Mitchell. Leo's are great torts. I have a 8month old. Do you consider humidity a con? If so, add that to your leopard con list. The hatchlings will need humidity.

To me the pros are: the have pretty patterns, get big, dont eat bugs.
the cons are: he isn't getting big enough fast enough which isn't really a con. I just really look forward to the day when s/he is big enough to live outdoors full time. I wanted a smooth leopard though so I opted to raise one from hatchling age so I could eventually have the big smooth leo I want.

Lovelyrosepetal, that is not true leopard torts dont need humidity in fact they should not have humidity it causes respitory issues. Just leave a water bowl in there terrarium and soak them 3 times a week

any tort (leopard or russian) in a humid environment that is too cold can/will have a respiratory issues. the key is to keep any tort in a humid environment WARM.

50% humidity will be just fine for a baby leopard tortoise as a minimum. More would not hurt of course.

I agree here. My humidity is always between 50-80%. I spray the tank in the morning to make 80%. But throughout the day my humidity eventually reaches 50%. I may spray it again to jump back up but not everyday and obviously not if I am not home. My leo is still perfectly smooth. So going from 50-80% has been ok for my lil' guy.

 

[Neal]

I've been hearing 80% minimum from a few people here. I'm wondering if someone like Tom has done enough experiments to determine the exact humidity minimum to guarantee a smooth leopard tortoise? I may have missed it. I've heard him pretty much guarantee high humidity and warmth from very early on will produce a smooth tortoise, but I don't recall any exact numbers aside from temperature.

I should mention that, even though I do think 50% is a good minimum it should only be in the open area of the enclosure. There should still be at least one humid hide with significantly higher humidity.

No, to my knowledge there have not been any experiments to test different levels of humidity. Although the results I have seen with mine are not consistent with babcocki leopards, I still consider them "good" and the tortoises in reference were exposed to long periods of humidity less than 50%, so I don't think it's wrong which is why I commented with the caveat. There have been some (Like Team Gomberg) who have consistently maintained a 50% minimum, and have obtained good results.

 

[Tortus]

I guess there's no way of currently knowing how many hours per day elevated humidity is needed.

Mine is in a large storage bin for now that came with a hinged lid that I cut in half. I always keep it half-covered, where the humidity stays especially high, but at night I've been covering the entire thing, turning it into a giant humid hide. So it gets at least 12.5 hours per day of 90%+ as it sleeps.

It seems like there are always improvements to be made.

 

[Zamric]

I keep my yearlings in a closed enclosure between 50% and 80% Humidity but thier ambiant temp. never drops below 80* and the coolside of the enclosure has a ground temp of 75*, Hot side has a spot (directly under MVB) 115*.

I have very nice results after 10 months of keeping in this enviroment.

 

[Tortus]

I also have a small area under the MVB I just got that gets around that high. The tort knows not to stay there for very long so I don't worry about raising the light any more. The more I raise it, the less UBV it will get. But the tortoise's shell never reads over 94 degrees. It moves around to keep it at that temp or less.

But that hot spot reading is what my gun gives me after the light has been on for a while and the substrate begins to dry on top. Imagine if you took a temp gun to their natural range in Africa and shined it on a rock that's been sitting in the sun for a few hours. I bet you'd get a reading of 120 or more.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

i will add that just like zamric my temps never drop below 80 either**

 

[Tom]

The Austrian study done on sulcatas did use different levels of consistent humidity for several groups of sulcatas during the course of the experiment. Basically, the more humid it was, the less they pyramided. The ones that were at 80% or higher simply did not pyramid. The ones at 50% pyramided more than the ones at 80%. My experiments over the last three years affirm the same thing. I am having the best results ever using closed chambers where the humidity is always above 80%. I am now housing my leopards this way too, but they were started in partially open topped enclosures with fluctuating humidity. This spring I intend to start some brand new hatchling regular leopards in a closed chamber, using my style of keeping and showing the results. When I'm satisfied with the results, I will sell off the well started smooth babies.

It should be noted that hydration, diet, calcium and mineral supplementation, exercise, warm temps, shell spraying and UV, are all part of my strategy for starting smooth, healthy hatchlings.

 

[marcy4hope]

I keep my yearlings in a closed enclosure between 50% and 80% Humidity but thier ambiant temp. never drops below 80* and the coolside of the enclosure has a ground temp of 75*, Hot side has a spot (directly under MVB) 115*.

I have very nice results after 10 months of keeping in this enviroment.

those are some great looking, smooth leopards!