New guy on his way

[lMorphine]

After I gave up my Russian tortoise, I regretted it since day one. I just couldn't live without her. I still see her sometimes and I know shes happy but its not the same. Sooooo... I decided to take the plunge and order a baby leopard tortoise from LLLreptile. She will be delivered on Wednesday. So I decided to come here and get some advice on this giantor species.

She will be approx 2" when delivered. So I got her a 36" x 24" x 10" cement mixing tray.

Substrate: 50% coco fiber, 25% sand, and 25% organic growing weeds and grass.

Lighting: 100W daytime basking light, 50W Night time red heating light, and a 10.0 UVB tube.

Food: Mustard, Dandelion, Collared greens, kale, endive, chicory, spring mix, mazuri tortoise pellets and some hay.

I also have a hide box for him.


I have a few questions for people who know about leo's. I heard 50% humidity is best, but Ive read other things where they are kept at 0-10%. What is the best? Also, do males or females get larger? Generally males but when I called LLL they told me that females tend to be larger, they just grow slower?

Anything else I should know? Thanks guys! Pictures to follow ofcourse

 

[Steve_McQueen]

Read this.

 

[lMorphine]

Read this.

Tom's thread was one of the first things I read on Leopards. I saw he keeps his humidity high at like 80%. Guess I should do that then =]

 

[JJ_BOY]

Females do normally grow larger than male torts. But judging by what the things you said you have you should be fine.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Read this.

Tom's thread was one of the first things I read on Leopards. I saw he keeps his humidity high at like 80%. Guess I should do that then =]

Yes, follow Toms setup as an example for what you should strive to duplicate. I would get rid of the red night light and go with a CHE on a thermostat. This will give your leo the opportunity to stay warm with complete darkness at night. Some report that the red light also can confuse a tortoise into thinking the substrate is a food item do to the color now being red. I have no experience with the red lights-I've always had CHE's. keep us updated regular and remember to posts pictures when your new one arrives.
Speaking of the arrival, not sure if you know this, but when you get your little guy, promptly give a nice warm soak. Like car rides causing dogs to puke, car rides often cause tortoises to evacuate their bowels. The soak gives the little guy a chance to warm up and rehydrate, and gives you the opportunity to clean him up.

 

[lMorphine]

Yes, follow Toms setup as an example for what you should strive to duplicate. I would get rid of the red night light and go with a CHE on a thermostat. This will give your leo the opportunity to stay warm with complete darkness at night. Some report that the red light also can confuse a tortoise into thinking the substrate is a food item do to the color now being red. I have no experience with the red lights-I've always had CHE's. keep us updated regular and remember to posts pictures when your new one arrives.
Speaking of the arrival, not sure if you know this, but when you get your little guy, promptly give a nice warm soak. Like car rides causing dogs to puke, car rides often cause tortoises to evacuate their bowels. The soak gives the little guy a chance to warm up and rehydrate, and gives you the opportunity to clean him up.

Alright thanks. Ill change the order now. Is a CHE without a thermostat alright? And whats the lowest temp at night? Not below 70? And yes, Ill definitely give him a nice long soaking. Right after I admire how cute and small he is. xD

 

[BeeBee*BeeLeaves]

Congrats on your new leopard tortoise on its way. Woo hoo! I have a darling hatchling too! Really enjoying my little guy or gal.

Like everyone else, I read (and read and read) and looked at the pics of Tom's suggested husbandry, and those of others who were also doing the same. I also found an African safari site picture which had a leopard tortoise in marsh areas. Okay, cool ... this might be how it should be. So, yes ...

Hot - Humid - Hydrated = HAPPY!

How lucky are we to find this info while our babies are babies?

 

[lMorphine]

My main concern is his size. I live in NY so this guy will be an insider for most of the months. I have the room it's just wow. Might be overwhelming but that's the exciting part. I love the idea of having a 50 pound tortoise walking around my house. Plus my future kids will be forced to love him. And when I die, he belongs to them =P

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

I have a 6 month old sulcata, Little Ricky, and the care for the most part is the same. I do not allow my temps in the coldest part to get below 80. That's right, 80 is my cool side. This is where my humid hide is and my thermostat is inside the box. Many people don't use thermostats and guess at the temps. I like setting the temp and humidity and then just monitoring to insure everything is functioning as it should.

 

[lMorphine]

I bought 2 temperature gauges, 2 humidity gauges and a temp probe. Im ready to go =]

 

[Steve_McQueen]

You'll want to get a dimmer switch for the CHE, if you're not going to use a thermostat. That way you can adjust the output to dial in the perfect temperature.

 

[lMorphine]

My tortoise will be delivered by 10 AM on Wednesday. Unfortunately my lights won't arrive til about 4PM on Wednesday. Do you think he'll be alright at about 70 degrees until the lights arrive?

 

[kanalomele]

He should be fine. After his soak put a regular incandescent bulb near his enclosure it will give him a bit of warmth before his new bulbs arrive.

 

[lMorphine]

He should be fine. After his soak put a regular incandescent bulb near his enclosure it will give him a bit of warmth before his new bulbs arrive.

Thank you =] I'm excited for him and I'll be setting up his environment tomorrow . Who knows I may want a second one

 

[Laura]

wait till your 50+ pound tortoise poops all over your house.. not so fun...
you REALLY need a large yard.. they are shelled cows... they need to be outside and grazing..
They are very destructive as well..
I think you may need to rethink this or plan on moving in a few years.

 

[lMorphine]

Well I have a gigantic yard but the problem is I live in NY. She'll have to deal with the grass and weeds that I'm going to grow her inside