New leopard owner

[BOBdahui]

Hi everyone,
I've been reading through the forums the last couple weeks and this is going to be my first post. This post is to insure I'm hitting all the correct guidelines for proper Leopard tortoise care.
My fiance and I bought a Leopard tortoise from a reptile convention in Hamburg, PA on June 6th. His name is Yortoise. I'm not sure of his age or sex (we call 'him' he), but he's 2.75 inches long and weighs 74.7 grams.
We live in Gaithersburg, MD and plan to keep him indoors. We currently have him in a 15gallon long aquarium. I'm using cypress mulch as his substrate.
We feed him twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. His diet consists of mainly mustard greens and kale. About once a week we feed him a chopped banana. My fiance bought a cuttlebone from the local pet store thats suppose to provide him with some calcium (I don't think I've ever seen him notice it). I give him fresh dechlorinated water everyday and lately I've been giving him a quick bath in a shallow dish before I head out to work.
I've been playing around with different means of heating his tank to get the optimal tempature. Currently I'm using a UVB bulb which is placed overhead on the far right side of his tank. I keep it on from 8:00am until around 9:00pm (when we get home from work). I then switch it out for a Nightglow bulb. I also have a small heating pad placed on the backside of the tank which I keep on 24/7. Generally the tank runs around 85 degrees in the day and around 78 at night.
Twice a day I give his tank a good misting and I keep a small pile of peat moss damp at all times.
I have a couple concerns with my little Yortoise. First off, I've noticed he does this weird thing when he's laying still. The only way I can describe it is he's slowly swimming on land. His front legs and head sort of bob. He doesn't do it all the time but I notice him doing it at least once a day (usually more). I've tried researching it and couldn't find anything closely related.
Also, it might just me being paranoid but I feel like he should be eating more. Maybe he's just picky because he does seem to prefer the mustard greens over the kale.
Any insight you could give me would be greatly appreciated. My name is Ian by the way.
Thanks in advance =)

 

[Greg T]

Welcome to the world of torts Ian. The bobbing thing you talk about is simply him breathing heavy. Nothing to worry about. I think you should tweak his diet some and add spring mix lettuce. Mustard greens and Kale are okay occasionally but shouldn't be the main diet. They are higher in oxalates than other foods which can interfere in a torts digestion. Most leopard owners feed a diet of spring mix or other lettuces as the main staple and supplement it with other greens and stuff. Fruit occasionally is okay too.

Sounds like you are off to a good start. Nice to have another Leo owner here.

 

[BOBdahui]

Thank you for the the information, Greg.
I'm not sure why the photo of his enclosure did not attach properly, so I'll attach it here.

 

[jesst]

Congrats and welcome!! He is very cute and looks great. I would try to keep the temps above 80 if you are keeping the humidity up. He should have a cool side that stays above 80 and a warm side with a basking light and temp of 95-100. I use a heat emitter at night and a 35w regular spot light as my basking light. this is my enclosure that I am using for my 6 month old leopard. I have changed it a little but it keeps the heat and humidity up without a lot of work. Good luck with your little

 

[tortle]

Is your UVB bulb the coiled kind? Because that kind can cause blindness. And the swimming behavior might be him just basking. My torts spread out their legs all the way to the front and back when they're basking.

 

[BOBdahui]

Is your UVB bulb the coiled kind? Because that kind can cause blindness. And the swimming behavior might be him just basking. My torts spread out their legs all the way to the front and back when they're basking.

No it's a bulb. He does the swimming thing regardless of where in the tank he is. I've even noticed him doing it in his sleep. I'm just going to assume its him breathing heavily=)

 

[BOBdahui]

Congrats and welcome!! He is very cute and looks great. I would try to keep the temps above 80 if you are keeping the humidity up. He should have a cool side that stays above 80 and a warm side with a basking light and temp of 95-100. I use a heat emitter at night and a 35w regular spot light as my basking light. this is my enclosure that I am using for my 6 month old leopard. I have changed it a little but it keeps the heat and humidity up without a lot of work. Good luck with your little

What kind of substrate is that your using?

 

[AustinASU]

Haha no worries my baby leos do it to, they really get into it once they are under the uvb bulb....i figured it was a way for them to bask and pump warmer blood into their system Go to walmart and get fresh collard greens....98cents for a bundle.

 

[jesst]

Congrats and welcome!! He is very cute and looks great. I would try to keep the temps above 80 if you are keeping the humidity up. He should have a cool side that stays above 80 and a warm side with a basking light and temp of 95-100. I use a heat emitter at night and a 35w regular spot light as my basking light. this is my enclosure that I am using for my 6 month old leopard. I have changed it a little but it keeps the heat and humidity up without a lot of work. Good luck with your little

What kind of substrate is that your using?

I use coco coir and some eucalyptus mulch. I soak it once a week and spray her about 4-5 times a day.

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

The head bobbing is normal for baby torts, apparently. It's only an issue when their whole body starts to do it, not just their front legs and head.

 

[wellington]

Hello and WELCOME read the threads at the bottom of my post. They are all good for raising a smooth healthy leopard. You do need to add more variety to his diet. He should be soaked in warm water at least once a day for 20-30 minutes. The humidity should be around 80% with temps not lower then 80 with basking 95+. coconut coir will hold humidity the best and won't mold. You should try to get him outside every day that the temps permit. Tortoises should live outside when possible. He should have water available 24/7 for him to drink and to soak himself in should he want. The dish should be shallow so he can get in and out himself. This is along with the daily soaks. He also should be getting calcium with D3 in it about once a week.

 

[Jeansie1988]

I have not heard before that the coil kind of UVB lights can cause blindness! I recently got a red foot tortoise and the reptile store near me recommended this type of bulb over the T8 lights.....? If I should be using these T8 lights instead, what kind?

 

[TortoiseBoy1999]

I have not heard before that the coil kind of UVB lights can cause blindness! I recently got a red foot tortoise and the reptile store near me recommended this type of bulb over the T8 lights.....? If I should be using these T8 lights instead, what kind?

Yep it sure can! If you have a Petsmart or Petco nearby try this: