New leopard tortoise

[tortoises_sannav]

I just recently got a leopard tortoise hatchling. Right now he is set up in a 3 foot by 4 foot wood box with cypress mulch. I have a UVB lamp and ceramic heat lamp at one end and a little hide for him at the other end. Right now I am feeding him a mix of collard greens, mustard greens, and turnip greens and then I have some flower topper that I put on 1-2x a week as well as the zoomed grassland tortoise food that I do about 4x a week mixed in with the greens. I put calcium powder on his food about 3x a week. I soak him daily for about 10-15 minutes, I was told not to keep water in his enclosure yet in case he flips over in the water dish and can't get himself upright. I was wondering if anyone has any more suggestions for anything I might be missing for him and any ideas on how I can give him a little more variety in his diet?

 

[wellington]

Yes, you need to read the care sheet and change things up like get a water dish in the enclosure. A low sided clay saucer is the best to use. The humidity needs to be 80% and he needs to be in a closed chamber with a tube uvb light not a coil/cfl or mvb.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and Welcome to the Forum!

 

[Ink]

Welcome to the forum

 

[TammyJ]

Welcome to the forum and please post some pictures?

 

[Tom]

I just recently got a leopard tortoise hatchling. Right now he is set up in a 3 foot by 4 foot wood box with cypress mulch. I have a UVB lamp and ceramic heat lamp at one end and a little hide for him at the other end. Right now I am feeding him a mix of collard greens, mustard greens, and turnip greens and then I have some flower topper that I put on 1-2x a week as well as the zoomed grassland tortoise food that I do about 4x a week mixed in with the greens. I put calcium powder on his food about 3x a week. I soak him daily for about 10-15 minutes, I was told not to keep water in his enclosure yet in case he flips over in the water dish and can't get himself upright. I was wondering if anyone has any more suggestions for anything I might be missing for him and any ideas on how I can give him a little more variety in his diet?

Hello and welcome. You've been given some not-so-good advice it seems. Give this a read and look for the leopard tortoise care sheet at the bottom.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Collards, mustard and turnip greens are all okay once in a while, but none of those should be staples. Weeds, leaves, and succulents of the right types should be the main foods. If you must use grocery store greens, favor endive and escarole. You are using good amendment items, but you need better greens. With those amendments you can also start using the lettuces: red leaf, green leaf, romaine, butter, etc... Use cilantro, arugula, dandelion greens and the three you are currently using for variety. Order up some spineless opuntia types and start growing your own. Leopards eat a fair amount of succulents in the wild, and opuntia is a great, healthy way to deliver this. I like to find local opuntia and plant pads from varieties that obviously do well in your local climate. There are lots of mulberry trees and grape vines for leaves in AZ too.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Hi there, I too have a leopard tortoise.

Even as a baby, I gave mine chopped grass and weeds from the yard. variety is key so aim for lots of different good foods.

I raised my tortoise following Tom's care sheet (posted above) and he's now 11 years old and thriving.
It's a long read but worth it. Once you get it set up, it's pretty easy to maintain.

 

[tortoises_sannav]

Yes, you need to read the care sheet and change things up like get a water dish in the enclosure. A low sided clay saucer is the best to use. The humidity needs to be 80% and he needs to be in a closed chamber with a tube uvb light not a coil/cfl or mvb.

Great thank you I will make these changes ASAP

 

[tortoises_sannav]

Hello and welcome. You've been given some not-so-good advice it seems. Give this a read and look for the leopard tortoise care sheet at the bottom.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Collards, mustard and turnip greens are all okay once in a while, but none of those should be staples. Weeds, leaves, and succulents of the right types should be the main foods. If you must use grocery store greens, favor endive and escarole. You are using good amendment items, but you need better greens. With those amendments you can also start using the lettuces: red leaf, green leaf, romaine, butter, etc... Use cilantro, arugula, dandelion greens and the three you are currently using for variety. Order up some spineless opuntia types and start growing your own. Leopards eat a fair amount of succulents in the wild, and opuntia is a great, healthy way to deliver this. I like to find local opuntia and plant pads from varieties that obviously do well in your local climate. There are lots of mulberry trees and grape vines for leaves in AZ too.

Great thank you so much for all the helpful advice!