New to Marginated Tortoises - Similar to Leopards?

Nickypoo

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I just purchased a Marginated tortoise from a friend of mine that owns a pet store. He's raised may torts and has always kept it around 70% humid with this one. I've been watching this Marginated since he was 30 grams and have been impressed with his activity, appetite and smooth growth. He was hatched in October.

I read through the care sheet and most of what I read seems very similar to the care of a Leopard tortoise. I've had Leopards for a few years. Can anyone help me with distinct differences in care?

Here are some pictures :)

As a baby tort1.jpg

Last night when I brought it home tort2.jpg
 

Alexio

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I have both marginated and leopards and for me the biggest difference is night heat. Leopards need to be kept at / above 80f day and night. Marginated like an ambient temp of 80-85 during the day but temps of 65-70 overnight. Humidity for marginated is good at 70, 80, or 90% i shoot for daytime humidity around 70 and night time humidity of 90.
 

Nickypoo

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I have both marginated and leopards and for me the biggest difference is night heat. Leopards need to be kept at / above 80f day and night. Marginated like an ambient temp of 80-85 during the day but temps of 65-70 overnight. Humidity for marginated is good at 70, 80, or 90% i shoot for daytime humidity around 70 and night time humidity of 90.

This is very helpful, is RI an issue with marginated? If I set the ambient temp during the night to 70, you see no issues? I'm crazy paranoid with night temps after experience with the Leos.
 

wellington

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Cold and wet/humid makes a sick tort. I don't have a Marginated but any tort cold and wet can/will get sick. I wouldn't personally go that low. I would keep it at 75. However, like I said. I don't own a Marginated but wouldn't risk it. Not for a hatchling
 

Tom

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70 at night will be fine for any Mediterranean tortoise species. I'd even go down to 65-68.

Another difference is the diet. From your avatar, it looks like you have SA leopards. I find this type does well on a diet high in grasses, much like a sulcata. Regualr leopards, not as much. Marginateds will not be harmed by eating grass, but it is not essential for them. They are more of a broadleaf weed eater.
 

Alexio

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This is very helpful, is RI an issue with marginated? If I set the ambient temp during the night to 70, you see no issues? I'm crazy paranoid with night temps after experience with the Leos.
I have three baby marginated and i have been dropping the temps every night for all 3 of them for the last year to around 65-70 degrees. I have never noticed any respiratory issues with any of them.
The real difference is the location each is found in the wild. In Africa the temperature never drops below 78 f day or night winter or summer so it would be "unnatural" to let a leopard get cooler than 80 degrees at any point in its life.
Marginated tortoises are typically found in the the Mediterranean in areas like greece, and Italy. They are often found at higher elevations in more mountainous regions. These conditions are harsher and have far less stable climates then found on Africa.

If you look at pictures of adult marginated you will notice they lose a lot of their light tan coloring and full adults are almost entirely black or dark gray. This is to help better absorb the little sunlight they get during the day. In the non summer months.
I have also noticed a decrease in activity on nights where the temperatures are not lowered. During the summer months i have to artificially lower the temperate of the room they are in or else the room can sit at 80 degrees over night. I have noticed than when this happens they are not as active the next day and can remain burrowed under substrate or hanging out in their hides for several hours in the morning. In contrast when i drop temperatures they are often sprawled out under the lights within 30 minutes of them coming on in the morning.
 

tglazie

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I have seen Margies suffer from RI before, but this generally occurred when they were kept at sub optimal temperatures for extended periods. One guy who bought one of my babies left for vacation and put his lights on a timer. The power failed and his generator failed to kick in, leaving the poor tortoise to sit for a weekend before his cousin could check on the house. Basically, the poor baby sat in 50-60 degree temps for three days. Ended up showing bubbles from the nose. Fortunately, following treatment through the vet, the kid pulled through. This is one of the big reasons I don't sell my kiddos until they're at least a year old. Yearlings can take a hit like that and bounce back.

As for the differences in their care, I think most folks have outlined those rather effectively. I guess where they're similar is where pretty much most desert/savanna/grassland tortoises maintain similarity. They all eat a wide variety of greens. Take it easy on the fruit. Ensure access to water at all times, with daily baths for the little ones who don't quite understand voluntary hydration at that young age. Basic tortoise stuff that you can glean from most any thread on the forum concerning husbandry topics.

Alexio is definitely right about temp drops with margies precipitating activity the following morning. Spring time is the right time for all my margies, and it is during that time that the temps fall into the fifties and sixties at night here in South Texas while the days are typically sunny with highs in the seventies and eighties. Under these conditions, my beasts become unstoppable grazing machines. Comparing this to the sweltering heat of the summer, when highs in the hundreds aren't unusual and lows in the mid eighties are the norm. During this time, yes, none of my margies maintain much in the way of activity, so I just water them, ensure that their insulated shelters are kept humid and in the upper seventies (it's amazing what a little insulation, shade and water will do, even on the hottest days). I think of it as something of a summer sleep. I've noticed tortoises seem to adapt to this South Texas climate much better if they were raised here from youngsters, exposed to the sometimes harsh extremes of native landscape from a young age. I've often found animals that I acquire as adults take a great deal of time to adjust to these new conditions, particularly if they come to me from another region. But, I suppose that is to be expected. It is interesting noting this when compared to when I kept sulcatas. Sullies are unstoppable when it comes to summer mornings following warm summer nights. Summer time is definitely the best time for observing sully behavior, though when it comes to sullies, I'm hard pressed to think of a time that isn't.

T.G.
 

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