New to us

[Traveller]

I'd like to introduce our new Leopard Tortoise.
We're assuming he's a he and so named him Luka.
He's approximately 3 years old, measuring 6 inches and weighing
560g.
I'm tickled pink that I have had the chance to find this guy, he's absolutely gorgeous and such a nice temperment.
We've only had him for 2 weeks but he's stolen everyones heart already.
The ' Betterhalf ' has just finished building an outdoor hut so Luka can be out and enjoy some good sunshine. It will be a challenge since our summers are only 3 months long if that.
Next project is a larger indoor enclosure.
I'm so glad this site is here, I've gotten so many good ideas, whether it's feeding or enclosures etc..
I'll try and post pics when I get a chance.
Cheers and thanks for reading.
Sue

 

[Stazz]

Awww welcome Luka !! Sue I like his name, very cute! We can't wait to see pics!

 

[Crazy1]

Sue congratulations on your new Leo.

 

[sendie]

congratulations, the leopards are such pretty tortoises!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Welcome to the group...do you mind if I ask where you live with only 3 months of good weather...I live in Oregon and that's about what I get. I try to keep a large Sulcata and a few other tortoises and turtles happy. I wish we had better summers for them...

 

[tortoisenerd]

Great! I live in WA and agree with the short summer thing. This year has been quite lovely though. I do like clouds a lot, but Trevor will learn to like the sun (he doesn't yet actually). Congrats! Looking forward to pictures.

 

[Traveller]

Ok well here's some pics.





Sorry they aren't the best.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Awwwww!

 

[Millerlite]

nice looking leo. one of my favorite types of tortoise

 

[treshell]

My family has had tort's for 5 human generations. This doesn't make us heavy on the knowledge side. The only thing that has been true to us all is that we only keep one tortoise. Unless they are Redfoot which seems to be more social. Or before they became too rare, TX tortoise who seem to like groups at night. We also keep only one habitat type per family. So my question is, this person seems to be going from rain forest to deserts with her breeds. How?
treshell

 

[Yvonne G]

It can be done. I have an acre of land, half of which is tortoise habitats. These different habitats consist of desert-type tortoises, forest tortoises and, of course, the Aldabran tortoises. You simply have to provide the type of plantings and terrain that best serves your tortoise's interests. For my desert-type tortoises, there is large plots of grassy terrain, open to the sun and not much shade. The Yellow foot tortoises habitat is right next to a pond, and contains very tall grasses, young trees and hibiscus plants. My Manouria, the rain forest tortoises, have larger plantings of trees and shrubs, with only filtered sunlight. I also have leopards and a sulcata, and plenty of box turtles. Hopefully, they all live in areas that offer them safety and comfort. You have to work at it, and plan for it, but it can be done.

Yvonne

 

[Traveller]

Welcome to the group...do you mind if I ask where you live with only 3 months of good weather...I live in Oregon and that's about what I get. I try to keep a large Sulcata and a few other tortoises and turtles happy. I wish we had better summers for them...

Sorry missed this question.
We live in Ontario Canada, so the majority of the time our torts will be housed inside.
A little more work to keep them happy and healthy but certainly well worth the effort.
Treshell.........Our 2 guys are housed seperately and for now it's not a big deal. Rosy is only 5-6 months old.
When they are bigger I'm planning on allowing each of them their own room. Children will be all grown up and what better way to make use of the empty rooms.
Hahahaha........no empty nest syndrome here

 

[treshell]

I'm planning on allowing each of them their own room.

An interesting possibility. I wonder if you could even plan the rooms with Murphy beds for guest over nights. Would certainly beat the common, you have the green room tonight. However children often take them off to life with them. No matter how hard a day is, the tortoise makes them laugh rather then cry.
tj

 

[tortoisenerd]

That's a cool idea! I'd sure give Trevor his own room if he was bigger and needed that much space. He's my baby.