I am sorry I posted this in the intro as well. After thinking I realized that it most probable was not the best place to post to get an urgent answer.
I am Afrikaans, from South Africa and have a house next to the Kruger National Park and another house 5 hours away in Johannesburg. We have an abundance of wild tortoises etc. on our property at Kruger and I am only familiar with the wild kind.
My problem is that a leopard tortoise was dropped off at my home in Johannesburg yesterday. Johannesburg is no place for a tortoise because there is a huge difference in the climate and we've been having a lot of rain. Apparently he was found walking in the street, thank God he wasnt eaten by the Africans or driven over! The people that found him placed him in their yard and left him permanently outside since the 28th of November 09. He only ate grass and old lettuce during this time. We've been having a cold summer in Johannesburg with temperatures only reaching 27C and 15C at night (80 - 59). It also has been raining heavily every day for about an hour and this poor tortoise were outside with no shelter etc.!
They brought him to me, not in a box, but by holding him in the air and he was pooping and weeing everywhere. I almost had a heart attack - how on earth can you carry a tortoise or any kind of animal like that! He must have been so afraid thinking that a Martial eagle got hold of him, my heart broke!
I've placed him on top of a blanked in a huge low cut box - (he can see over the edge) under a basking light. He did peak out a couple of times but did not move much and he slept like that last night. It is rainy today so he cant go outside. I fed him the same food as my iguana except that I added grass and no veggies or fruit because he does not get that in his natural environment. After heating up he started walking all over the house and pooped once again and weed twice. Is that normal? He is definitely extremely stressed so I did not give him an over all inspection yet.
I will take photos of him tonight and try and weigh him. I want to know his approximate age and what sex he is.
If he is not too old and too used to captivity then I would like to release him at my other house. If I do that then it would be exactly the same as being back in the wild, there are no gardens etc. just bushveld. There is also all the natural predators ect. and the correct climate and food.
Will it be the right thing to do to release him? If he is big enough then his only thread would be elephants and buffalo on land and there are just a few types of eagles that prey on big tortoises. Ag, I dont know what to do!
He cant free-roam in my garden because in the front we have dogs, at the back we have a swimming pool and on the side is my iguana jungle. Will he fall into the pool or are they clever enough to stay away from lots of water?
Is it normal that he breathes heavily? He is not wet around the nose but it seems like he is battling to breath. I am afraid that he might have got sick from sleeping outside and being in the rain. How do they breath normally?
The only vet that can help me will be back in Feb, he is on holiday. Sad
I will try and record his breathing as well so you can tell me if it is urgent or just my nerves.
Any suggestions of what I can do to make him more comfortable? Should I give him a low water bath because he is very dirty? Can I release him if he is healthy?
I am Afrikaans, from South Africa and have a house next to the Kruger National Park and another house 5 hours away in Johannesburg. We have an abundance of wild tortoises etc. on our property at Kruger and I am only familiar with the wild kind.
My problem is that a leopard tortoise was dropped off at my home in Johannesburg yesterday. Johannesburg is no place for a tortoise because there is a huge difference in the climate and we've been having a lot of rain. Apparently he was found walking in the street, thank God he wasnt eaten by the Africans or driven over! The people that found him placed him in their yard and left him permanently outside since the 28th of November 09. He only ate grass and old lettuce during this time. We've been having a cold summer in Johannesburg with temperatures only reaching 27C and 15C at night (80 - 59). It also has been raining heavily every day for about an hour and this poor tortoise were outside with no shelter etc.!
They brought him to me, not in a box, but by holding him in the air and he was pooping and weeing everywhere. I almost had a heart attack - how on earth can you carry a tortoise or any kind of animal like that! He must have been so afraid thinking that a Martial eagle got hold of him, my heart broke!
I've placed him on top of a blanked in a huge low cut box - (he can see over the edge) under a basking light. He did peak out a couple of times but did not move much and he slept like that last night. It is rainy today so he cant go outside. I fed him the same food as my iguana except that I added grass and no veggies or fruit because he does not get that in his natural environment. After heating up he started walking all over the house and pooped once again and weed twice. Is that normal? He is definitely extremely stressed so I did not give him an over all inspection yet.
I will take photos of him tonight and try and weigh him. I want to know his approximate age and what sex he is.
If he is not too old and too used to captivity then I would like to release him at my other house. If I do that then it would be exactly the same as being back in the wild, there are no gardens etc. just bushveld. There is also all the natural predators ect. and the correct climate and food.
Will it be the right thing to do to release him? If he is big enough then his only thread would be elephants and buffalo on land and there are just a few types of eagles that prey on big tortoises. Ag, I dont know what to do!
He cant free-roam in my garden because in the front we have dogs, at the back we have a swimming pool and on the side is my iguana jungle. Will he fall into the pool or are they clever enough to stay away from lots of water?
Is it normal that he breathes heavily? He is not wet around the nose but it seems like he is battling to breath. I am afraid that he might have got sick from sleeping outside and being in the rain. How do they breath normally?
The only vet that can help me will be back in Feb, he is on holiday. Sad
I will try and record his breathing as well so you can tell me if it is urgent or just my nerves.
Any suggestions of what I can do to make him more comfortable? Should I give him a low water bath because he is very dirty? Can I release him if he is healthy?