Hi
 

Hi
We are going to collect our new family member next week, a baby leopard tortoise. excited is an understatment. Need to learn as much as possible, he's going to live on a table. Any info welcome ie food, enviroment etc,etc.

Tia Adie.

Welcome to the forum.

I have no idea about leopards, but thought I would say hello.

How exciting.

I wish I had discovered the forum when I first got my two. So much help here.

Hi Leopard hatchlings can be little different to raising meds. I got my first hatchlings in 1996 which had been captive bred in the UK. I have since raise these to adults and hatched my first hatchlings from them in 2008. Depending what your location is as adults they will need more than a table to keep them healthy. If I can help in any way don't hesitate to ask.

Hi There,

First thing to say is don't worry if they go a little quite they can be grumpy buggers and dont like change so just bear that in mind. Let the litte one settle the less contact and quite the better for the first few days (handling can cause distress even if it is very hard they are just so darn cute!)

One thing you may struggle with is a temp, we just couldn't manage it when Ralph was little so he was in a viv to start off with but not ideal for very long. Make sure you have a ceramic bulb on a thermostat throughout the night, we then switch it over in the morning to a sun bulb that's on top of his UV strip.

The best advice I could give you, is all torts are different what works for one may not for another and owners can be precious about their methods :) For example some feed pellets, some feed fresh only.... all are correct for their torts so do what you feel is best based on what you know.

Anyway it's a lot to digest but we are here if you need us. Enjoy your new addition :)

Can I ask if this is a captive bred Leopard hatchling because if so I would expect it is used to being handled. If not I would suggest daily bathing to help with hydration and to get it used to handling. I have kept both WC and CB Adults and the difference is incredible. Ask your vet how he feels about worming a large adult Leopard tortoise and you will get my drift here. Provided you have the temperature correct and the visual lighting is sufficient you should see activity fairly quickly.

Thanks for the info, I have him a table at the moment. Under his lamp its about 30deg c. The rest is at about 22, in his hide/bedroom its heated all the time to about 26. With a un heated side about 22. He sleeps on the heated side at the moment, he seems to go to bed at about 5ish. Or it could be that he is in new enviroment and still getting used to it. I'll keep posting on his progress.

sounds perfect. Don't forget to bathe regularly to hydrate also. Bet he is a cutey ! CB

Hi I prefer 34c for their basking spot they will need this to digest grasses if they are on a natural diet Just be cautious and limit their times say a couple of sessions perday of 3 - 4 hours max. Hydration is very important so access to clean fresh water 24/7. Bathing every couple of days won't do any harm either. All the handling is a good idea because they soon become very large adults.