Leopard tortoise info thread

Hi everyone..

Before I start, would there be any chance of making this a sticky so that us Leopard owners can share information???

Ok here goes....

Can someone please tell me the difference between the two sub speices of leopards :

Geochelone pardalis pardalis

Geochelone pardals babcocki

I understand that it is mainly size and geographical area but would like a little more detail please.

Also.... could anyone share hints, tips and general wisdom for leopard owners.

I hope you find this thread as useful as I will.

Thanks,

[piglet]

Hi Debs
Good topic starter lets see how it goes then we will decide if it becomes a sticky so come on all you knowlegable leopard owners help Debs out here
Darren

[carl20]

well most of the information is out there on the web but tips and hints from owners are invaluable,
as for the two sub species, i dont really know a great deal but the main one in circulation is babcocki and a handy way to tell the difference is that on the scutes a babcocki will have one or less spots, in your case jez has none, a p p may usually have 2 spots on each scute.
I advise personally a warm bath every day as these leos grow fast and im sure their skin will appreciate the moisture, also they are best housed in a drier environment so it gives them a chance to drink and get some moisture back if they dont use their own bath.

[veebee]

Carl is right, (I've read one of the books I won on the auction from Dan!!!) and the 'Geochelone pardalis pardalis' has two spots in each scute whereas the 'Geochelone pardalis babcocki) has one or no spots in a scute. The babcocki is found mainly in East Africa down to eastern parts of South Africa and is smaller in size than the pardalis pardalis which is not so common and is found in parts of South Africa.

Vivienne

Thanks for the information guys!

Just a quick question about temps? In Jez's room it is about 26 degrees (ambient temp) during the day with the heat lamp at 35 degrees. At night as our house is naturally warm it is dropping to about 20-21 degrees. Is this temp change enough for leo's

Thanks in advance.

[piglet]

In general the spots centring the aureoles can emerge or even disappear depending on the speed of growth and age generally after 6 months so making id very difficult on identifying sub species of leopard tortoise.
Many captive bred leopards are of uncertain ancestry as hybrid between the sub species are all to frequent a true id is always difficult unless the parents or animals locality of collection is known.
Many leopards are CF and the bulk of these farms are in Tanzania, WC adults are gathered from both sub species and run together so again not always an accurate id can be given when shipped from country of origin with baby leopards .
Many species that contain sub varieties or even sub species are cross bred in captivity, Redfoots, Hermans, Horsfields, med spurthighs,and so on the best thing to do unless 100% certain on your animals id when using Latin names in your signatures is use the nominate species name Geochelone pardalis for instance
Darren

sounds good to me!

Thanks for all of the info! Any ideas on the temperatures?

[carl20]

temps sound good to me

phew!!!! I'm glad! He seems happy enough and we are going to put the sand/soil mix in his table this weekend so he can bury down and regulate his temperature.

Do they bury to stay warm or cool down?

[Becks]

Daytime temperatures should be 80-90 F (27-32 C), with a drop at night to 65-75 F (19-24 C)
. They cannot tolerate cool or damp conditions.
this is what i have found not that i keep leopards myself ..
but im sure some 1 will correct me if im wrong
luv becks xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx