CONFUSED with conflicting info!!

[trusty]

WEL I thought I had done ALL my research before getting our new little leopard tortoise,,, she is between 10 - 12 cm (not measured exactly as am trying to let her settle in) and I was going to keep her in an open tortoise table,, UV heat during the day,, turned off at night with a CHE on at night for the heat.. She is eating and drinking,, I am soaking her 3 times a week for 20 minutes and giving her calcium then calcium D3,,, my confusion is I stupidly went on an American forum (didn;t realise it was american) and they are telling me I am doing it ALL wrong as new research shows if they are kept in a humid environment of 80% in a covered enclosure then they will NOT pyramid and if I continue to keep her as she is then it is certain she will pyramid!!!! HELP unsure now as what to do,, they told me I am reading all old info.......

[EJ]

Research what a reptile is. Heat allows a proper metabolism. Hydration... is the single most component of life.

You slight the american way of thinking... yet it is an american who came up with the idea that humidity is the single most important component in proper chelonian shell development.

There are certain organizations(if you can call them that) that have a certain mindset without regard to the actual biology of the animal.

Originally Posted by trusty

WEL I thought I had done ALL my research before getting our new little leopard tortoise,,, she is between 10 - 12 cm (not measured exactly as am trying to let her settle in) and I was going to keep her in an open tortoise table,, UV heat during the day,, turned off at night with a CHE on at night for the heat.. She is eating and drinking,, I am soaking her 3 times a week for 20 minutes and giving her calcium then calcium D3,,, my confusion is I stupidly went on an American forum (didn;t realise it was american) and they are telling me I am doing it ALL wrong as new research shows if they are kept in a humid environment of 80% in a covered enclosure then they will NOT pyramid and if I continue to keep her as she is then it is certain she will pyramid!!!! HELP unsure now as what to do,, they told me I am reading all old info.......

[trusty]

Originally Posted by EJ

Research what a reptile is. Heat allows a proper metabolism. Hydration... is the single most component of life.

You slight the american way of thinking... yet it is an american who came up with the idea that humidity is the single most important component in proper chelonian shell development.

There are certain organizations(if you can call them that) that have a certain mindset without regard to the actual biology of the animal.

HI I am not SLIGHTING the american way of thinking I am saying that I am slightly confused by all the conflicting information.... There is NO inbetween it seems to be one or the other..... My tortoise house is half covered and the other half with the uv heat is open... this helps to keep the humidity in one half but I am waiting for my humidity thermometer to arrive to see exactly what it is.... I am not too keen in keeping her in a glass house as I don;t think it is natural.... It just seems to be that anyone on american forums is ALL FOR the 80% humidity glass vivarium home and is AGAINST completely an open top table!!!!!

I am saying neither is right or wrong I do not know as i am not a toroitse expert which is why I am trying to find out others opinions...

THANKS for your reply as always any advice is greatly appreciated....

[lonelylayla]

Originally Posted by trusty

WEL I thought I had done ALL my research before getting our new little leopard tortoise,,, she is between 10 - 12 cm (not measured exactly as am trying to let her settle in) and I was going to keep her in an open tortoise table,, UV heat during the day,, turned off at night with a CHE on at night for the heat.. She is eating and drinking,, I am soaking her 3 times a week for 20 minutes and giving her calcium then calcium D3,,, my confusion is I stupidly went on an American forum (didn;t realise it was american) and they are telling me I am doing it ALL wrong as new research shows if they are kept in a humid environment of 80% in a covered enclosure then they will NOT pyramid and if I continue to keep her as she is then it is certain she will pyramid!!!! HELP unsure now as what to do,, they told me I am reading all old info.......

Hi. not keeping leopards I doubt if I will be any help at all However, did notice that this is your first post and you are obviously doing your best to make sure your new tort is healthy and happy Hang on in there - I am sure a knowledgeable leopard person will be along very soon to give you some useful pointers

[trusty]

Originally Posted by lonelylayla

Hi. not keeping leopards I doubt if I will be any help at all However, did notice that this is your first post and you are obviously doing your best to make sure your new tort is healthy and happy Hang on in there - I am sure a knowledgeable leopard person will be along very soon to give you some useful pointers

THANKS so much... I have done so much research OR so I thought.... I am sure I will eventually get it right

[rocio]

I'm not that knowledgeable about Leopards as I've only had mine 5 minutes but I now keep them in a humid hide at night. I live in Southern Spain so much of the year they can go outside in their grass run but I bring them in at night where they sleep in a large plastic box with damp coir inside plus a heat mat taped to the top of the box. The humidity is quite high this way. I had been keeping them quite dry although I soaked them twice a day and last year, at the end of the summer, one of them was starting to pyramid so I changed to the humid way of keeping them despite the fact they are over 6 years old and should not be having a problem with pyramiding----but they are!! They don't want to be wet, just have damp coir of moss to bed into and they do need high temps as well.. I still soak my two every day and they nearly always stay put in the water and drink deeply while they soak.

[trusty]

Originally Posted by rocio

I'm not that knowledgeable about Leopards as I've only had mine 5 minutes but I now keep them in a humid hide at night. I live in Southern Spain so much of the year they can go outside in their grass run but I bring them in at night where they sleep in a large plastic box with damp coir inside plus a heat mat taped to the top of the box. The humidity is quite high this way. I had been keeping them quite dry although I soaked them twice a day and last year, at the end of the summer, one of them was starting to pyramid so I changed to the humid way of keeping them despite the fact they are over 6 years old and should not be having a problem with pyramiding----but they are!! They don't want to be wet, just have damp coir of moss to bed into and they do need high temps as well.. I still soak my two every day and they nearly always stay put in the water and drink deeply while they soak.

I do soak her and today I noticed she had gone and sat in her water bowl,, It stays quite damp under the covered part,, I did have it all open and was spraying it ALOT but now I have covered half of it I have noticed that end is staying damper longer... I am going to put some sphagnum moss in that end too.. OR should I put that under her day basking lamp??

[EJ]

Welcome to the world of tortoise keeping. There are many factions. There are purists and general reptile keepers. General reptile keepers usually do not associate chelonian keepers because they tend to be on the nutty side of normal.

Again... back to basics. A reptile needs heat. It also needs hydration... internal and external.

I'm assuming you are in the UK. Both of these criteria are hard to maintain in the UK... for the most part. This is why a viv is beneficial in your area. If you are dealing with a big chelonian... a humid hide comes into play.

Originally Posted by trusty

HI I am not SLIGHTING the american way of thinking I am saying that I am slightly confused by all the conflicting information.... There is NO inbetween it seems to be one or the other..... My tortoise house is half covered and the other half with the uv heat is open... this helps to keep the humidity in one half but I am waiting for my humidity thermometer to arrive to see exactly what it is.... I am not too keen in keeping her in a glass house as I don;t think it is natural.... It just seems to be that anyone on american forums is ALL FOR the 80% humidity glass vivarium home and is AGAINST completely an open top table!!!!!

I am saying neither is right or wrong I do not know as i am not a toroitse expert which is why I am trying to find out others opinions...

THANKS for your reply as always any advice is greatly appreciated....

[trusty]

Originally Posted by EJ

Welcome to the world of tortoise keeping. There are many factions. There are purists and general reptile keepers. General reptile keepers usually do not associate chelonian keepers because they tend to be on the nutty side of normal.

Again... back to basics. A reptile needs heat. It also needs hydration... internal and external.

I'm assuming you are in the UK. Both of these criteria are hard to maintain in the UK... for the most part. This is why a viv is beneficial in your area. If you are dealing with a big chelonian... a humid hide comes into play.

I am in France but the area I am in is almost the same weather as the UK....

[Suze65]

I don't keep leopards but I think it's very similar to Meds in that as Ed has said heat, humidity ( a humid hide) good hydration , soak 2 or 3 times a week, I'm not sure odd diet tho. Good hydration is key to growing smooth shells. You could start a thread asking for advise on keeping leopard torts, and you might get a few more leopard keepers replying, good luck.
Has she actually started to pyramid, if not keep doing what you are doing, heat , humidity, hydration , supplements, good diet. You should fine.