Keeping Leopards Outside

[Tortilla Chip]

Hello,

My leopard tortoise is 5 years old (i think, hes 170mm long) and i want him to spend as much time outside as possible. How old do leopards need to be before they can live outside?
What month would you put them out and bring the back in for summer and winter?

We have a large circle just next to my conservatory which is about 13ft in diameter which i want to make in to his indoor / outdoor encosure. Is this big enough for when he is a fully grown Leopard?

Within this 13ft area there will be an indoor enclosure with heat lamp and everything for cooler days and nights. I want to make this big enough to last so how big would you say this would need to be, again for a fully grown leopard?

There will also be a sheltered area so he will have a basking lamp in the outside area that he can use, obviously sheltered enough no to become damaged in the rain.
Im going to build it like a fish pond, dig it all up and lay a plastic membrane so that he cant dig down too far and then fill it with a mixture of different bedding matter (top soil, sand, bark, aspen, slate, rocks ect...).
This will be surrounded by a 1.5 ft yorkshire stone rockary type thing which i will plant edible climbing plants in to eventually spread.
Im going to plant a mixture of weeds and plants so he can constantly graze on them.

We have a beck at the bottom of our garden wher we have noticed several rats so i need to protect my little man from them as well as the puppy we are getting in August who will grow up to be a very large dog so i need something suitable for a cover over the area that keeps rats and dogs out but still allows me easy access to all areas.

I know people that have built their enclosures over 6ft high then put a door on it but i dont want to have one this big. Do you think it would be possible and suitable to have a mesh consatina type top on it?

I have looked at peoples outdoor enclosures for other breeds but not yet seen any that people have build for a Leopard tortoise.

Do you keep your loepard outside?

Have you found he or she is happier outside?

Which part do they seem to spend most of their time? Inside or outside?

Do you have a photo that you can post of your enclosure so i can get a better understanding of what works for Leopards in the great outdoors?

What do you think of my plans? Would you change or adapt anything to better suit a Leopard?

Cant wait to hear from you

Nicola & Chip xx

[TortMad]

Hi. The best person to ask is Terry (terrypin) he has lots of leopards and they are biggies, he is a very succesful leopard keeper

Mine are still small enough to come in at night (but only just lol), but they do spend most days outdoors once they have warmed up under their lamps weather permitting and in this monsoon they have been confined indoors

I would say 13ft enclosure would be fine. But I wouldn't bother digging it out, leopards are not known for their digging ability, they just plough through everything like a tank lol

If you insulate your indoor quaters well and have a heater in there on a thermostat set to come on for when temps drop below 18c I don't see why if you are happy that the leopard can live out all year long, cos he will have to eventually any way.

Have some kind of tort sized door in there and he can come and go as he likes

Make sure you add a large area of lawn for him to graze on too

[Tortilla Chip]

Thank you.
The enclosure will have a grassy area but now as it doesnt need to be dug up it will mainly be grass because its currently grass and clover which he loves.
Chip will have access to all the areas at all times so if he feels its too cold he can go inside.
It will be very well insulated, ive just lost a 12 year old rabbit that had to be kept warm throught the winter so i know how important it is for everything to be well heated and ventilated.
Im wanting to get this built asap because were building an extension soon so i want to move him out of the house so hes not disturbed by the building.

Hope terry pops along soon with some advice