Any advice on leopards welcome...

[mik]

I have two leopard tortoises, one of 2 years and one of approx 5 years that we have taken in and rehomed. I posted previously because the older one had a runny nose we have since been to the vet and she is now on antibiotics and hopefully on the road to recovery. We are new to non med tortoises, so we are learning as much as we can. We are planning to build a heated shed in the garden for them in the future, we realise this will take a lot of planning and careful thought, any advice would be greatly appreciated...

[jobeanator13]

leopard tortoises are similiar to stars when it comes to there living conditions, which is dry and arid. make sure to get him back on track to keep temps higher and to soak him. keep a eye on him, if hes getting more lethargic and his eyes are closed thats a bad sign. mine have had respiratory infections a couple times and could get worse if not taken care of immediatley.

[mik]

She doesn't seem any worse, we are keeping her temperature up day and night and soaking her. She is sitting under the basking lamp most of the time but she has patches of being lively, she is eating well so we are hopeful...

[Box girl]

If she is eating it looks good.
re the shed insulated on all sides including the roof and the floor, we use 3" polystyrene but any insualtion is good nad cover with 3 ply. Then the use of spot bulbs is enough to keep it warm and dry.

Originally Posted by mik

She doesn't seem any worse, we are keeping her temperature up day and night and soaking her. She is sitting under the basking lamp most of the time but she has patches of being lively, she is eating well so we are hopeful...

[jobeanator13]

eatings always a good sign. sounds like your leopards on the mend. just keep up with the soakings and the hot temps and he will be fine. just make sure he keeps eating.

[mik]

Thanks for your replies, she is very lively today, ( I say "she" because we were told she is a girl, she has a flat plastron but also has a very long tail so we are not sure!) As for the shed I have secured a piece of the garden where a small old shed is situated, I will be knocking that down and rebuilding one that will be 15ft x 9ft of which 8ft x 8 ft will be their indoor enclosure with a further outside space of 7.2m x3.3 m. There is a lot of ivy in this area of the garden, I read somewhere that this is toxic to them so I will have to clear all of that before I can start... It's quite a large project but I'm looking forward to the challenge!

[16 shells]

Originally Posted by mik

Thanks for your replies, she is very lively today, ( I say "she" because we were told she is a girl, she has a flat plastron but also has a very long tail so we are not sure!) As for the shed I have secured a piece of the garden where a small old shed is situated, I will be knocking that down and rebuilding one that will be 15ft x 9ft of which 8ft x 8 ft will be their indoor enclosure with a further outside space of 7.2m x3.3 m. There is a lot of ivy in this area of the garden, I read somewhere that this is toxic to them so I will have to clear all of that before I can start... It's quite a large project but I'm looking forward to the challenge!

Sounds good you will be rewarded with your planning and work, Leopards are great, when i moved mine into there shed, i had to show them the ramp a few times, how to get in and out, to graze , they soon got the hang of things, and was no bother after. Although they like it dry, don't be suprised to see them out in warmish rain, they do like a bit of humidity. Is the Ivy, the ground Ivy type

[mik]

It is English Ivy and it is extremely prolific, it is on the ground and covers the fence. It is going to be quite hard to remove.

[16 shells]

Yeah lot's of chopping back and digging out, as you know, best get rid of as much as possible, but tort's aint daft at sniffing out unedibles outside.