Leopard Tortoise

[veebee]

When leopards have been mentioned on threads before its been stated that they are more prone to RNS than other torts, especially when stressed, and other threads have stated that they are allergic to Baytril, and as you state having enough grazing/high fibre especially in winter. So I thought it would be nice to have someone who can help at times like this and can pass their good advice on.

[terrypin]

hi i dont breed leopard tortoises because we have such a limited market in jersey and my old male isnt interested and my babys arent big enough yet the young tortoises in the photo have been hatched by me from the large girl in the photo i think she mated in the wild as she is one of three rescues from a customs seize at heathrow some years ago i have room to keep these youngsters unless i find suitable homes for them .here is a picture of a young male i have raised myself
terry

[carl20]

cant see pic m8, also how old are the torts in the earlier pic???

[terrypin]

hi picture failure again i must add i have 4adult leopards i have had since hatchling in 1995 and they are fit and well the only femaale of the 4 is at the back in the groupphoto and is about 14 inches scl the big girl at the front is 171/2inches 440mm scl and has grown 3inches since i got her if youlook close you can see growthlines at the edge of the scutes so she must still be a young animal and is still growing well

terry

[veebee]

Hi Terry, do they live outside all the time, where do they go at night, are they in a heated greenhouse or shed etc ?

They are real credit to you

Vivienne

[terrypin]

hi yes they have spent the whole summer outside, and for the last 2 months the juveniles have been living with the adults, i have a heated shed not heated in the summer of course that they have access to and can come and go as they please, during the summer most nights the shed is empty only now as the damp has returned am i ptting them near the shed at night so they can sleep indoors if its bad overnight, in the morning i put the heat lamps on for 2hours just to warm them up i do this at 4.30 so normally they are on grass by first light, and then they stay up until about 6pm when i restrict them to the concrete area near the shed, when i feed them with a small tray of weeds and various greens that is dusted with limestone flour (until recently i used to scrape cuttlefish bone over the food) now the amount of feed is about the equiivelant of 2 lettuce head in bulk for 7 adults so the idea is to give them calcium and not to suppliment the feed ,they are grazing all day and feel heavy when i pick them up . the younggsters have a place in the cellar and are only now spending the nights indoors as it is getting cold and damp overnight, this winter i plan to build a large shallow wallow or pool for them so they can enjoy the muddy water in the summer as it gets very hot on on the slope of the enclosure, will try to post pictures when its in action not until next year though ,i also keep hermans and spurthighed tortoises have done for a lot longer than leopard tortoises.im sorry to go on just got carried away for a moment.
terry

[carl20]

sounds good for them terry, how much does the biggest weigh?? Are u a breeder of your other torts???

[veebee]

Thanks Terry that was really helpful you could have carried on longer!!, what do you feed them over the winter months the adults and the juveniles? Do you still feed them weeds and add readigrass or meadow hay for extra fibre or will you just let them carry on grazing. Mine are only youngsters (hatchling upto two years) so would be helpful to know what you give yours.

Your set up sounds brill, I cant wait to see photos, as I want to build a breeze block shed adjoined to the greenhouse for them so any pics of yours will give me food for thought!!! The pond sounds brill as well.

Vivienne

I remember that Heathrow seizure well Terry. I spent time on Jersey at the sanctuary giving them the once over and removing African bont ticks from them. So glad you did not use them for breeding, as if I remember rightly they only went in mixed groups on the proviso that they were not bred from. I see others have not followed that advice though unfortunately.
I still find it incredible that so many torts of that size were being smuggled in

[terrypin]

hi sue im sure this must be the same group although when i bought them it was to balance the ratio in my own group and i am aware of no proviso in fact i was asked to take some as i already had provision for them the decision not to breed at the moment is partly mine and partly the tortises i certainly havent encouraged it and would be foolish to flood the island with leopard tortoises considering how dificult it is to rehome adult rescues .,hi viviennne my greenhouses are over soil so they have 2 course of breeze blocks for support with drop doors and these are the best thing i ever thought of the doors i mean the shed is wooden from b&q that i have insulated also because it is on the concrete base behind the house i raised up on a wooden frame and used drop doors again i will try to post a picture of it if i can ..hi carl yes i do breed other tortoises i keep morrocan and algerian spurthighed also i keep hermans tortoises although i only hatch a few each year i tend to lose a few clutcesbecause im working and cant always find them also i seperate the sexes for part of the year i find this reduces sress among the females and gives the males time to put on weight for the winter.