Leopard Tortoise | Care Sheet

Overview

Scientific Name: Geochelone pardalis
Common Name: Leopard Tortoise
Average Lifespan: 45-100+ Years
Adult Size: 15-18+ inches
Origin: Africa

Description:

Leopard Tortoises are the fourth largest tortoises in the world. They can reach carapace sizes of over two feet in length and weigh over 100 pounds. However, most specimens usually only reach carapace lengths of 15 - 18 inches and can weigh 30 – 50 pounds. Leopard Tortoises will not hibernate however, they will probably slow down in the cooler months.

Housing:

Housing size depends on the size of your tortoise, if you have a baby / juvenile leopard tortoise then a medium sized vivarium would be fine, however, if your tortoise is fed properly it would soon out grow a medium sized vivarium and then would need a bigger vivarium or a tortoise table.

Unfortunately here in the UK we hardly have nice warm days so outdoor housing would probably not be a good idea unless you live somewhere that its warm in which case a standard tortoise garden would be great for your leopard tortoise. However, it would be advisable to make sure predators cannot get at your tortoise by having something like a tortoise tray system which can be used indoors and outdoors.

You should provide a large (4 feet by 8 feet minimum) enclosure, One thing you will have to keep a check on is the humidity in the enclosure as Leopard Tortoises prefer dry conditions.

Lighting:

Tortoises need UV light to produce vitamin D3 which is needed for the tortoise to survive, without enough vitamin D3 the tortoise will become very ill and eventually die. Because of this you need to use a UVB light in your tortoise's housing like Arcadia D3 Reptile Lamp and Arcadia D3 Compact Reptile Lamp.

Heating:

Basking Spot Temperature: Basking spot of around 35°C
Daytime Temperature: The ambient temperature of 27°C - 32°C
Night Temperature: Around 24°C (Make sure this doesn't drop below 19°C)

Substrate:

Grass, Hay would both make an ideal substrate. You could also use hemp bedding although you would still need to provide some High fiber Grass or Hay for your tortoise to eat.

Food:

Before feeding your tortoise you could sprinkle a calcium supplement like Nutrobal To provide your tortoise with extra calcium and vitamins

Leopard tortoise are herbivorous grazers and in the wild they would eat grasses, weeds, and cactus. Pesticide-free grass is good for grazing, and the diet should primarily consist of grasses such at timothy or orchard grass or hay. Small amounts of vegetables can be offered too.

Don't feed foods high in oxalates (beet greens, chard, spinach) or fruit (can cause digestive upsets).

Water:

A bowl of water should be provided, and cleaned daily. Its also recommended that you treat the water with Zoo Med’s ReptiSafe Water Conditioner

Maintenance:

Any debris, old food and feces should be removed from the enclosure on a daily basis.

You should do a complete clean every once or twice a week using a disinfectant like Medivet Vetaclean.