Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just brought home a new leopard tortoise and I'm in the process of building a new outdoor enclosure. "Sherman" is a male about 7.5" long straight distance across the top of the shell. I have a few questions for those of you with leopard tortoise experience.

1) How tall should the sides of the enclosure be? I'm thinking of using 2" x 12" planks secured to 4" x 4" posts cemented into the ground at each corner. Should I make the height 12" or 24"?

2) If I supplement his diet with hay, is there a particular hay variety that I should use?

3) At what size/weight are males typically ready to breed? What size/weight should females be?

Thanks in advance for your help.

24 inches should be a mimimum height.

Any grass or hay would suffice as a supplement... I use Bermuda hay and grass clippings.

I've had males breed at 8 inches and females breed at 10 inches.

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>>Just brought home a new leopard tortoise and I'm in the process of building a new outdoor enclosure. "Sherman" is a male about 7.5" long straight distance across the top of the shell. I have a few questions for those of you with leopard tortoise experience.
>>
>>1) How tall should the sides of the enclosure be? I'm thinking of using 2" x 12" planks secured to 4" x 4" posts cemented into the ground at each corner. Should I make the height 12" or 24"?
>>
>>2) If I supplement his diet with hay, is there a particular hay variety that I should use?
>>
>>3) At what size/weight are males typically ready to breed? What size/weight should females be?
>>
>>Thanks in advance for your help.
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Thanks Ed. Very helpful.