Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I am looking for help regarding our tortoise. We have a 10 inch female leopard. We recent moved from Colorado to Minnesota. She is not doing very well. She is healthy, but not happy. She belongs to our 15 year old daughter who was considering selling. We are moving again (to Idaho) in a few months and are hoping it will go better.

We would like advice on weather (MN and Idaho) and/or indoor enclosures, substrate, and other options for helping us keep her happy. We just purchased a large 6 foot by 2 foot box (formally a snake cage). Timothy Hay smells terrible and is not holding humidity. She gets poked in the eye. We tried coco husk, but it seems to quickly mold here and gnats appeared. Now we have dry floor, 2 ponds (water dishes), some hay, some hay but the box smells. We are wiping it out every other day. The weather is improving here so she will have some time to cruz outside, but weather in Idaho still entails another long winter indoors. In CO, she spent lots more time roaming outside and we have a large tortoise table (it did not survive the move). Hay and coco husk worked fine living there. Is her size or the weather making it a problem now?

We have a couple cats so have been hesitant to have an uncovered enclosure, but she seems to need more space. Is she old enough to protect herself from the cats or we correct in keeping them separate? Any thoughts or ideas are welcome.

Hi,

Over the years, I have raised my tortoises in Colorado, Connecticut, and now Georgia, so I can understand your situation and needs fairly well. I would suggest that you try a different substrate which should work better for the size of tortoise you have. My preferred and recommended substrate is Eucalyptus Mulch (when available), and if that is not available, I use Cypress Mulch instead.

If you email me privately at wzovickian@gmail.com I will be happy to send you a detailed Care Sheet which addresses keeping tortoises healthy and happy in the colder climates. In the mountains of extreme northwestern CT, my tortoises were able to be outside full time only from the very end of May until the beginning of September, and even then had to be brought in on the occasional nights when the temps dipped into the 40's or even lower. One year, frost was recorded in all 12 months of the year!

Bill Zovickian

Try alfalfa pettets made for horses...comes in 50 lb bag at tractor supply. Put a 2" layer.. It is very absorbant and you can clean out only what gets wet and throw it directly into your garden ..it is biodegradeable and good for plants. If the tort eats it ....it is actually healthy for her. Stock tanks for livestock make great "boxes" for tortoises...they are waterproof and strong...will not hold odor like wood.