Mary Allen
Their name sounds a bit dangerous, but leopard tortoises are very gentle harmless reptiles.
Characteristics
What does the leopard tortoise look like?
Turtles cannot be confused with any other animal: their typical shell makes them unique. Leopard tortoises belong to the tortoises and live in Africa. The yellow and black spotted pattern of their carapace is somewhat reminiscent of the fur of a leopard or panther – hence their name. The older they get, the more their typical pattern on the carapace gradually disappears.
The head and legs are yellowish. Leopard tortoises can grow much larger than their European relatives: they reach a length of up to 70 centimeters. The males can be recognized by their long tails. In addition, their belly armor is slightly curved inwards.
Where does the leopard tortoise live?
Leopard tortoises live in eastern and southern Africa: They are found from Ethiopia through Sudan, western Tanzania, and Kenya to Namibia and South Africa. Leopard tortoises live in sandy semi-desert and in dry bush and savannah landscapes. They don’t like dense forests. They prefer to live in regions where only thorn bushes and grasses grow.
Which leopard tortoise species are there?
There are two breeds of leopard tortoise: western and eastern, which in turn come in two forms: the South African and Kenyan leopard tortoises. The Kenyan leopard tortoise is much lighter and more clearly marked than the South African.
How old does the leopard tortoise get?
Like all tortoises, leopard tortoises can get very old: in captivity, they live about 20 to 30 years, sometimes even longer.
Behave
How does the leopard tortoise live?
Because they live in very barren, dry areas, wild leopard tortoises have to migrate long distances to find enough to eat. It is said that they even cross deserts.
They are used to enduring very large temperature fluctuations: during the day it can get hotter than 30°C in their homeland, at night it cools down to only 10°C. Leopard tortoises are very quiet animals that are usually a bit shy.
Even when kept as pets, they spend a lot of time eating. They are not picky about it: if you keep them in the garden, it can happen that they graze the entire lawn, even if much better food is available to them.
Compared to our European tortoises, leopard tortoises have the advantage that they don’t hibernate – in Africa that doesn’t make any sense either. However, they have developed a similar behavior there: in hot drought periods, they stop eating and fall into a kind of “summer dormancy”. However, pet leopard tortoises are active all year round.
Friends and foes of the leopard tortoise
Only rarely can birds of prey or predators become dangerous to adult leopard tortoises. Their thick armor usually offers them sufficient protection. The situation is different with the eggs and young animals: they are very often eaten by predators, birds, or snakes.
How does the leopard tortoise breed?
Leopard tortoises become sexually mature when their shell is 20 to 25 centimeters long. When mating, the males get really lively: they climb on the back of the female and squeak loudly. The female then lays five to 30 eggs and buries them in the warm ground.
In order for the eggs to develop, it has to be very humid and warm: they need temperatures of 30° C and humidity of around 70 percent. After 180 to 250 days, the little turtles hatch and burrow through the earth to the light. They grow very quickly and have to manage without their parents from the start.
Care
What does the leopard tortoise eat?
Leopard tortoises are vegetarians, they only eat plants. Since their habitat is very dry and there is hardly any water there, they have to absorb liquid primarily in the form of the water stored in plants. Leopard tortoises kept as pets mainly get grass, hay, herbs, and succulent plants. From time to time they are also allowed to eat carrots, an apple, or some vegetables.
Leopard tortoise attitude
Leopard tortoises grow quite large and therefore need a lot of space: the terrarium must be at least ten times as long as the tortoise’s shell and five times as wide.
Of course, a larger terrarium is better. And it is best if a whole heated room can be set up for the animals in the basement. Leopard tortoises need a lot of warmth. We can keep them outside in the summer, but of course, they have to go into their warm terrarium in the winter. It needs to be heated to around 35°C.
But even in summer, they need a heated shelter outside so that they can crawl away when the weather is cooler and not get sick. There must be a drinking trough and a bathing basin in the terrarium that has a very shallow entrance. It must be filled with lukewarm water.
Care plan
The turtle’s enclosure and terrarium must be cleaned thoroughly every week. They need fresh water and food every day. It is important not to overfeed the animals, otherwise, bumps will form on the shell and the turtles will get sick. They also need a lot of calcium. The best way to provide them with this is to feed them certain plants, such as dandelions and plantain. Some turtles even eat bones to get enough calcium.