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Leopard turtle. Leopard tortoise (Geochelone pardalis) How long do leopard tortoises live

Panther or leopard tortoise(Geochelone pardalis)

Class - reptiles
Squad - turtles

Family - land turtles

Genus - Geochelone

Appearance

A large turtle, the length of its shell reaches 70 cm. The mass of an adult can be 50 kg.

Males differ from females in a longer tail, their plastron has a depression. The shell of the leopard tortoise is high and domed. Its main color is sandy yellow. Young turtles have a distinct dark brown, almost black pattern on the scutes. With age, it gradually smoothes out. In Ethiopian panther tortoises, the pigmentation of the shell is weaker than in all others.

Habitat

The range of the leopard tortoise covers Africa from Sudan and Ethiopia to the southern tip of the mainland.

The main habitats (savannas and dry highlands) are characterized by a large amount of diverse vegetation. Animals can also climb mountains to a height of up to 1800-2000 meters above sea level.

Lifestyle

The gland at the tail gives off a strong and pungent odor, with which the turtle attracts a partner for mating and, conversely, repels the predator. When it gets very hot, the leopard tortoise digs a hole in the ground and stays underground so as not to overheat and lose too much water. She stays in the hole until the temperature drops and it rains again. If it becomes difficult to find food, the turtle goes a long way in search of food. In order for the shell to grow healthy and the bones to remain strong, turtles eat old bones if they find them while feeding.

Herbivorous, but on occasion consumes protein foods of animal origin. They can eat watermelons, pumpkins and various legumes in the fields.

reproduction

The turtle reaches sexual maturity at the age of 8-10 years. Pregnancy in a panther tortoise lasts from 70 to 80 days. The number of eggs in a clutch ranges from 5 to 30 pieces. Incubation will last from 125 to 230 days. Incubation can last up to 360-540 days.

This type of reptile can be kept in small groups - a male and several females.

Plants should not be placed in the terrarium, because the reptile will eat them, for the same reason poisonous plants should not be placed in the terrarium. This can lead to the death of the animal.

In a warm corner of the terrarium, it is necessary to place a pond with low edges in which the reptile can swim from time to time. The temperature of the water in the drinker should be at the level of 26-28°C. In the cold corner of the terrarium it is necessary to place shelters (snags, broken pots, etc.). must be in the terrarium. Reptiles need good ventilation, so both side walls of the terrarium should be made of mesh.

Animals cannot be kept in an apartment, on the floor instead of a terrarium. Drafts and dust will make the reptile sick, as will a lack of light, warm spots and UV radiation.

The panther tortoise is an omnivore. Plant foods should make up about 75% of a turtle's diet. As a forage base, fibrous, roughage with a low protein content is best suited. Reptiles can be given plants such as chamomile, clover, alfalfa, lettuce, beans, cacti, or aloe. Turtles should definitely be given carrots, because they are a source of vitamin A. A deficiency of this vitamin will provoke problems with scales in a reptile. Fruit can be given to the turtle no more than once a week. The diet of a reptile must be varied, while spinach, cabbage and other plants containing oxalic acid salts should not be given to a turtle. As a protein food, the turtle should be given fodder, such as crickets, cockroaches, after killing them. The feeder should have low edges that allow the turtle to eat from there. As soon as the reptile finishes the meal, the feeder with food must be removed from the terrarium. Turtles should be fed daily.

The panther tortoise lives up to 75 years in captivity.

WikiHow is a wiki, which means that many of our articles are written by multiple authors. When creating this article, 22 people worked on editing and improving it, including anonymously.

Leopard tortoise (official name African leopard tortoise - Geochelone Pardalis) can grow up to 61 cm and weigh up to 32 kilograms, subject to proper maintenance and good heredity. These are wonderful pets that can live up to 80 years if you monitor their health throughout their lives. Having acquired a turtle, it is very important to monitor its health in order to ensure a long happy life for it.

Steps

    Buy a healthy turtle - if you know a reputable reptile pet store, you can buy a turtle there. However, it will be even better to contact a turtle breeder and purchase a pet directly from them. You can also buy a turtle at the reptile show. In any case, you should carefully inspect the pet before buying. Make sure the turtle's eyes are clear and shiny (not cloudy and filmy), and that its stool is not very loose. Don't pick up a turtle from the street.

    Create natural conditions - The leopard tortoise lives in South African latitudes with arid or semi-arid climates. She prefers areas where a lot of grass grows. You should try to recreate such a habitat for your pet turtle.

    • Domestic refers to not wild, not necessarily caged, and in no way captured from the wild – see "Warnings" below.

  1. Create outdoor environments - If you live in a warm, dry climate like the one above, you'll probably want to create natural environments for your turtle by building an outdoor fenced enclosure for your new pet. (This is a topic for a separate article)

    Create natural living conditions at home - Do not use an aquarium because there is not enough horizontal surface for the turtle to move around. A large pen or terrarium of at least 2'x2" with smooth horizontal walls of at least 12' is fine to start with so your turtle doesn't try to escape or accidentally fall out. Line the bottom of the pen with clean paper (newsprint is the cheapest), top with a layer of substrate, using twigs, soft sand, and dry grass.You can put a few rocks for your turtle to bask on.Be sure to put something like an empty deck or other shelter like a grotto where the turtle can hide from the outside world when it needs to. It is very important to provide suitable temperature and lighting (this is described below in the next step)

    Provide the right diet - wild leopard tortoises eat mainly grass. For domestic turtles, you need to pick up a mixture of herbs. Leaves and straw work best. Many successfully feed their pets with garden timothy. Some pick up young spring leaves and grass. However, be careful with vegetables: too much wet food can lead to digestive upset and extremely soft, foul-smelling stools. It is very good to grow weeds and wild plants in your yard that your turtle prefers, such as clover, dandelions, weeds, etc.

    Choose the right temperature and lighting - your turtle will need two main sources of light for lighting and warmth. For daylight, you should buy a UVB lamp (100 watts) to simulate sunlight. Also try to provide natural light to your pet whenever possible. For night lighting, use a 60 watt infrared lamp to keep the terrarium warm. To maintain a stable temperature in the terrarium, you can set timers on the lamps so that they turn on and off automatically. The average temperature should be 37.7 degrees Celsius. It should never fall below 21 degrees and above 37.7. Use a small disk thermometer to constantly monitor the temperature. Set the necessary timers and lamp voltage.

    Find the Right Supplements - Mazuri turtle food is a good food supplement. Mazuri was designed for Galapagos tortoises, but many tortoise owners find it works great for other species as well. Turtles need a lot of calcium and minerals as they are constantly growing. Babies need calcium and vitamin D3 supplements daily, adults a little less often.

  2. Provide socialization - Turtles live apart in the wild, but they don't mind a little attention from time to time, especially towards old age. Teach the turtle to communicate from childhood - take it carefully and put it in your palm. Don't bang on the shell or yell at her to get in - that will only scare her. Instead, let her get out on her own when she's ready. Over time, the turtle will grow and understand that you are feeding and caring for it, and will eat from your hand, and sometimes even allow itself to be stroked.

    • The leopard tortoise is a strictly herbivore and should not be given meat, dairy, or other protein foods.
    • As your turtle grows, you will need a larger terrarium, so it's worth considering this before getting a turtle. You must think ahead to provide the necessary conditions for the turtle throughout its life.
    • If you have a turtle, you need to find someone who can look after it in the event of your death and include this in your will so that your pet can live happily even if you are gone.
    • Leopard tortoises are not the best pets for beginners or children because they require a lot of care and a calm, stress-free life.

    Warnings

    • No iceberg lettuce! Iceberg lettuce is devoid of nutritional value and is not an acceptable food source for your turtle.
    • Never leave your pet outdoors on a cold night and never let his terrarium get too cold. Turtles are very susceptible to respiratory problems and can easily die from hypothermia.
    • Turtles are very slow, but when frightened, they can run quite fast. You may want to make your turtle run because it looks funny. Do not do this. Their little hearts can't take it, it's very hard for turtles to run for their lives. This creates too much stress.
    • Some turtle foods are labeled as suitable for box turtles. This does not mean that they are suitable for a leopard tortoise, since box turtles are omnivorous and eat both vegetables and meat.
    • Do not tap on the shell or terrarium. This annoys them a lot.
    • Never catch turtles (or any other animals) from the wild. This is cruel and inhumane, and these animals are often carriers of bacteria and diseases that your pets can become infected with.
    • If possible, avoid buying a turtle online or from resellers. Thus, you will not be able to properly examine the animal, and the process of transportation will stress the pet even before you receive it.
    • In South Africa, keeping any wild tortoise (including leopard tortoise) in captivity without a license from the conservation agency is illegal.

Panther or leopard tortoise (lat. Stigmochelys pardalis) belongs to the Testudinidae family. In recent years, has gained popularity as a pet in many countries. This cute peace-loving creature impresses with its size. The largest specimen kept in captivity weighed almost 50 kg, and the length of its carapace exceeded 70 cm.

Spreading

The species is widely distributed in South and East Africa. There are two subspecies: South African (S.p. pardalis) and East African (S.p. babcocki). The first has a lighter plastron, while the second has a slightly darker upper body. Reptiles settle in dry semi-deserts, prickly bush and savannahs. They are found both in flat lowlands and in mountainous areas at altitudes up to 3000 m above sea level. They are adapted to life in conditions of low humidity, for example, in the Kalahari, where the annual rainfall is not more than 100 mm.

The animal becomes attached to its place of residence and is extremely reluctant to change it.

It does not form home plots, sharing territory with its brethren. Lands are in common ownership, and one individual can feed on 480 ha, but usually feeding takes place on a much smaller area. The love of long walks in search of food is more characteristic of females than males.

Nutrition

This species feeds mainly on grass and dry parts of plants. Can do with one hay. She loves thistles, sedges, lilies, various succulents, in particular cacti. Fig prickly pear (Opuntia ficus indica) enjoys special love. About 75% of the diet consists of fleshy leaves of hyacinths, hogweed (Cynodon dactylon) and wood mallow (Malva sylvestris). A gluttonous creature will not refuse to eat fruits or vegetables. In zoos, it willingly eats melons, watermelons, pumpkins, cereals and legumes.

The need for calcium and other minerals is met in the wild by eating old, weathered bones and feces from other mammals.

Living in arid regions, reptiles have learned to use moisture sparingly and accumulate it in large quantities in the body.

Behavior

Reptiles lead a leisurely, measured lifestyle. Activity is manifested in the morning and evening. During the midday heat, they prefer to be cool, hiding in rock crevices, tree hollows, termite mounds, abandoned burrows or pits. If the heat is too strong, then they can remain in them until the onset of rains, falling into a state close to hibernation. The optimum daytime temperature for them lies in the range of 28°-40°C, and the night temperature is not lower than 21°C.

With a lack of food, a reptile can make many-day transitions in search of a suitable pasture.

The approach of predators causes her instinctive reflex to hide her head and limbs under the shell. An effective means of scaring them away is the gland located at the tail, exuding a sharp and unpleasant odor. Outside the mating season, panther tortoises are tolerant to each other, females can graze nearby, and males do not arrange fights. Most of them are still staunch hermits and have no desire to associate closely with their own kind.

reproduction

Males ready for breeding lose their balance and become aggressive towards competitors. They tend to hit them hard on the sides with their side like rams and bite them on the limbs. In a state of extreme excitement, gentlemen are a danger even to ladies, seeing them as vile rivals by inertia. Beauties have to hide their heads and legs at such moments, so as not to suffer innocently from a heated lover. The onset of the mating season may vary depending on the region and climate, but in most cases occurs in the summer. The male, looking for his other half, makes rhythmic cough-like hoarse sounds. When mating, he screams even louder. In the second half of summer, the female digs a small hole with a flat bottom in the sand or soft ground with her hind legs and lays an average of 5-18 (maximum 30) white eggs with a hard shell, round or oval in shape. In one season, she is able to make 3-6 clutches within 25-30 days.

The duration of incubation is subject to significant fluctuations and can range from 178 to 458 days.

Babies hatch most often in March or April. They are about 5 cm long and have a semicircular dorsal carapace. They are born completely ready for independent existence and feed on plant foods. At the initial stage, juveniles need cooler and more humid habitats than their older comrades. If for adult reptiles, only lions and hyenas pose a real threat besides humans, then the younger generation has many enemies. The eggs are dug up and eaten by monitor lizards, domestic and feral dogs, and other mammals.
Young turtles become easy prey for birds of prey, storks, ostriches, rats, and even ants and termites. They become sexually mature when the carapace length reaches 20-25 cm.

Relationships with people

Leopard tortoises on the African continent are considered by the local population primarily as a valuable food product. All their organs are widely used in folk medicine and for magical rituals. Juveniles with an attractive color are caught and sold to foreign tourists. Although the official annual quotas for the export of this species from the African continent do not exceed 4-5 thousand individuals in total, in fact they are exported much more.

Every year, more than 500 turtles leave the borders of Ethiopia alone.

Most of them die on the road, unable to withstand the horror of transportation. Surviving specimens have a whole bunch of diseases. They often have respiratory organs affected, deformations of the bone structure and skin damage are observed. Farmers see them as malicious pests of farmland and try to destroy them at any suitable opportunity. Many of them die near wire fences, through which an electric current is passed. In Africa, there are farms in a number of countries where leopard tortoises are raised, mainly for export to the US and the EU, where there has been an increased demand for them in recent years. The largest number of farmed animals enter the international market from Kenya and Tanzania.

Keeping a 30-kilogram reptile at home is, of course, a pleasant occupation, but it requires large financial costs to provide it with comfortable living conditions.
For one adult animal, ideally, a terrarium of at least 20 square meters is required. m, a walking yard with solar lighting for 100 sq. m and access to a heated greenhouse. In all these mansions it is necessary to maintain the air temperature around 30°C. The floor is sprinkled with large wood shavings or a mixture of sand and small pebbles. With a smaller living area, the lack of movement causes a sharp weakening of the muscles and loss of appetite. During the summer, grow a variety of herbs to feed your pet in your yard to meet your pet's fiber needs. Millet, dandelions, plantain, lettuce and thistle are planted for it. Additionally, the leaves of trees and shrubs are fed, for example, hibiscus, mulberry and pear.

In winter, hay (regular and in granules), geranium, tradescantia and succulent plants (cacti, crassula, Kalanchoe, etc.) are introduced into the diet. Vegetables and fruits common in Europe can be fed in very limited quantities, especially cabbage leaves. Dairy products and any pastries are strictly prohibited. The lack of calcium is filled with crushed eggshells, shells and sepia (a dye from the ink bags of sea mollusks). Fresh drinking water is required. To stimulate the synthesis in the body of vitamin D, which is necessary for the absorption of calcium, it is necessary to illuminate the living quarters with ultraviolet lamps.

Description

Adults have a convex dorsal shell 30-50 cm long and weighing about 30 kg. The main color background is beige or light brown. Characteristic dark spots and stripes resemble the color of a leopard skin. The plastron is light, with small darkish spots.
The head and legs are yellow, yellow-brown or light brown with dark spots. The front paws are covered with large horny scales. In young turtles, the center of the carapace is ivory, which darkens as they grow older. Their roundish spots have a reddish-brown or black edging. Secondary sexual characteristics are pronounced. In males, the root of the tail is very thick, the carapace is elongated, and the plastron is slightly concave. Females are larger and have especially powerful claws on their hind legs, adapted for digging a nest. The life expectancy of a leopard tortoise in the wild is 40-50 years. In zoos, she is able to live up to 75 years. In Africa, with its dimensions, it is second only to.