Hi I am new to the forum and would appreciate advice re housing for my leopard. He is now 13 years old and I have had him since he was about a couple of months old (bred in Devon). He goes out in the garden when weather permits but has outgrown his indoor housing. He does wander around the house (but his poos are bigger than the dog's poo and he can pee for England!). He also goes in the conservatory in the daytime but it is too cold at night as not heated. Can anyone offer advice on the best way to house him in the winter? Many thanks.

i dont know anything about leopard tortoises but in general tortoises are often now housed in tortoise tables , is that how yours was housed or was he in a viv ? you can get tortoise tables made to measure so you can get them as big as you need . check out the shelled warriors forum they are very helpfull and have lots of experts who will be able to advise you on any breed specific needs.

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Hello, our family tortoise is 50+ years old and he's oldskool and doesn't need a viv or table or anything like that. They werent even heard of when my Grandparents got Pepi. The only thing he has is a little hutch in the garden where he can do to sleep during the summer months and a little hutch in the living room where he can go to sleep during the colder months. He usually sleeps on the grate though to get as much warmth from the fire as possible. He's just left to do his own thing in the house as we don't hibernate him anymore as advised by vets as he was waking up jaundice and we almost lost a couple of times. My grandparents just put 'go faster stripes' on his shell (brightly coloured non toxic sticky tape) so that they don't fall over him.

I don't know anything about the tortoises of today but Pepi doesn't tend to eat during the winter (though he ate **** loads on Thursday!) as it's when he should be hibernating and so doesn't go to the toilet nearly as much as he does during the month that he eats. He doesn't need heat pads or lamps or anything like that. He's a sturdy 5.5lbs fossil lol.

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Bonnie 29.01.97 - 21.09.11
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Hi, ET has a large box he goes in at night but hasn't had heat or uv lamp for some time now. He weighs just over a stone and like Welsh Yorkie Lover's old chap ET tends to go where he wants in the house. At this time of year when he is out in the garden, as he was today as we had some lovely sunshine, he wanders around, eats a bit of grass and then tries to hide himself under the bushes! He then comes indoors when the sun disappears. He doesn't tend to eat so much in the winter months and also doesn't poo as much. As Leopards are non-hibernating torties I just wondered what other people do with theirs in the winter, particular those of you who may have larger ones like mine? Not sure if he should have a small shed outside with heating?? Many thanks for your replies.

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I'd be interested to know what people do with leopard torts in the winter also.
In the summer would he be ok outside if i built an encloser for him ?

Hiya- as the leopard toroises are from africa- they do need to be kept very warm- and coming from N. Ireland It very tricky- especially in winter. I got a large enclosure especially made- its about 10foot and has two 250watt ceramic heat lamps and some heat matts- Leopards do grow extremely large so i know in a few years down the line i'l probably need to convert a room!! lol! I let him run about the house for a few hours each day, and then put him outside in the sunny days in summer.
But i know the trouble your having with his peeps and poops lol- they are huge! I remember when i first got my tortoise and the size of his droppings- i couldnt believe it was possible!!

Hi there katrina here.I have leopard torts and if yours is BIG which it should be at 13 why dont you house it in a large dog crate you can put a heat lamp at it and.My heat lamp is one I bought from the Yorkshire tortoise company. you can still let it out to wander as long as no one trips over it and put a blanket on the crate at night.Put it near a radiator too.You can get large dog crates from pets at home or off the gumtree web site.Hope this is of some help.

Hi
Thanks for all your replies. Yes, ET is quite big, weighing just over a stone. I guess I could try a large dog crate. He doesn't seem to have sufferered from getting cold overnight during the winter. He has just been living in a large plastic tray at night and wandering the house during the day. At the moment he has been outside day and night as we have had some brilliant weather. Tonight he has come into the conservatory as it is now raining and thunder is forecast! I really need to move to a bigger house with a spare room , LoL!!!