Hi, I have a Leopard Tortoise called Ribstone, he's around 8 weeks old and I'm smitten! But I am on a learning curve and could do with some advice...

I was advised to buy a Repti Glo 24" Desert Terrarium 10.0 UVB Lamp for him. I was about to set it up when I read 'recommended for use with screened terraiums with dense screen covers (screens that can filter out UVB rays)' on the back. Eh? You'll have to excuse me, I can't even wire a plug, nevermind interpret 'techo' jargon! Can anyone advise me if it would be OK or disasterous to set this up over him?

On another note, despite me laying out daily buffets, he'll only eat cucumber and dandilion leaves. Will he expand his diet as he gets older? And is it OK to try him on nasturtium leaves?

Thanks, in advance.

hi, congrats on the new tortoise. i keep leos myself and love them to bits. you will get a much better response to any questions if you skip the newby areaand go straight o shelled. not many tortoise people venture outside the shelled section!

his diet needs to be 70% grass and hay. it will make it easier if you put a little bit of very finely chopped hay in the blender, or chop it with with scissors so its tiny. then sprinkle it over his 30%weeds. he will happily eat all sorts of weeds ( he just needs a little persuading) such as clover, dandies, sowthistle, plantain, vetch. if you have a look at the top of shelled, there is a few stickys about diet and it has some really good photos to help you ID the weeds. it really is best for him to have a high fibre diet, in the wilds of africa they survive on dried grass, grass and food that we consider to be of a pretty low nutritional count. if we over feed this type of tortoise on "wet kitchen foods" they will develop gut problems like diarhea(sp) and have an inbalance of gut bacteria.

as for the lighting issue, there has been some problems reported with that type of lamp ( i havent noticed any myself) . he does need very high levels of uvb, but make sure you position the lamp at the correct distance and watch for any adverse reactions.

Thanks v much for your advice. I'm off to the shelled section....and to set up the lamp.....and to pick some of that clover I saw growing in a hedge the other day!