Leopard tortoises (Stigmochelys pardalis) are remarkable animals, who not only reach large sizes but also sport incredible, leopard-like patterns, which give the species its common name. These two facts, along with their interesting personalities, have made leopard tortoises very popular among tortoise enthusiasts.
If you’re considering buying one of these tortoises, you may be wondering how much leopard tortoises cost and what kinds of things influence their prices. Read on to find out everything you need to know about leopard tortoise prices below.
Leopard Tortoises: Basic Price Range
Leopard tortoises – like most other popular reptile species – vary significantly in terms of price. In fact, the price tags associated with these animals often vary by an order of magnitude!
Minimally, you can usually expect to pay at least $150 to $200 for a healthy leopard tortoise hatchling, although breeders and retailers occasionally offer sales and price their tortoises slightly lower. But you will almost never see them for less than $100 from reputable sources.
At the other end of the price spectrum, it isn’t unusual to see young adult leopard tortoises with price tags in the $2500 range. Large, mature adults are rarely offered for sale (due in large part to the incredible time investment required to raise a tortoise to maturity). And even when offered for sale, these animals rarely make it to the “open market”; they’re typically sold privately, so the amount of money exchanging hands is rarely known.
Nevertheless, it wouldn’t be inconceivable for a large adult female to fetch $10,000 or more.
Factors That Influence the Cost of Leopard Tortoises
A variety of things factor into the sale price of a given tortoise. These myriad factors play varying roles in the price of an individual animal, so it can be difficult to make sweeping generalizations.
However, some of the most noteworthy factors that determine the cost of a leopard tortoise are discussed below.
Size
Generally speaking, the larger the pet reptile, the higher its price tag is going to be. This is especially true of tortoises, given their slow growth rates. So, while hatchlings are often priced in the $200 range, adults are often ten times as expensive.
There is one small caveat to this trend, and that involves young tortoises in the 3- to 4-inch size range. The demand for these tortoises is sometimes lower than it is with hatchlings (which are incredibly cute) and small adults (who’re nearing breeding age). Meanwhile, they are still relatively small, and therefore the breeder has typically not invested a decade or more into raising the animal.
All of this means that you may sometimes find that there is a dip in the price curve for leopard tortoises in this size range. However, this is certainly not always true.
Age
Tortoises tend to increase in price with age. This is due in large part because age and size are correlated, and older tortoises are typically larger and therefore closer to breeding size. However, it is important to note that age and size are distinct characteristics.
Health
Breeders and retailers should only sell healthy tortoises. Out of respect for the animal’s quality of life and in the interest of helping them to regain their health, tortoises who are currently ill should be kept where they are until they’ve recovered fully.
However, tortoises who’ve experienced illness and recovered or suffered an injury, which has since healed, may be priced lower than animals who haven’t endured these types of things. For example, a tortoise may have lost an eye due to an accident when he was young. While certainly sad for the animal, it probably won’t impact his long-term well-being very much.
However, because most tortoise enthusiasts would rather purchase an animal with both eyes, the breeder may be forced to sell this individual at a discount (and even this should only be done once the tortoise has fully recovered and demonstrated that he’s still thriving otherwise).
Source
The person or company you purchase the tortoise from will have a significant impact on the final sum you pay. As an example, breeders typically charge lower prices than retailers, as the retailers must purchase the animals from the breeders, then increase the final sales price to make a profit.
But even when considering two similar sources, the price you’ll end up paying may differ. For example, established breeders typically charge more than first-time breeders, when all other things are equal. Conversely, large pet-store chains can usually offer leopard tortoises for lower prices than small “mom and pop” retailers, thanks to the greater buying power they wield.
Color Pattern
While aesthetic preferences are subjective, the color and markings of a leopard tortoise will often influence its price.
Typically, this is most apparent when considering tortoises with extreme appearances. For example, leopard tortoises with greatly reduced dark pattern elements are often desired by many keepers. Accordingly, breeders and retailers can charge higher prices for them.
Subspecies
Currently, biologists only recognize one species of leopard tortoise; there are no subspecies. However, in the past, two subspecies were recognized: Stigmochelys pardalis pardalis and Stigmochelys pardalis babcocki. While both subspecies were recognized, the former generally commanded higher prices than the latter.
Nevertheless, even though these subspecies are no longer recognized, breeders and retailers occasionally label leopard tortoises as being a member of one subspecies or the other. Often, this is done with the specific intention of charging more money for those labelled as Stigmochelys pardalis pardalis.
Unusual Traits
From time to time, tortoises hatch bearing unusual coloration, markings, or body morphology. And because novelty is typically associated with higher prices, these tortoises are often more expensive than their normally colored counterparts.
Often, these inflated prices are due to the fact that keepers may attempt to raise these animals and breed them to create new lineages, which also display the same trait. However, this doesn’t always occur. Sometimes, unusual animals go on to produce completely normal-looking offspring.
Nevertheless, because the potential financial upside of establishing a new and unusual lineage is significant, tortoises that differ from the norm often bear higher price tags.
Captive-Bred vs Wild-Caught
One thing you may have noticed that is conspicuously missing from the above criteria relates to the tortoise’s origin. Typically, wild-caught animals are much more affordable than their U.S. captive-bred counterparts.
However, a ban on the importation of wild-caught leopard tortoises into the U.S. was enacted in the year 2000. Accordingly, all of the leopard tortoises currently available in the country are captive bred.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are an array of factors that go into determining the price of a given leopard tortoise. Just remember that there is no “right” price tag for any specific animal. Instead, you must simply consider if the animal being sold is worth the associated price tag to you.
However, let me leave you with one last piece of advice: You will likely be spending the next several decades with your tortoise. Accordingly, you shouldn’t place too much emphasis on saving negligible sums of money.
If you strongly prefer a tortoise that costs $25 or $50 more than another, you’ll likely be much happier ignoring the price difference and opting for the individual you like best. Twenty years from now, will you even remember that you spent an extra twenty bucks?
For more information about buying other tortoise species, here’s a link to another one of my articles: A Comprehensive Guide to Tortoise Costs.
Citations
- Morph Market – Leopard Tortoise Prices
- IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species – Leopard Tortoise
