Hi,
I went to a reptile show this weekend to look for a female golden greek tortoise. I already have a breeding pair, but I wanted to add an additional female to take some stress off of my female when they go outside this spring and summer.
As I was looking around the show, I was only able to find 2 golden greek tortoises. I didn't bother to check if they were males or females because they looked lethargic and of a different sub-species than mine. However, I did see a new type of greek tortoise that I haven't seen at the shows before.
This new type was featured at least 3 seperate vendors and they were all calling it a leopard phase greek tortoise. Each vendor had at least ten and they were quite a bit larger than the golden greeks. The tortoises were about 8 inches, and the vendor said they could grow to a maximum of 3 more inches. They also had a spotted/mottled appearance that made them look like leopards. The prices ranged from $375 for a pair to $275. I was able to make a deal with a vendor for $200 because I was buying a lot of other stuff from them as well.
My question is, what subspecies of tortoises are these? Just to be clear, they do not appear to be leopard tortoises at all, they have spurs on their thighs as well as other characteristics of Greek tortoises. I have a feeling that they might be the libyan subspecies, but they don't look exactly the same as pictures I've seen online. I bought this pair as a seperate breeding pair, but just out of curiosity, would these be able to interbreed with golden greek tortoises?
I would appreciate any info as I cannot find much online about these tortoises.
Thanks!!
