Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I'm just wondering what species of tortoise would be best suited to live in my climate. I live in Massachusetts; winters average around 30-40 degrees farenheit, and summers average around 85 degrees farenheit. Humidity varies in the summer; sometimes dry somtimes humid. All in all a pretty temperate, variable climate. If I had a tortoise I'd keep it outside as much as possible in the summer, and it would be inside in the winter.

Thanks,

Jeff

Any of the mediterranean tortoises will do well in your climate.
This means Hermanns, Marginated, Russian and some species of Greek tortoises will fair well. Hermanns and Russians are very cold tolerant and all of the above naturally hibernate in winter. No tortoise should ever be exposed to wet/cold situations for long periods of time but these species are known to be very hardy in captivity. I would stay away from Sulcattas, Leopards, Stars, Pancakes, and some other species of Greek Tortoises (Libyans, Goldens, Morroccons),unless you have the space to house these indoors for most of the year.

-Chris

How do Marginateds and Greeks respond to colder weather? Meaning, how long can you keep them outside in a larger habitat, then bring them in to hibernate in a smaller area?

Thanks,

Rick

Marginateds are usually pretty cold tolerant. My adults do well outside from May until October. They aren't as good with it as Hermanns are but I really don't have any problems. I bring mine inside mid October and by Thanksgiving they are fast asleep for winter. I hibernate my Marginateds in a fridge in small boxes with newspaper. I also run airline tubing into the fridge so the tortoises have a constant flow of fresh air.

Most species of Greek tortoises do not due well in cold weather. Libyan greeks become sick very quickly when they are exposed to longer periods of even slightly cold weather. Golden greeks handle it a little better but not by much. Morrocon and Syrian greeks are bad with cold weather as well. They all come from parts of the world that do not experience cold winters. Turkish greek tortoises do however do very well with colder temperatures. Like the Marginated and Hermanns Tortoises, they hibernate in nature. Turkish greeks are known to do well durring hibernation even in the most extreme circumstances.

Basically Marginateds, Hermanns, Turkish Greeks and Russians will do well when temperatures drop.

-Chris

Chris,

First, I assume you live in New Jersey? And second, how much space would be needed if one were to keep a group of adult eastern herman's, say 6. How much space does each tortoise require?

Thanks,

Jeff

Hi Chris,

Are you counting Iberas as Turkish? How well do they cope with the cold?

Nina

Jeff-Yes I am in NJ. We experience some pretty bad winters here but not always. This past one was considered mild but we did get a sufficient amount of snow. I hibernate all my tortoises in a fridge in little boxes with newspaper. I also run airline tubing into the fridge with an aquarium air pump so the tortoises have a constant flow of fresh air durring their winter slumber. Eastern hermanns tortoises attain a decent size. My largest males and females are pushing 8". Males will fight each other especially if females are present so I keep sexes separate. It keeps stress off the females and the males stay calmer and become more concerned with regular daily activities such as grazing. I only put them together in spring to do some selective breeding. This is where I pair up certain tortoises to breed. For 6 easterns you'll need a pretty large pen. Generally a small pair will do ok in a 8'X4' enclosure but for 6 I would say atleast 24'X 12'. Keep it well planted with African grasses and reeds. Shrubs prove to aid the tortoises in creating scrapes and burrows to hide in. Logs and rocks for climbing are great for excersize and keep one south facing part of the pen sloped for future nesting. Females prefer a south facing slope to next on.

Nina-Yes Turkish Greeks are Iberas (Testudo graeca ibera). They are very very cold tolerant and do fair well in climates like New England and New Jersey. Some people hibernate their Iberas outdoors year round with little or no problems. I don't do this just to be safe but it has worked. These tortoises are very robust, large and to me seem like little bulldozers. They mow down everything and are very strong. A great tortoise to own and FULL of personality.

Hope this helps.
-Chris

Many thanks, Chris. I asked because I've recently acquired a little ibera (my other tort is a horsfield, and of course they are kept separately). So it's good to know that both my torts are cold tolerant (but as I'm in the UK we don't get too much of the very low temperatures, and it's damp cold I have to worry about more than dry cold). He's on the small side for his age (although he came from an impeccable source), as he is two years old but his SCL is 55mm and he weighs 36 gms. He's an incredibly fussy eater, and although he is really energetic and runs around exploring and alert all day, he eats very little (and believe me, I've tempted him with everything - including hibiscus and cucumber, which I thought no tort could resist). He will take a nibble of dandelion, a nibble of sow thistle, and a small nibble of evening primrose flower and that's about it. So while he's really energetic and seems very healthy, I'm just letting him get on with it. Sorry to have gone on at length, but it is such a startling change from my RT, who has to be monitored so that he doesn't overeat!

Nina

That is a bit odd that an Ibera would be so picky....mine eat anything in their site....I can barely get any plants to grow in their enclosure!!

He might be too hot or too cold....sometimes this affects appetite.

Chris,

Is the care of western herman's the same as for eastern herman's? Could you refer me to some reputable breeders of hermans, russians, turkish greeks? By the way, if you have a picture gallery I'd love to see it; you sound like you keep a lot of tortoises.

Thanks for the advice,

Jeff

Jeff, Western hermanns pretty need the same care as easterns do. They are however at times fragile tortoises. I reccommend not keeping them with any other species of tortoise. They contract disease very fast and quickly die. I love them, they are my favorites and they are very very very hard to come by. If you see someone selling a "western" hermanns for only $125...it is by NO means a true western. True westerns go for atleast $250 a hatchling.

If you look below, there is a post somewhere where someone asks how to tell the two subspecies apart, I quickly responded and wrote a detailed description.

As for breeders, if you are willing to wait, I will have some eastern hatchlings, some turkish hatchlings, some western hatchlings and some marginated hatchlings as well. It will be a while though.

As for a good tortoise breeder I only suggest going to George Ullman of TurtleWorld USA in Florida, he REALLY knows his stuff and quite a few of my adults came from him.

HERE IS THE LINK TO MY ONLINE PHOTO GALLERY:
http://community.webshots.com/user/loon1103

here is a photo of some of my female westerns:

Russian torts do great there
http://russiantortoise.net
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Joe(Chiro)

The Russian Tortoise Web Pge
The African Tortoise Web Page
North American Box Turtles
Massachusetts Turtle Rescue, Inc.

I live in Massachusetts and keep some of the more "advanced-care" type of species, Stars and Spiders, with success. I only really feel confident in leaving them outside in June and July, sometimes late May or early August. I love these species, but to keep them in New England, they really must be indoors 9-10 months of the year. So it sounds like they wouldn't be good for someone like yourself who wants to keep them outside for longer periods.