Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I am looking into buying a pair of greek tortoises.. Ive been looking around on the net for some info, and i have 2 questions that i hope someone could answer...

Do greeks hibernate? and..
What would be a good indoor enclosure for them? i cannot keep them outside, the humidity is too high.

thanks

That's a wide open question. It depends on the location the "Greek's" orginated from if they are WC. Testudo Graeca Ibera (Greek from Turkey and Iran) does hibernate. Some Testudo Graeca from North Africa and the Middle East do, some don't.

If you are looking for a "Greek" and are a newer Tortoise owner I'd suggest Ibera. Very hardy, most in this country are captive bred, AND some can take very high humidity. IMHO, they are also the easiest of the Greek's to keep. I have Graeca Terrestris and Graeca Soussensis two of the, shall we say, more challenging Greek's.

Contact Geroge Ulman at www.turtleworldusa.com. He has been breeding Ibera's, Herman's, and Marginated for 25 years in Florida. His can handle quite a bit of humidity. He's also a good guy.

Good luck

Ernie

Thanks for the info...

Do you have any info on housing now?

Also, im not too sure on what type of greeks i am being offered... maybe you can help me distinguish them from this picture?, thanks!

http://www.geocities.com/dubumb/greeks.html
Click the link to see the pictures of the greeks that i am hoping to buy, thanks again!
Link

First, yes I do have housing I can show you. Should be able to post a pic of the units we use for our Greek's. I'll give that a try tomorrow.

Second, tough to tell without a better picture, seeing their plastrons, and just how big they are in relation to a hand. Regardless, if you are going to buy all three you'll need an enclosure that should be a minimum of 4' x 6', 6 x 8 would be even better. Each of ours has a 3'x 6' plywood constructed enclosure. Greeks are roaming torts and need a fair amount of room.

The best substrate I've found is a 30/70 mix of topsoil and play sand. It doesn't retain humidity, retains heat well, provides good footing, and it's easy for them to burrow into at night. These guys like to bury themselves 1-2 inches into the substrate so make it at least 4 inches deep. And make sure you use a ceramic tile to feed them on. It serves two purposes. One, keeps their beak filed down, and stops them from ingesting any but a very small amount of the substrate. Whether they are Ibera, Soussensis, Werneri, Floweri, or Terrestris they will all do well in this set up. We can talk heating and humidity later.

If you do get them ping me at ernie_j@hotmail.com and I can get you all the diet, lighting, etc. info you'll need to have them a long, long time.

Good luck.

Wow.. thanks a lot for all of the info, you are very helpful...

Anyway, I would only be purchasing 2 greeks... I will be looking foward to seeing the pictures of the housing you have. I will be sure to Email you if I do infact get these guys...

Thanks again.

The ones you have pictured DO NOT hibernate. If you attempt to hibernate these you will surely kill them. These are most likely tortoises that are being shipped from Syria/Lebenon and that area. They are usually a mix of different races of T. greaca. I like the ones you have pictured because they are usually very out going and they have this neat orange color.
The key things to look for when purchasing these is to make sure they are alert, the eyes are not sunken into the head and the limbs are relatively round in cross section and, of course, they have good weight.
If you get them keep them hot and dry with plenty of access to water. 80 - 100 F for a temperature range. They are not big grazers but seem to like dark leafy greens.
If you can acclimate them they are easy to keep but they are very difficult to acclimate.
Ed

I can handle keeping them from 80-100 degrees easily. When you say acclimate, do you mean also housing? what housing to they require? and if you could please elaborate on proper acclimation for these tortoises, i will be very thankful! Thanks a lot for your reply!

if you are set on getting these guys you are in for a battle. The temperature is the prime consideration and if you do not see them drink, make sure to soak them daily or every other day.
If they are in good shape, you should do fine.
Unless you are familiar with acclimating WC tortoises get together with a vet and explain that you are dealing with WC tortoises. I would suggest you treat them for protozoa and worms as a precaution. Try to make it as least traumatic as you can.
That, with the feeding suggestion, should do it.
Ed

If I can give a tip as well, the first thing I would do after they arrive is give them a soak in a mixture of Gatoraid and worm water. I would recommend this for the first few days. They tend to deficate and efacuate thier fluids in the shipping box. This leaves them dehidrated. I did this with my females and had very little problems(knock on wood).
Ed is 100% on target with the temp issue. If mine get below 80 or to high of humidity, my oldest female gets a runny nose.
I don't provide standing water. I give a soak every other day. I also spray down thier greens with water. The staning water raised the humidity to high. I have seen all 3 of my greeks drink the water off the greens. So it seems to work.
Best of luck!!

What's worm water? did you mean warm water? sorry for the stupid question.

Not a bad ?. just bad spelling.
You are correct. I ment warm water.