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JUST GOT A GREEK TORTOISE...

taylor_madison Dec 18, 2007 07:53 PM

I got a greek tortoise about a month ago and I'm pretty new to the whole thing. So I guess I'm looking for any pointers as to what kind of variety of food I need to be feeding him. Right now he is in a 20 gal. tank with a 75w lamp, food and water bowls, and a log to hide under. The tank usually remains around 81 degress during the day when the lamp is on and around 72 degress at night when the lamp is off. I have been feeding him mostly kale and collard greens and every other 2 days or so, I mix in some pieces of apple or cranberries. I live in pennsylvania in an apartment so he is pretty much livign indoors at all times. Is this bad? Upon reading through some other threads, I noticed a lot of people keep their tortoises outdoors a lot of the time. I intend on either building him a bigger encloser in the next month or two or simply buying a bigger tank (most likely a 50 gal).

Any pointers or helpful information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Replies (3)

tglazie Dec 19, 2007 12:12 AM

I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news, but a fifty gallon tank will not be enough for permanent keeping. Aquariums are terrible for keeping tortoises, for the simple fact that they hold too much heat. Before we get into that, however, we must first establish something. What sort of greek is this? Is it a Golden Greek (these are generally mostly gold or flesh colored; they are very sensitive to environmental conditions, most notably wetness and humidity, as they come from the dry deserts of Syria), is it a Turkish Greek (these are usually dark skinned, grayish brown shelled critters who are much hardier than the aforementioned Golden Greek), or is it a Lybian Greek (these animals have a blotchy pattern of black/brown on a yellow shell; they also tend to be rather larger than both goldens and turks, which are usually four to six inches at full size). Where did you get this animal? Is it eating? I recommend consulting the site Chelonia.org. They have a myriad of pictures, identifying the origin of the different types of greeks. Keep in mind there is still a great deal of dispute regarding the taxonomy the greek tortoise group (none of whom actually live in Greece; they're so named because Gray, the man who described them, thought their shell looked like a greek mosaic), and such makes their care requirements difficult to assess at first.

Okay, as for the animal's upkeep, you should build a tortoise table. I generally like to provide a decent sized environment, and my indoor tortoise tables measure two feet by four feet (the size of two fifty gallon aquaria!). Keep a spotlight with a fifty watt heat lamp over one side. Underfloor heating is necessary for Lybians and Goldens, but is unnatural for Turks, who are accustomed to nightly drops in temperature. This is, as you would imagine, very important, making determination of the animal's general origin of the utmost importance.

As for the feeding, ensure as great a variety as possible. Dandelions, clover, thistles, hibiscus, althea flowers, grape leaves, and other items listed in many caresheets available across the web (just search Greek tortoise care) should be offered (not all at the same time; simply revolve these items on an irregular schedule). Allow the animal some supervised outdoor time to browse for weeds on it's own, or build an outdoor enclosure to keep the animal outdoors during part of the year. I know no place in the continental U.S. where tortoises can't benefit from a few sunny days. Even in fifty degree weather, Greeks tend to do very well so long as it's sunny.

Anywho, I hope these suggestions have helped. If you have any further specific questions, don't be afraid to ask. If you have any pics of the animal in question, don't hesitate to post them either.

T.G.

taylor_madison Dec 19, 2007 12:40 PM

I appreciate your help. I was kind of thinking the aquariums not being the best option might be the case. I am pretty good with building things on my own, so making one of these tables shouldn't be too difficult. My only problem is, I don't have a whole lot of room to work with. My room is MAYBE about 10'x12'.

Also, I have noticed a lot of talk on these forums about tortoises hibernating and "slowing down." Since I got mine, he has pooped only once (to my knowledge) and seems very sluggish...or at least more so than any care guide I read says he is supposed to be. He seems to be pretty healthy. I was mostly just wondering if i should slow down his feeding or adjust how often i turn his lamp on/off.

Also, upon looking through some pictures, it would appear that he is most likely a golden greek. If my camera was of better quality, I would take pictures. So with that said, how would i go about heating the bottom of his new habitat?

I apologize for all the naive questions. I have owned other reptiles and I swear I'm not as dumb as this stuff makes me sound. I simply want what is the best for the tortoise and every care guide seems to tell me something differen, so I figured I would ask the people who know from experience.

Thanks again.

KevinM Jan 17, 2008 07:40 PM

Taylor, I dont think caging for a single greek would be that complicated. I believe a forty gallon breeder would have a four x two foot floor area and is only about 1.5 feet tall. Better yet, you can get HUGE rubber maid storage boxes, easily four x two or larger for MUCH cheaper than a tank. I bought one almost four feet long, and right at two feet wide for like 20 bucks. They are also lighter and easier to carry outside to clean if need be. A suggestion I would make would be to have a red light bulb on one end of the enclosure along with a UVB bulb/light. At night when the UVB goes out, the redlight stays on to provide heat and doesnt interrupt with day/night cycle (to the best of my knowledge). Not sure about golden greeks, but some torts can withstand night drops down to 50 or 60 degrees with no problems, so no light or heat may be an option. Especially if kept indoors. You could use one bulb like a zoomed that provides heat and UVB, and simply turn off at night.

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