Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello all,
for the past few days i have been trying to decide what type of tortoise i want to get. I have been seriously considering a russian but want to look into greek torts, problem is I can't find any good pages on them through a yahoo search. i found a care sheet that states the same thing for six different torts and then i found some photo gallery's but no true care sheets with a lot of information.

I really like both horsefieldi and graeca. Both have similar requirements, with horsefieldi perhaps tolerating a wider temp range seasonally and they are much more vigorous burrowers. The Testudo graeca complex has a lot of variations, and these phenotypes i.e. "golden greeks" and others come from all over the middle East and North Africa, and some are much hardier than others. So, I would advise you to get yours from an established breeder where you can see the adults and know they tolerate the climate you will be offering. I like T. graeca-ibera for example, as the climate in Turkey where my herds ancestors are from is similar to here in Nor-California.
Be sure to check Andy Highfields literature and Tortoise Trust website regarding Greeks, I found plenty of good info. on the internet. Good luck and I commend you for doing research before buying.

I actually believe that there is some research showing variation in the Russian Tortoise complex as well. I'm no field expert, but I can tell you that when a group of tortoises spans from a range big as Afghanistan to China, variation is always a given. Leopard tortoises, redfoots, hingebacks, and hermann's torts all share extreme variation as a common characteristic.

I've noticed this in my own Russian collection. There seem to be distinct color and pattern differences between imported groups. Some are more tollerant of damp than others. I've even seen different shapes, some being box-like, others elongated.