Where should I buy...
- Thread starter Zillamom
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2013
- Messages
- 10,876
Hi
Sorry about your loss. See if someone on the TFO has a Greek to sell .
Sorry about your loss. See if someone on the TFO has a Greek to sell .
So sorry for your loss. Most any one of our members or tortoisesupply.com I would suggest.
I am sure you can find a new Greek here.
Not pointing any fingers but it might be a good idea to review what went wrong with the first before replacing"him".Was there a previous thread I am not aware of regarding your first little guy going downhill?
Not pointing any fingers but it might be a good idea to review what went wrong with the first before replacing"him".Was there a previous thread I am not aware of regarding your first little guy going downhill?
Thank you everyone. Keepergale, no offense taken. She was very lively and active when she first came home. Habitat was purchased from petsmart as well, an all in one deal 40 gallon, basking and uv lights. Purchased soaking dish. Fed her fresh veggies with fiber tablet to supplement . Last Thursday she quit eating. Started soaking her, got her to vet who gave her antibiotic, vitamin B and A shots and fluids. Continued with antibiotics and soaks. Got home this afternoon and she was gone. PLEASE guide me on anything I did wrong!! I DO NOT want this to happen again and am in no hurry to rush into another one without knowing what, if anything, I can do better, which is why I joined the forum. I found a lot of helpful info on here when she got sick.
Hi, and welcome to the Forum!
Did Petsmart have a return policy? I'm wondering if you can get your money back.
Take a look through our breeder's section to see if there are any members near you:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/breeders-list.64666/
This might be one reason for the decline. A Greek tortoise purchased at a U.S. pet shop is close to full grown in order to comply with the 4" rule (businesses can't sell turtles or tortoises that are under 4" front to back). An almost full grown tortoise wold be pretty stressed living in a 40 gallon aquarium.
The fresh veggies part is ok, greens added to that would be even better. I don't know what the fiber tablet was. When they stop eating, the most common cause is because they aren't warm enough. A tortoise must be able to warm up their inner core to AT LEAST 80F degrees in order for the food to digest. So you have to have a basking light and a warm temperature inside the aquarium.
We always caution folks to not allow the vet to administer the vitamin A injection. Quite often the vitamin is an overdose. But what you see from the overdose is the skin sloughing off, THEN death from infection. I doubt the injection caused the death.
More than likely the tortoise was sick when you bought it. They don't always show symptoms at the outset.
My advice is to decide what species you want, then read the care sheet. See if you can sell the equipment you bought and start over with new/better stuff. I like to use the Mercury Vapor Bulb because MVB has the heat and UVB in one bulb/fixture. Then all you need is some sort of heat for night when the MVB is turned off. A Ceramic Heat Emitter - CHE - works well for night because it provides heat without light.
Quite a few members here use coco coir for substrate. I prefer orchid bark. (You weren't using pine bedding were you? )
Read this thread too:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
Thank you for the info. I was told she was a year old and the 40 gallon was good to begin with. She did have a shelter and a bark type substrate. Thanks for the link, had great additional info. We did a lot of research before purchasing her, online, reptile shows, asking around, reading care sheets, ect. We do not want a water turtle and nothing that will getting more than about 8 inches full grown. Honestly, I think the lights is something we will definitely change. Thank you for all the help. Like I said, we don't want to make the same mistakes twice. Hoping to make better choices from the beginning.
Unless the pet shop bought the tortoise from a breeder, you don't really know how old it is. I'm even guessing it was a russian and not a Greek. I've never seen Greek tortoises in Petsmart. A one year old tortoise would be smaller than 4" and illegal for them to sell. Quite often those pet store people think a tortoise is young because it is smallish. Russians are a small species. Also, I've seen the wrong I.D. on the signs on the tortoise cages.
this is a young Greek tortoise:
And this is a young and a full grown russian tortoise:
In this picture there's a hatchling, then one about a year old, and the full grown is about 5" front to back.
this is a young Greek tortoise:
And this is a young and a full grown russian tortoise:
In this picture there's a hatchling, then one about a year old, and the full grown is about 5" front to back.
Unless the pet shop bought the tortoise from a breeder, you don't really know how old it is. I'm even guessing it was a russian and not a Greek. I've never seen Greek tortoises in Petsmart. A one year old tortoise would be smaller than 4" and illegal for them to sell. Quite often those pet store people think a tortoise is young because it is smallish. Russians are a small species. Also, I've seen the wrong I.D. on the signs on the tortoise cages.
this is a young Greek tortoise:
And this is a young and a full grown russian tortoise:
In this picture there's a hatchling, then one about a year old, and the full grown is about 5" front to back.
Unless the pet shop bought the tortoise from a breeder, you don't really know how old it is. I'm even guessing it was a russian and not a Greek. I've never seen Greek tortoises in Petsmart. A one year old tortoise would be smaller than 4" and illegal for them to sell. Quite often those pet store people think a tortoise is young because it is smallish. Russians are a small species. Also, I've seen the wrong I.D. on the signs on the tortoise cages.
this is a young Greek tortoise:
And this is a young and a full grown russian tortoise:
In this picture there's a hatchling, then one about a year old, and the full grown is about 5" front to back.
This is a picture of ours...
View attachment 194747
View attachment 194747
Unless the pet shop bought the tortoise from a breeder, you don't really know how old it is. I'm even guessing it was a russian and not a Greek. I've never seen Greek tortoises in Petsmart. A one year old tortoise would be smaller than 4" and illegal for them to sell. Quite often those pet store people think a tortoise is young because it is smallish. Russians are a small species. Also, I've seen the wrong I.D. on the signs on the tortoise cages.
this is a young Greek tortoise:
And this is a young and a full grown russian tortoise:
In this picture there's a hatchling, then one about a year old, and the full grown is about 5" front to back.
Unless the pet shop bought the tortoise from a breeder, you don't really know how old it is. I'm even guessing it was a russian and not a Greek. I've never seen Greek tortoises in Petsmart. A one year old tortoise would be smaller than 4" and illegal for them to sell. Quite often those pet store people think a tortoise is young because it is smallish. Russians are a small species. Also, I've seen the wrong I.D. on the signs on the tortoise cages.
this is a young Greek tortoise:
And this is a young and a full grown russian tortoise:
In this picture there's a hatchling, then one about a year old, and the full grown is about 5" front to back.
Yup, you're correct - a Greek. That's a darned shame.
Kaliman1962
Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2016
- Messages
- 193
I got an Ibera Greek from gary on this forum. my guy is awesome, his torts are top [email protected]
Hi and welcome to TFO!
This looks like an adult Greek. There's a bit of pyramiding, so the problem had started before you got him/her.
Very sorry for your loss.
