Greek tortoise?

Joined
Jun 21, 2021
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5
Location (City and/or State)
Gent, belgium
hi,
my name’s Jesse.

last week my wife got me a tortoise as a present.
I have no clue about turtles at all, yet I want to give it my best care.
but after searching a lot of forums I’ve seen a lot of different species. And it got me confused about if it really is a greek tortoise.
it also looks a lot more like an herman’s tortoise. Now I read a few other thread’s and saw that it’s a common misconception. But maybe someone also knows it’s subspecies from experience..

any experts who can tell me for sure?
he/she ( we don’t know the gender yet) is 9 months old.


also:
we’ve bought this enclosure. if it wakes up and has had it’s bath and food and some artificial sun, it start to crawl up in the upper corner walks down the stairs, turns and does the same thing. Sometimes without trying to crawl out. Is it’s enclosure to small?
ofcourse if it grows I know it is to small, but his 6cm shield we thought it was doable since it doesn’t grow quick.

thanks for any help you can give us!
 

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TeamZissou

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Looks like you have an eastern Hermanns tortoise. Here's a neat guide that tells you how to identify babies from different species:


Here's the care info. Several aspects of your enclosure need to be improved to give your tortoise optimal conditions. It is indeed too small. An area of 1.2 x 0.6 m is usually recommended for babies for the first couple of years. A "closed chamber" or terrarium will help you keep the humidity up.

 

method89

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Looks like you have an eastern Hermanns tortoise. Here's a neat guide that tells you how to identify babies from different species:


Here's the care info. Several aspects of your enclosure need to be improved to give your tortoise optimal conditions. It is indeed too small. An area of 1.2 x 0.6 m is usually recommended for babies for the first couple of years. A "closed chamber" or terrarium will help you keep the humidity up.

Hmmm... I was leaning towards Greek because of the Tan color as opposed to the yellow that hermann's have. This tort seems bigger than a hatchling and looks to be showing more of its true colors. just my 2 cents.
 

TeamZissou

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Hmmm... I was leaning towards Greek because of the Tan color as opposed to the yellow that hermann's have. This tort seems bigger than a hatchling and looks to be showing more of its true colors. just my 2 cents.

This is definitely not a Greek. Greeks have mottled/spotted plastrons while Hermanns have larger spots on each scute. This is all well described in Chris' thread.
 
Joined
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Gent, belgium
Thanks!
I will search about their main differences in care and habitat, I guess they have some things in common.
are you sure about it being the eastern variation, and not the western?
pretty nice you can tell!

the humidity in there is pretty high. 60-80. During nighttime it drops to 70-90.
It likes to dig itself beneath the glass stairwell When it goes to sleep/rest.
I do think I want a bigger enclosure, but it is new for him as well.
I will give him/her a week of getting used to being alone. It’s enclosure is bigger then where my wife got it. And they where with a bunch in a smaller enclosure
 

Sarah2020

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Hi and welcome . I hope you and your wife enjoy your new found shell warrior ?. This care sheet will help with tortoise welfare
Please feel free to share pics and ask questions.
Enjoy
 
Joined
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Hi and welcome . I hope you and your wife enjoy your new found shell warrior ?. This care sheet will help with tortoise welfare
Please feel free to share pics and ask questions.
Enjoy
Thanks, well.. maybe just one more question about it's carapace: I saw that most tortoises have 5 shutes from head to tail, mine has 6. The second shute from his head is a bit smaller. Is that normal or might it be an hybrid?
 

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TeamZissou

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Thanks, well.. maybe just one more question about it's carapace: I saw that most tortoises have 5 shutes from head to tail, mine has 6. The second shute from his head is a bit smaller. Is that normal or might it be an hybrid?

Extra scutes can happen for a variety of reasons. Aside from genetics, egg incubation temperature that is too high is the main reason they occur. Your tortoise can still grow up fine with proper conditions as detailed in the care sheet. It's nothing to worry about.

Hybrids are another matter, but extra scutes are not an indicator. There are several subtleties addressed on this page. Comparisons are typically made on adults. Hybridization doesn't usually occur unless the breeder is careless or ignorant of what they have.

 

TaylorTortoise

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Mar 24, 2020
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Location (City and/or State)
Abington
hi,
my name’s Jesse.

last week my wife got me a tortoise as a present.
I have no clue about turtles at all, yet I want to give it my best care.
but after searching a lot of forums I’ve seen a lot of different species. And it got me confused about if it really is a greek tortoise.
it also looks a lot more like an herman’s tortoise. Now I read a few other thread’s and saw that it’s a common misconception. But maybe someone also knows it’s subspecies from experience..

any experts who can tell me for sure?
he/she ( we don’t know the gender yet) is 9 months old.


also:
we’ve bought this enclosure. if it wakes up and has had it’s bath and food and some artificial sun, it start to crawl up in the upper corner walks down the stairs, turns and does the same thing. Sometimes without trying to crawl out. Is it’s enclosure to small?
ofcourse if it grows I know it is to small, but his 6cm shield we thought it was doable since it doesn’t grow quick.

thanks for any help you can give us!
beautiful baby
 
Joined
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Gent, belgium
beautiful baby
He/she said thanks!

I'm really happy with it.
My wife is scared of pretty much any animal.
We lost our child at three months in the belly and after a few months I'm still feeling a bit sad, my lovely wife bought me an animal ( which I never expected, cause most animals scares her even butterflies).
I'm really happy with it, so I'm doing my best to take the best care of it ?
 

TaylorTortoise

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He/she said thanks!

I'm really happy with it.
My wife is scared of pretty much any animal.
We lost our child at three months in the belly and after a few months I'm still feeling a bit sad, my lovely wife bought me an animal ( which I never expected, cause most animals scares her even butterflies).
I'm really happy with it, so I'm doing my best to take the best care of it ?
I am so sorry to hear that! And best of luck trying again. Everything good and bad happens for a reason, IF you guys try again the baby will be a miracle to the world when he/she comes!
 

TaylorTortoise

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Joined
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Messages
1,461
Location (City and/or State)
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He/she said thanks!

I'm really happy with it.
My wife is scared of pretty much any animal.
We lost our child at three months in the belly and after a few months I'm still feeling a bit sad, my lovely wife bought me an animal ( which I never expected, cause most animals scares her even butterflies).
I'm really happy with it, so I'm doing my best to take the best care of it ?
Your tortoise will really keep you busy, and you will get attached like most of us :)
 

Mrs.Jennifer

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He/she said thanks!

I'm really happy with it.
My wife is scared of pretty much any animal.
We lost our child at three months in the belly and after a few months I'm still feeling a bit sad, my lovely wife bought me an animal ( which I never expected, cause most animals scares her even butterflies).
I'm really happy with it, so I'm doing my best to take the best care of it ?
I am so very sorry for the loss of your baby. Grief can be such a gutting experience. Sometimes pets can distract one in the difficult times. I hope you can find some joy in your new tortoise.
 
Joined
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Messages
27
Location (City and/or State)
San Diego
Hello and welcome to the forum!

It's enclosure is a little small and the tortoise will definitely grow out of it. The first week a tortoise is in a new enclosure they will pace the perimeter of the enclosure. It takes a tortoise some time to become acquainted with and comfortable in any new enclosure.

Good luck with your new tortoise and welcome to the community!
 
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