Greek ID-three year old male and female

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Tccarolina

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I just bought a pair of Greek tortoises from someone who says they've had them for two years and purchased them as one year olds from a breeder. They know they are Greeks and thats it.

The male is darker and larger and is slightly over 5 inches carapace length. The female is lighter and just under 5 inches.

I would assume they are the same subspecies, but I guess they might not be. What do I have?
Male
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Female
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bikerchicspain

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They look so much like my mini, They look like Tunisian Greeks to me, but i could be wrong. Danny will be able to tell you for sure. Goodluck
 

Yvonne G

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Our resident identifier is on a week-end vacation to England, but when he comes back and reads your post, Danny will surely tell you what kind of Greek tortoises you have.

I think he said he'd be back sometime either tomorrow or Tuesday.

Yvonne
 

Crazy1

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As Yvonne said Danny is our resident identifier. He will be back about the 27th. I'll give it a stab and say say that your lighter one is an Antakyan, as the fifth vertebral scute is the larger scute.
Could we get a straight down pic of the carapace like the 6th pic you have but of the first tort? And if we could get pics of their tails you may have to hold them so they hang down a bit that way we could give you a better idea of who is male and who is female. :) By the way nice looking Greeks. Congrats on getting them.
 

Tccarolina

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I wasn't able to get a good tail shot of either one.
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desertsss

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Well, to me I can def tell you have a male and a female.
The first looks like a golden greek, and the second maybe a golden greek. Who knows...Danny come home!!!!

subspecies...no ideas :(
 

Tccarolina

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I'm going on the persons word that they are three years old and captive bred. Don't let that throw off any particular diagnosis. I really hope they are a subspecies/variant that is capable of hibernating outdoors (Central Valley, California).
IMG_5234.jpg
 

Tccarolina

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So Danny,
any idea on what I have? I've just tortoise proofed the big pen (about half my yard) for these guys, but I'm not totally sure I can keep them. I don't want to hybidize different subspecies/species/localities. I'm also a bit worried about their ability to handle cool weather in the spring and fall. I really like them so far though!

Steve
 

egyptiandan

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Hi Steve,
They are both Syrian Antakyan greeks, Testudo graeca antakyensis. They are though wild caught and not captive born. They probably both came in last year.
I don't hibernate any of my Antakyan greeks and the Syrians are especially problematic if they go under 60F for any length of time. They tend to get Upper Respiratory Infection very easily.

Your getting better Robyn :D

Danny
 

Tccarolina

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Thanks Danny,
I thought they looked awfully smooth to be captive bred. I may need to think long and hard about keeping these two. They have a large pen now with everything they need except winter warmth. I don't like the idea of wintering them permanently inside. Maybe I can find someone to swap them for iberians.

Steve
 
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