Need help with identifying Greek Tort

[devsharkey]

Hello~ My name is Devon.
I bought this Greek from Petsmart for my birthday (August 13th), and he was obviously sick. He had an URI, which we took care of with the local exotic vet, and now he's doing SO much better.
His name is Ptolmey, and he's such a cool little guy.
The vet told us he was 12 years old, while the guy at Petsmart told us he couldn't be more that 2 >;[
Regardless, I don't know what kind of Greek he is exactly, and before I go out and get him a girlfriend, I would greatly appreciate any help I can get identifying what subspecies he is, if anyone know!

Thanks so much!

 

[Sonja215]

Welcome to Tortoise Forum!


Few things to get you started:
See this link to see what your tort closely resembles: http://www.chelonia.org/testudo_gallery.htm

Maybe it'll be easy for you, I checked pics for a bit and the Greek I thought I had was confirmed by a few people. So it worked out for me that way.

Do a search for "Tom" and check the threads below his name for beginner mistakes and such. A lot of people reference his threads.

People will want pics of pretty much every angle of your tort, start snapping. Tail, plastron, head shot (coloring). They'll want to know what your housing your guy/gal in, what temperatures do you maintain (day/night), what your feeding, if there is outside time, type of substrate, what type of lighting.... I'd start noting those things in the event your little one becomes sick again. Something as simple as temps could be your problem.

Also, my best advice.... Read other people's questions. Never use any type of sand as substrate unless its mixed in with some type of soil. Also look up the Tlady I think if you google that she has a plant database, and try http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plant_database_14.asp


Hope that can get you started.

 

[CGKeith]

Yes, definately need more picture to make a better guess.

My first guess though is based on shape a color more than anything else, but I would say he's of Jordanian origin.

As far as the age goes, being that he's wild caught there is no way to know, but I would say he's at least 12 yrs old of course he could be 22 or 32 for that matter.

He is very nice looking and am glad you got him and are making sure he is healthy now.

Don't let him get below about 80 degrees while he is healing up and even then I would let him get below about 70 degrees or you'll probably be back at the Vet for the same thing again.

 

[devsharkey]

Yes, definately need more picture to make a better guess.

My first guess though is based on shape a color more than anything else, but I would say he's of Jordanian origin.

As far as the age goes, being that he's wild caught there is no way to know, but I would say he's at least 12 yrs old of course he could be 22 or 32 for that matter.

He is very nice looking and am glad you got him and are making sure he is healthy now.

Don't let him get below about 80 degrees while he is healing up and even then I would let him get below about 70 degrees or you'll probably be back at the Vet for the same thing again.

Great! Thanks! I'll put up more pictures of him right now.

---

Here are more pictures of him! Hope this helps more!

 

[CGKeith]

I'm going to have to change my original guess. With the last vertebral scute bring the largest I'm going to have to say it's Antakyan, probably Syrian local.

 

[devsharkey]

I'm going to have to change my original guess. With the last vertebral scute bring the largest I'm going to have to say it's Antakyan, probably Syrian local.

That is awesome! Thank you so much!

 

[biochemnerd808]

Looks like you already got some great information.

I did want to add that I would recommend AGAINST getting him a girlfriend. Unless you have a HUGE outdoor pen, or plan to keep them separate, this would be a recipe for disaster. Greeks are very territorial, and males will aggressively pursue mating a female. Best to be kept solo (unless, again, you have a huge outdoor enclosure). Tortoises don't get lonely - if you think about how they live in the wild: they roam acres of land, and only happen upon another tortoise every now and then.

Good luck!

Hello~ My name is Devon.
I bought this Greek from Petsmart for my birthday (August 13th), and he was obviously sick. He had an URI, which we took care of with the local exotic vet, and now he's doing SO much better.
His name is Ptolmey, and he's such a cool little guy.
The vet told us he was 12 years old, while the guy at Petsmart told us he couldn't be more that 2 >;[
Regardless, I don't know what kind of Greek he is exactly, and before I go out and get him a girlfriend, I would greatly appreciate any help I can get identifying what subspecies he is, if anyone know!

Thanks so much!

 

[devsharkey]

Looks like you already got some great information.

I did want to add that I would recommend AGAINST getting him a girlfriend. Unless you have a HUGE outdoor pen, or plan to keep them separate, this would be a recipe for disaster. Greeks are very territorial, and males will aggressively pursue mating a female. Best to be kept solo (unless, again, you have a huge outdoor enclosure). Tortoises don't get lonely - if you think about how they live in the wild: they roam acres of land, and only happen upon another tortoise every now and then.

Good luck!

Hello~ My name is Devon.
I bought this Greek from Petsmart for my birthday (August 13th), and he was obviously sick. He had an URI, which we took care of with the local exotic vet, and now he's doing SO much better.
His name is Ptolmey, and he's such a cool little guy.
The vet told us he was 12 years old, while the guy at Petsmart told us he couldn't be more that 2 >;[
Regardless, I don't know what kind of Greek he is exactly, and before I go out and get him a girlfriend, I would greatly appreciate any help I can get identifying what subspecies he is, if anyone know!

Thanks so much!

Oh yeah, don't worry. I'm not really a dog person, but my wife and I have live on a half acre lot, and out backyard takes up about 3/4 of that~