new ibera mommy

[eudora09]

Hello
My husband has wanted a leopard tortoise for a long time so for his birthday I was going to get him one. My friend who ownes the local pet store called me last week and told me he had some in. So I went up there and picked out the one I wanted for my husband and put it on hold for yesterday when I got my paycheck. Then I went home and did extensive research on their care. Yesterday when I went to pick it up I was informed that it had died along with the other leopards no one knows why but guessing a birth defect. So he then offered me a sulcata and I told him I wasn't comfortable with a tortoise that big. So we looked at what others he had and I fell in love with this little ibera tortoise that is about 4 months old and fits in the palm of my hand. Anyway I was wondering if I'm doing everything correctly for the little one because I've never had one (the most I've interacted with was a box turtle when I lived in TN). The petstore recommended using rabbit pellets for bedding but the research I had done on the leopards said this wasn't a good idea so I thought it probably wasn't a good idea for the ibera so I ended up doing a mixture of top soil and aspen bedding with some orchard grass hay on top. I got a murcury vapor light to use as the heat and UVB source. The hot end of the tank is 88.5 during the day and the cool end 80 and then at night I turn it off and it gets down to 73, is this good for her (I've been calling it a girl but I don't know the sex)? She eats really good she ate a mixture of kale, collard greens, oregano leaves, and marigold petals last night and today.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Eudora09:

Welcome to the forum!! So good to see a snake person converting to tortoises!!!

I can't help with your Greek question, I just wanted to welcome you to the fold.

 

[greeks]

There are few substrate options Greek keepers on the forum use (not using pellets is a great choice!). One is a combination of aspen shavings and coconut coir (not mixed together, but segregated to different portions of the enclosure).

Another good option is cypress mulch.

And yet another good choice is a topsoil play sand mixture. My littlest babies constantly try to eat topsoil mixtures so I keep them on aspen/coir until they're bigger and less interested in eating everything around them. (They don't like the aspen or coir)

An MVB bulb is an excellent choice as well. You'll need a basking spot that gets up to at least 95 degrees so if your bulb isn't doing it and you don't want to increase the wattage, you can add a ceramic heat emitting bulb as a supplement. 73 should be perfectly fine for night. You're generally fine above 60 or a little higher. And many folks feel that the temperature swing between day temps and night temps is actually better.

Humidity is super important for Greeks, especially when younger. You want to keep a humid end and/or a humid hide (warm and moist not cool and moist) that gets up to about 60% humidity. This is where choosing substrate can really help you. I also keep a shallow water dish available and mist the enclosure a couple times a day. I use sphagnum moss inside my hides to help keep the humidity closer to 70%. They sit just to the edge of the basking area so they're toasty inside.

The foods you listed are a pretty good start. But you'll want to really mix up the variety. I keep a nice organic spring mix and lettuces around and plenty of plantain and dandelion greens. There are some great food list references on TFO. I'm surprised your little one eats oregano - fragrant foods are pretty handily refused by my torts! I recommend supplementing calcium (without D3 since you've got UVB covered) and less often, vitamin. I use a cuttlebone and/or calcium powder and a liquid vitamin spray.

Here are a couple threads you may find helpful:

http://tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Foo...orts-DT-Marginated-Greeks-Russians-Sullys-etc

http://tortoiseforum.org/Thread-New-Owner-Questions-about-our-Golden-Greek-Hermes

Danny (egyptiandan) or Keith (GBtortoises) are excellent at IDs for subspecies and sex of Greek tortoises. If neither answer the question you had on the post (or someone else who's good at it), you can send a Private Message and I'm sure they'll will help you out. You'll need to post clear carapace and plastron pics and close ups of the head and tail are helpful too!

 

[greeks]

Sorry! Keith is CGKeith. I'm surprised no one has corrected me

GBtortoises is also excellent with Greek advice and Ids, though!

 

[webskipper]

Welcome! You've found the Mecca for Tortoise care.

Enjoy him while he's small. At least he won't get bigger than a pigskin.

The Sulcatas will get bigger than an ottoman and mommy won't be able to pick him up.

I have attached a Hatchling Care guide written by a 20 year breeder who just happened to have the parents of my ibera bloodline.

Very simple to take care of. What you are simulating for the next 2 years is a moist burrow for the little one to hide in. Like a beauty treatment for skin, the moisture will keep his shell smooth and not bumpy (termed pyramid).

I feed Spring Mix (soaking in the fridge), fresh Opuntia, and a mix of fresh Dichondra and misc plants that grown in flats inside the table.

 

[Olympia]

Hi,

We have a Golden Greek at this age (4 months, Olympia) and we use cypress mulch as the substrate and soaked sphagnum moss on top to keep the humidity. Because she is a baby and very small, we were advised to use warm pad for the night and we try to keep the temp ~80F for the night and not below.

We had difficulties with the food at the beginning so maybe this can add to your tortoise diet (although she eats well): andives, romaine lettuce, dandelions, collard, kale (not so much). Ours also likes squash (half cooked in water) and raw carrots. She bits strawberry, blueberry and blackberry but it seams that she doesn't really like it, prefers apple. I try to keep a lot of variety and introduce new things once a week. It seams that she is a bit picky. see more info in this link: http://www.exoticpetvet.net/reptile/turtle.html

Good luck,
Michal

Hello
My husband has wanted a leopard tortoise for a long time so for his birthday I was going to get him one. My friend who ownes the local pet store called me last week and told me he had some in. So I went up there and picked out the one I wanted for my husband and put it on hold for yesterday when I got my paycheck. Then I went home and did extensive research on their care. Yesterday when I went to pick it up I was informed that it had died along with the other leopards no one knows why but guessing a birth defect. So he then offered me a sulcata and I told him I wasn't comfortable with a tortoise that big. So we looked at what others he had and I fell in love with this little ibera tortoise that is about 4 months old and fits in the palm of my hand. Anyway I was wondering if I'm doing everything correctly for the little one because I've never had one (the most I've interacted with was a box turtle when I lived in TN). The petstore recommended using rabbit pellets for bedding but the research I had done on the leopards said this wasn't a good idea so I thought it probably wasn't a good idea for the ibera so I ended up doing a mixture of top soil and aspen bedding with some orchard grass hay on top. I got a murcury vapor light to use as the heat and UVB source. The hot end of the tank is 88.5 during the day and the cool end 80 and then at night I turn it off and it gets down to 73, is this good for her (I've been calling it a girl but I don't know the sex)? She eats really good she ate a mixture of kale, collard greens, oregano leaves, and marigold petals last night and today.

 

[egyptiandan]

All good advice so far

It though doesn't look like a T.g.ibera to me, but a plastron picture will help figure out the subspecies.

Danny

 

[eudora09]

All good advice so far

It though doesn't look like a T.g.ibera to me, but a plastron picture will help figure out the subspecies.

Danny

Thank ya'll for the replies. Sorry it took so long to reply it was a busy weekend. Is this the picture you need to help identify her? The store I got her from is a little locally owned family store. The guy who ownes it is great with snakes but I don't think he knows too much about other types of animals and his friend sold him this baby saying it was an ibera. I lowered the mount for the MVB and now her temps are 90 during the day ( the store had told me to mount it 30 inches above her cage now I have it about 16 inches above her cage)and I bought her a blue night bulb to help keep her warm during the winter whenever it decides to go below 60 here in Tucson. She also now has a humid hide with moss on the warm side. I named her Belle, but like I said before I don't know if it's a girl or not but I like to call it a girl. The store told me she's 4 months old does she look like she's 4 months? She's about 3 inches. Also is it ok to plant some aloe vera plants in her cage the guy at the store told me I shouldn't plant anything in her cage. She loves her humid hide when she's not in there she lays out under the bulb all stretched out sun bathing it's so cute.

 

[egyptiandan]

It looks to be a Syrian greek, Testudo graeca terrestris, to me. It also looks to be a female.

Danny

 

[greeks]

What a cutie! Belle will LOVE Arizona, especially if you take her out to sun

Aloe Vera is a succulent safe to feed Greeks in moderation. If you plant it in her enclosure, she may or may not munch on it but it certainly adds good landscape. If you're buying the aloe from a store or nursery, you'll want to wait until there's new growth to give it to her just in case it has been treated with fertilizers, etc. You can keep any of the edibles in their enclosure, really. And it helps you manage the humidity.

 

[eudora09]

Thank ya'll! I love my little one she was supposed to be for my husband but he still wants a leopard tortoise so she is mine! I know my snakes like plants in their vivs for the humidy so I thought she would too. Although my snakes are now upset with me since I changed there room around to add the cage for my little one lol. My friend grows aloe vera in her garden and she doesn't use store bought fertilizers she does everything organic. Belle goes up and lays by the aloe but she hasn't tried to eat any. What about an Echeveria plant? Is it safe to plant in there? I always thought those plants looked cool and different than what I'm used to in Tennessee but there is a lot in Arizona that's so different than what I'm used to lol. I'm sorry I ask so many questions but I want to make sure Belle stays happy and healthy.