Hey everybody, i just picked up a good lookin greek, i am confedent in my abbilitys but i was just wondering if there is anything special i should know about these awsome torts?
Orange skin Greek
- Thread starter Doritoinmontucky
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Off topic but is your tortoises name Dorito? So is mine lol
theelectraco said:
lol,no thats my nickname...but that is an awsome tort name.
Pics please?
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I love the orange nose! Beautiful tort!
Cutie pie. Look at that lovely face. Did you get it at PetSmart like me?
We had a bit of a discussion about the pink/peach or as you said orange skin tone in a thread call pink skin? Check that out.
Also, tortoisetrust.org is a good site for us Greek owners. Lots of good info there by experts on testudo. Greeks are called greeks because someone long ago said that the shells look like Greek mosaics. Okay, so why not call them Mosaic tortoises since apparently, and I am no expert, so I may be wrong, there aren't too many Greek tortoises in Greece.
I do know they can stress and get RNS, runny nose syndrome and boosting up your temps helps as well as nice warm and cozy soaks under the basking light, at least 15 minutes. Those soaks, which I learned about on this forum are the best idea. Our Greek tortoises may be take time to acclimate - my two did, big time - but do the right things and let him/her get a mojo to it's new environment because if you read about their journey to you, you would be shell shocked too. I have seen pics on the net of hundreds of them in the back of a truck, plucked from the wild. Then they get shipped. Then they go through distribution. Then they get sold to their owners and they probably are afraid they are going to be hurt or eaten. Time to adjust from all that, so be patient. Mine took weeks to feel comfy in their new home. Now they are the best and come to me when they see me for I am the food goddess!
Congrats on your new baby. Search and read through TFO and hopefully most of what you need to know is somewhere in the discussions. If not, ask specifically. Best forum for tortie education ever, I might add. : )
We had a bit of a discussion about the pink/peach or as you said orange skin tone in a thread call pink skin? Check that out.
Also, tortoisetrust.org is a good site for us Greek owners. Lots of good info there by experts on testudo. Greeks are called greeks because someone long ago said that the shells look like Greek mosaics. Okay, so why not call them Mosaic tortoises since apparently, and I am no expert, so I may be wrong, there aren't too many Greek tortoises in Greece.
I do know they can stress and get RNS, runny nose syndrome and boosting up your temps helps as well as nice warm and cozy soaks under the basking light, at least 15 minutes. Those soaks, which I learned about on this forum are the best idea. Our Greek tortoises may be take time to acclimate - my two did, big time - but do the right things and let him/her get a mojo to it's new environment because if you read about their journey to you, you would be shell shocked too. I have seen pics on the net of hundreds of them in the back of a truck, plucked from the wild. Then they get shipped. Then they go through distribution. Then they get sold to their owners and they probably are afraid they are going to be hurt or eaten. Time to adjust from all that, so be patient. Mine took weeks to feel comfy in their new home. Now they are the best and come to me when they see me for I am the food goddess!
Congrats on your new baby. Search and read through TFO and hopefully most of what you need to know is somewhere in the discussions. If not, ask specifically. Best forum for tortie education ever, I might add. : )
I got him at petco, he is suposed to be captive bred, but i dont know if that is true. they said he had been wormed but im pretty sure he has worms... he is realy active and has a great appetite, but he is a little shy. Not too bad tho, he still turs so he can see me everytime i come in the room. thank you for the complements im sure i scored, especialy because the had him listed as a plain greek tort...
Yours is eating. Great! (Mine were on a hunger strike after their journey and I am sure not happy about being in the USA, I could feel it, lol). The shy is just him getting used to his new place, getting acclimated, and who are you? going thru his head. Give it time. Be aware that when stressed, and I read this here so do your own research and read up about it, get RNS = runny nose syndrome. Boost your temps up, give him "spa" = soothing, warm baths under his basking light, at least 15 minutes (I leave mine 30 minutes).
He may just be flushing out them worms. Crushed raw unsalted pumpkin seeds (run thru food processor or mortar and pestle them) and then mix with something they love, like a strawberry, may help flush/scrub them out. Butternut squash is suppose to help rid worms also. Natural remedies are less stress than chemicals and if your tortoise is already stressed from the whole new trip to you, he does not need more toxic pumped in. My opinion.
Mine took awhile too acclimate, weeks. I was so afraid of killing them but it's all good and they rock! Read TFO like mad. There is awesome info in some of the older posts from Testudo know-a-whole-lot experts. The Greeks are, species wise, all over the place, seriously. I feel lucky to have my two but feel bad that they were plucked from their native desert homes so I want to be sure I/we do as much right or better as I/we can for their well being and long life ahead. Hope this helps.
He may just be flushing out them worms. Crushed raw unsalted pumpkin seeds (run thru food processor or mortar and pestle them) and then mix with something they love, like a strawberry, may help flush/scrub them out. Butternut squash is suppose to help rid worms also. Natural remedies are less stress than chemicals and if your tortoise is already stressed from the whole new trip to you, he does not need more toxic pumped in. My opinion.
Mine took awhile too acclimate, weeks. I was so afraid of killing them but it's all good and they rock! Read TFO like mad. There is awesome info in some of the older posts from Testudo know-a-whole-lot experts. The Greeks are, species wise, all over the place, seriously. I feel lucky to have my two but feel bad that they were plucked from their native desert homes so I want to be sure I/we do as much right or better as I/we can for their well being and long life ahead. Hope this helps.
It does help, thank you! My other two three torts love butternut squash and pumpkin. I do alot of reading on here. lol, my roomates ask me "what are you reading"
^ Haha, people think I'm a bit crazy for spending so much time on here. I'm like "you don't understand how helpful it is!"
Me, too. We're sick. We need help.
Good luck with your new tort!
I'm surprised someone told you it was captive bred...but then again some people at pet stores just make stuff up (btw I work at a pet store).
Your greek is definitely wild caught. The only captive bred torts you'll see in chain pets stores are redfoots (but sometimes they're farm raised imports).
I wish they'd start selling only captive bred...but then the price at a chain store would be $299.99 instead of $139.99.
The most important thing is to keep the tort warm, find food it likes then try to vary it to give it a balanced diet, and get it de-wormed! If you bought your tort less than 15 days ago you should go back to the store you got it from and ask them to de-worm it. Chain stores give a 15 day health guarantee.
I'm surprised someone told you it was captive bred...but then again some people at pet stores just make stuff up (btw I work at a pet store).
Your greek is definitely wild caught. The only captive bred torts you'll see in chain pets stores are redfoots (but sometimes they're farm raised imports).
I wish they'd start selling only captive bred...but then the price at a chain store would be $299.99 instead of $139.99.
The most important thing is to keep the tort warm, find food it likes then try to vary it to give it a balanced diet, and get it de-wormed! If you bought your tort less than 15 days ago you should go back to the store you got it from and ask them to de-worm it. Chain stores give a 15 day health guarantee.
Ok i guess i didnt think of that...Petco is probly the shadyest petstore i have ever been, but it is the only one for 100 miles that even sells reptiles...its realy hard to get good deals on stuff. I used to work at a shop called the Aquarium shop but it is just that...only fish, but i might add extreamly high quality. I would oneday like to start a herp shop, but i think i will be gunsmithing for years to come. maby someday...thanx for the help
I think what happens in the good ole USA is that we have the 4 inch law and so it makes it hard for breeders to make any profit, completely cost ineffective, if they wait all those years for a tortoise or turtle to be 4 inches in order to sell it. I felt really awful after I found out my two Greeks may have been plucked from their native desert land. And worse yet when I saw pics on the net with hundreds thrown in the back of a truck, confiscated before he got to the broker, in Jordan.
However, I am grateful I have them now, my two. I think they are the coolest little torts even tho we had gnarly start where I was clueless and was afraid I would kill them. And they were pissed and stressed and pissed again, and on a hunger strike. Thanks to the good people sharing and all the good info on this forum, we overcame that cray-cray stuff. Now, they even walk up to me when they see my hands full of green yummies. I am their food goddess. I really want them to have a good and long life, perhaps better than if they had to fend for themselves in the middle east ... predators, people eating them, war torn ... maybe our Greek tortoise pets now in the U.S. from the M.E. will be better off and we can make up for the fact that they were taken from their native homes. Just saying.
However, I am grateful I have them now, my two. I think they are the coolest little torts even tho we had gnarly start where I was clueless and was afraid I would kill them. And they were pissed and stressed and pissed again, and on a hunger strike. Thanks to the good people sharing and all the good info on this forum, we overcame that cray-cray stuff. Now, they even walk up to me when they see my hands full of green yummies. I am their food goddess. I really want them to have a good and long life, perhaps better than if they had to fend for themselves in the middle east ... predators, people eating them, war torn ... maybe our Greek tortoise pets now in the U.S. from the M.E. will be better off and we can make up for the fact that they were taken from their native homes. Just saying.
Here he is after a week, I have decided to name him Ethos. And as for the worms i think you were correct, i havnt seen any in his stool since that post, so three days. but it was a verry heavy load i saw the fist time and i havnt seen anymore. i have been watching closly. so maby they were telling the truth about worming him. Thanx for the info, i agree with you about the 4 inch law. i want to get a breeding program going eventualy but im a ways off. prolly have to sell them localy...I would like to think we can give our pets a good substatute home. mine are like little dogs, getting all excited wene i come home, begging for food. i dont know what id do without them.
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So awesome, your little Ethos. Love his shell pattern. They are awesome little tortoises. I am so glad he may have purged the worms. Keep soaking him so he poops them all out, to be sure. For breeding, keep reading this forum. So much knowledge here, it's insane. Thankful for the forum, cause I was so afraid I was going to lose my 2 Greeks from not doing things right when I first got them.
Well thank you! i plan on doing a couple years of research and planning before i get going with the breeding program. this site is and excelent resource.
On a side-note, while pumpkin seeds will help keep worms away once a tortoise is clean, they are not sufficient in ridding an infested animal of them. The stress of being transported etc. can weaken a tortoise's immune system enough that the worms reproduce to insane levels. It does usually take several treatments of panacur (active ingredient is fenbendazole, also available as "safeguard" as a 10% paste for horses... work with your vet to get dosage right!), along with changing the newspapers daily. Then once they have had a clean fecal exam, you can give them the nice substrate (coco coir or organic soil e.g).
BeeBee*BeeLeaves said:
Thanks Katie for that information. I know that the vet remedies are suggested as being more helpful with some keepers.
The Panacur/fenbendazole is so toxic and recommended to Dorito the natural in order to perhaps flush them out because the tortoise had already had one treatment. To perhaps avoid having to get more in to his recently purchased tortoise that, you are right, was in bloom with parasites more than likely because of tremendous stress. Shell shocked little wild caught Greeks coming in from so far away.
Sharing: Our family has grandpa's 4 gopherus (CDT) that are 61 years old (born 1952) and twice a year - actually the bro has them in his care - have followed grandpa's husbandry since he died - they get a flush with pureed pumpkin, raw pumpkin seeds smooshed almost into a flour, and/or butternut squash and bentonite clay, for 3 days straight during a full moon. I know, crazy biodynamic farm remedies. But it did the trick and the 4 CDTs go to a vet twice a year, before brumation and after and never have they tested for worms, knock on wood, to date.
Just the fact that they cannot slaughter a cow that has been given Panacur until at the very least 12 days later because of the high toxicity is why no way for me, or mine. Also, many plants - the importance of a varied diet - will naturally get rid of the worms and worm eggs. I will start a thread later when I get that list together with the why it may help for all to consider. Chemicals scare me for me and scare me more for my tortoises since they seem so very sensitive. Like canaries in a mine sensitive.
The Panacur/fenbendazole is so toxic and recommended to Dorito the natural in order to perhaps flush them out because the tortoise had already had one treatment. To perhaps avoid having to get more in to his recently purchased tortoise that, you are right, was in bloom with parasites more than likely because of tremendous stress. Shell shocked little wild caught Greeks coming in from so far away.
Sharing: Our family has grandpa's 4 gopherus (CDT) that are 61 years old (born 1952) and twice a year - actually the bro has them in his care - have followed grandpa's husbandry since he died - they get a flush with pureed pumpkin, raw pumpkin seeds smooshed almost into a flour, and/or butternut squash and bentonite clay, for 3 days straight during a full moon. I know, crazy biodynamic farm remedies. But it did the trick and the 4 CDTs go to a vet twice a year, before brumation and after and never have they tested for worms, knock on wood, to date.
Just the fact that they cannot slaughter a cow that has been given Panacur until at the very least 12 days later because of the high toxicity is why no way for me, or mine. Also, many plants - the importance of a varied diet - will naturally get rid of the worms and worm eggs. I will start a thread later when I get that list together with the why it may help for all to consider. Chemicals scare me for me and scare me more for my tortoises since they seem so very sensitive. Like canaries in a mine sensitive.
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