What kind of Tortoise do I have?

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DeAuna

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2ly26hi.jpg
 

dmmj

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Looks greek to me, but I will wait for someone else to ID it better.
 

PeanutbuttER

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Looks greek to me as well, though I am not an expert. Cactus pads are good.
 

DeAuna

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PeanutbuttER said:
Looks greek to me as well, though I am not an expert. Cactus pads are good.

He was found at a foreclosed home. We took him 2 days ago. We really don't know what we're doing. Waiting for the book we ordered on Amazon to come in. Beginner's Guide to Tortoises by Andrew Highfield. We live in Fresno, California so the low right now is maybe 64 degree's.

dmmj said:
Looks greek to me, but I will wait for someone else to ID it better.

How do I get a profile pic on here?
 

Candy

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Looks like a greek to me also. You don't have to wait for the book we have enough information on TFO to fill lots of books you just have to look under the greek section and start reading. Welcome to the forum by tomorrow you'll know so much more about taking care of this little one you'll be surprised. :D

I was looking around and found this care sheet. It should help you get started. I know that you said that it's 64 at night there and all of what I am reading is saying not to let it drop below 75 degrees for him. I don't have greeks so I'm not sure about this but just passing it on. Here's the care sheet.

http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/iberacare.htm
 

dmmj

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Regarding profile pictures go to User CP and then go to avatar change I believe and it should be simple from there.
 

egyptiandan

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You do have a Greek tortoise, Testudo graeca. To tell the subspecies you'll have to post more pictures. :) We'll need a carapace (top shell), plastron (bottom shell) and back of the carapace pictures.
To add an avatar picture you'll have to go into User CP. It's found on the left side of the top of the forum, on the Welcome back, DeAuna line.

Danny
 

chairman

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DeAuna said:
He was found at a foreclosed home. We took him 2 days ago. We really don't know what we're doing.

I think he's lucky you found him. I came across a foreclosure that had a 10 gallon aquarium in the garage containing a box turtle. I prayed he was ok, but the poor thing was dessicated. The saddest part is that boxies live naturally in my area, so the morons could have just dumped him in the yard and he'd have done just fine. So, kudos to you for taking him in.
 

Yvonne G

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That seems pretty normal for folks to leave their turtles and tortoises. I once rescued a very young sulcata that had been found in a house that was vacant for over 3 years. Sulcata was just fine, showing no ill effects for having to over winter and scrounge for food.

If you position the tortoise so that you are looking straight down on him, take a top then a bottom shot. Then take another picture with the camera down on the same level as the tortoise with him walking away from the camera.

These are the pictures that DeAuna sent me:

tommy-2.jpg


tommy-3.jpg


I'm thinkin' male from that second shot.
 

DeAuna

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Candy said:
Looks like a greek to me also. You don't have to wait for the book we have enough information on TFO to fill lots of books you just have to look under the greek section and start reading. Welcome to the forum by tomorrow you'll know so much more about taking care of this little one you'll be surprised. :D

I was looking around and found this care sheet. It should help you get started. I know that you said that it's 64 at night there and all of what I am reading is saying not to let it drop below 75 degrees for him. I don't have greeks so I'm not sure about this but just passing it on. Here's the care sheet.

http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/iberacare.htm

Thank you very much!!

Here is another! I'll take one from directly above tomorrow, he's sleeping right now :)
His name is Tommie, the little boy who found him named him :)
33jijbr.jpg


I'm worried about his chips! How does that happen?
 

Crazy1

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He is a fine looking Greek. I agree with Yvonne from what I can see it looks like a male. But those additional pics will help tell you if indeed he is male and what subspeicies you have. chips can be cause by something catching a loose area or something falling or someone dropping him. I don't think they are anything to worry about. they look old and superficial. Think of a Tortoise Shell as a really thick fingernail with bone under it. Sometimes our nails flake off and sometimes tortoise shells do also if he as many loose scoots then I would worry but it doesn't look like it from what I can see.
 

Angi

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I can not believe anyone could be so cruel and leave an animal in a forclosed house. I would think the bank would find it. There are a lot of forclosures where I live. Now I have something new to worry about. Great.....
 

dmmj

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sadly angi it is more common then you might think I have heard of a lot of dogs being left behind, this is my first tortoise that I heard of being left behind, but I am sure it is not the only one.
 

ekm5015

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DeAuna said:
Candy said:
Looks like a greek to me also. You don't have to wait for the book we have enough information on TFO to fill lots of books you just have to look under the greek section and start reading. Welcome to the forum by tomorrow you'll know so much more about taking care of this little one you'll be surprised. :D

I was looking around and found this care sheet. It should help you get started. I know that you said that it's 64 at night there and all of what I am reading is saying not to let it drop below 75 degrees for him. I don't have greeks so I'm not sure about this but just passing it on. Here's the care sheet.

http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/iberacare.htm

Thank you very much!!

Here is another! I'll take one from directly above tomorrow, he's sleeping right now :)
His name is Tommie, the little boy who found him named him :)
33jijbr.jpg


I'm worried about his chips! How does that happen?



Welcome to the forum and good luck raising a healthy tortoise. I think you will find that this forum will be more helpful than any book you can purchase.

Just a little fyi. I believe the clover looking plant in this picture is oxalis. Oxalis is not good for tortoises to eat as it binds calcium absobtion. Try to get rid of all of this stuff that you can find where your tort will be livining. Below is a link to some more information on oxalis.

http://tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Oxalis-or-Clover-Whats-in-your-garden
 

moswen

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DeAuna said:
I'm worried about his chips! How does that happen?

i know this post is a few days old but no one answered this question...

chips like that in his shell can come from other tortoises ramming his shell if he was wild caught, he can ram something hard and possibly that can happen, or he could have had a run in with a dog... either way, they look fine, the one on the front left looks pretty old. if you cannot smell anything foul coming from his shell then they are most likely not infected, but i bet someone on here with more experience can give you better doctor advice than me.

in my opinion, it looks like a golden or iberia greek, but as everyone has said, plastron (tummy) pics will help with the subspecies.

i don't know if anyone has answered, but opuntia (prickly pear) cactus pads and fruit are VERY healthy for tommie! good for you for taking him in!

also grape leaves, hibiscus leaves and flowers, mulberry leaves, chard, escarole, endive, dandelion greens, mustard greens, collard greens, turnip greens... high fiber, low protein is what you want to feed. if you feel comfortable with mazuri, my greek loves it. i order mine from cory (username spike the best) about 4-5 pieces once a week is a good amount in my OP. try to stay away from anything that says "lettuce" if you can, and give him a good varied diet. my tula likes a heaping spoon full of canned pumpkin mixed with calcium powder every few days, maybe tommie will too.

glad to have you on!
 

Yvonne G

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DeAuna sent me some better pictures of her Greek tortoise. Please let her know if this kind of Greek goes through a hibernation period:

deauna-1.jpg


deauna-2.jpg


deauna-3.jpg
 

egyptiandan

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You have a male :p Jordanian greek tortoise, Testudo graeca ssp (undescribed subspecies). Some are dark colored and some are light colored like this male. They can take night time temperatures into the 50'sF, but don't hibernate.

Danny
 

Yvonne G

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Ok, so DeAuna...what you were thinking about adding a heat lamp or pad to his dog house would be a good idea. But it would be an even better idea to set him up for the winter, indoors. When you come over I'll show you a winter-time set up that I have for two desert tortoises (about the same size as yours) that can't hibernate due to abscess noses. Its easy and comfortable for the tortoise.

Great shots of the tortoise, by the way! Made it very easy to see and understand.
 
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