Baby won't eat help

[Alien]

Hello my name is eli and I'm new at keeping tortoises
Last week I bought a greek tortoise at my local pet shop but she doesn't wants to eat so I'm a bit worried that she will starve....
I tried iceberg lettuce, salad, apple, strawberries, dog food, bread and a bit of pellets the shop gave me but she refuses to eat anything

The temperature is 90f under the heat lamp and the enclosure temperature is 70 at day and 65 at night oh and humidity is 30%

She is not moving much but I think she looks healthy but I'm really worried cause she won't eat

And also I wanted to know how much space I should give her as an adult. I live in an apartment and the shop told me that she's good in a 100 gallon is this true?

 

[Ben02]

Hello my name is eli and I'm new at keeping tortoises
Last week I bought a greek tortoise at my local pet shop but she doesn't wants to eat so I'm a bit worried that she will starve....
I tried iceberg lettuce, salad, apple, strawberries, dog food, bread and a bit of pellets the shop gave me but she refuses to eat anything

The temperature is 90f under the heat lamp and the enclosure temperature is 70 at day and 65 at night oh and humidity is 30%

She is not moving much but I think she looks healthy but I'm really worried cause she won't eat

And also I wanted to know how much space I should give her as an adult. I live in an apartment and the shop told me that she's good in a 100 gallon is this true?

None of those food items are appropriate for Greek tortoises, they need weeds, flowers and broadleaf greens. Enclosure needs to be warmer. Can we see a pic of the enclosure?

Pet stores usually sell wild caught torts and give out poor info about them.

 

[Alien]

None of those food items are appropriate for Greek tortoises, they need weeds, flowers and broadleaf greens. Enclosure needs to be warmer. Can we see a pic of the enclosure?

Pet stores usually sell wild caught torts and give out poor info about them.

Oh sorry I just gave what the store told me to give I can increase temperatures
Yes here is pic

 

[Ben02]

Oh sorry I just gave what the store told me to give I can increase temperatures
Yes here is pic View attachment 275075View attachment 275076View attachment 275077

That is a Sulcata, completely different from a Greek and is native to Africa. They grow huge!!!

@Tom will hopefully pop in as he’s an expert in tortoise care especially sulcatas. They require a humid closed chamber to grow smooth.

Until then give warm soaks.

 

[Alien]

That is a Sulcata, completely different from a Greek and is native to Africa. They grow huge!!!

@Tom will hopefully pop in as he’s an expert in tortoise care especially sulcatas. They require a humid closed chamber to grow smooth.

Until then give warm soaks.

No no no this is a greek tortoise the shop sold me as greek testudo
I dont have space for a giant tortoise I live in New York maybe u make mistake identifying yes?

 

[Ben02]

No no no this is a greek tortoise the shop sold me as greek testudo
I dont have space for a giant tortoise I live in New York maybe u make mistake identifying yes?

Nope that’s a Sulcata.

 

[Alien]

Nope that’s a Sulcata.

I dont think the shop would lie about the species no?
What u mean with soaking? I thought they don't like water

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. What has happened here is that you intended to buy a house cat, and the pet shop sold you a baby lion. I'd return it and inform them of their mistake ASAP. That enclosure is all wrong for a tortoise too. Don't blame yourself. This is typical of pet shops. If this was unintentional, the confusion is probably from the common names. In most of Europe the greek tortoise is known as a "spur thigh" tortoise. In most of the world the sulcata is known as the African spur thigh tortoise. It gets confusing quickly. There are greek tortoise subspecies from Africa... Best to use scientific names. Greek = Testudo graeca. Sulcata = Centrochelys sulcata.

It won't live if you don't make some changes right away. Its not eating because its too cold and dry. Here is the correct care info:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

 

[Kalbrecht]

Definitely a sulcata. Pet shops are a joke. Sorry

 

[Alien]

Hello and welcome. What has happened here is that you intended to buy a house cat, and the pet shop sold you a baby lion. I'd return it and inform them of their mistake ASAP. That enclosure is all wrong for a tortoise too. Don't blame yourself. This is typical of pet shops. If this was unintentional, the confusion is probably from the common names. In most of Europe the greek tortoise is known as a "spur thigh" tortoise. In most of the world the sulcata is known as the African spur thigh tortoise. It gets confusing quickly. There are greek tortoise subspecies from Africa... Best to use scientific names. Greek = Testudo graeca. Sulcata = Centrochelys sulcata.

It won't live if you don't make some changes right away. Its not eating because its too cold and dry. Here is the correct care info:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

I'm pretty angry right now.... not at u guys thx for ur help but seriously wtf
I thought if they are allowed to sell these reptiles they need to know there stuff I'm bringing him back at the store I cant keep the third largest tortoise in an apartment!
And I'm also going to speak with the manager honestly I'm super angry right kniw

 

[Yvonne G]

I know you've become attached to the tortoise, but living in New York, and in an apartment, you really don't have the right type of home to raise a sulcata tortoise. And they grow FAST!!! If you manage to get that enclosure set up properly your new little baby could possibly outgrow it in six month! And will be big enough to have to live outdoors in a couple years. It isn't fair to the tortoise to get used to living with you then have to go to a new keeper when you finally realize you can't handle it. Take it back to the pet store at your earliest convenience and either get your money back or get a Greek tortoise. Print off a picture of a baby sulcata and a baby greek to show the pet store their mistake.

 

[xMario]

I'm pretty angry right now.... not at u guys thx for ur help but seriously wtf
I thought if they are allowed to sell these reptiles they need to know there stuff I'm bringing him back at the store I cant keep the third largest tortoise in an apartment!
And I'm also going to speak with the manager honestly I'm super angry right kniw

Sadly Pet shops are only intrested in fast money

 

[Ben02]

I'm pretty angry right now.... not at u guys thx for ur help but seriously wtf
I thought if they are allowed to sell these reptiles they need to know there stuff I'm bringing him back at the store I cant keep the third largest tortoise in an apartment!
And I'm also going to speak with the manager honestly I'm super angry right kniw

Greeks are great tortoises, I am biased towards them as I have 3

I wouldn’t let this discourage you from torts, you can most likely find a good breeder around your area

 

[method89]

Nope that’s a Sulcata.

I've been here about a month and even I can tell that's a sulcata

 

[Alien]

Thank u all for responding
I went to the pet shop and gave my little guy back +enclosure and food

I talked to the manager about it and he insists that it was a mistake and they're really sorry but yeah they didn't seem to be sorry at all.. i said all the info they gave me was wrong they didn't care they said our tortoises grow good and fast like that and everyone has different methods they even offered me another tortoise this time a REAL greek but I refused the offer not gonna give them money.....

I decided I'm gonna do my research on this forum first and set everything up accordingly before getting a tortoise and I'm also going to buy from a breeder if the time comes

Thx again for ur responses

 

[dmmj]

Sadly pet stores are not required to know what they are selling. They probably figured they could get more for a "greek" then a sulcata. Sorry this happened to you. Welcome to the forum, hope you enjoy your visits.

 

[SweetGreekTorts]

If you're interested in Greeks, definitely check out these two websites (the Sweet Greek Torts one is mine). Lots of great info and photos of the different sub-species of Testudo graeca.

https://sweetgreektorts.com

https://www.hermannihaven.com/other-testudo

Do some research, get a proper enclosure set up, and when you're ready to buy, I HIGHLY recommend Chris Leone at Garden State Tortoise. He's very well knowledgeable about the Greeks (the Hermanni Haven website I provided is his). He sells all the different subspecies of Greeks, and he's in New Jersey. His hatchlings are high quality. He's very passionate and takes this seriously.

 

[TammyJ]

Hey, sorry this happened to you (and very sorry for that poor little sulcata)! Welcome to the site. You would make a very good tortoise owner of the right tortoise for you and your situation.

 

[Yvonne G]

Thank u all for responding
I went to the pet shop and gave my little guy back +enclosure and food

I talked to the manager about it and he insists that it was a mistake and they're really sorry but yeah they didn't seem to be sorry at all.. i said all the info they gave me was wrong they didn't care they said our tortoises grow good and fast like that and everyone has different methods they even offered me another tortoise this time a REAL greek but I refused the offer not gonna give them money.....

I decided I'm gonna do my research on this forum first and set everything up accordingly before getting a tortoise and I'm also going to buy from a breeder if the time comes

Thx again for ur responses

Well, you're in a good area to take advantage of a couple very good breeders: https://www.hermannihaven.com/ (he has other species besides hermanns) and https://www.facebook.com/people/GB-Tortoises/100019808282026 The first one is in New Jersey and the second one is in New York. Both VERY good breeders/sellers.

 

[6strings]

Eli, you have learned your first lesson about reptile keeping - do not go to pet stores for information on how to keep reptiles. Their information is usually far too generalized and often results in the animal having a bleak future. Different species, whether tortoise or other reptile, may have critical requirements specific to that species. Congrats to you for finding this forum. Read what you can here and look at the websites given to you by the previous posts. You will learn so much and make a great decision from it. You may find that what you thought you knew is 180 degrees different from how things should be. And that is OK. Just soak it all in and enjoy the journey.