"Golden" Greek Tips

[Arizona Sulcata]

I've raised Leopards and Sulcatas for a long time. Now I'm a 1st time adult Greek owner. Any tips? Right now I have them (2) in an outdoor enclosure of about 12 ft by 8 ft, lots of grass to graze on, shallow water dish, and a hide they go into and burrow. Other than that any tips, general info, or things that have worked for owners or didn't work? New to the species but very excited!!

 

[nicoleandrocky]

http://www.youtube.com/user/RedwoodPhloem?feature=watch
pretty good videos here
but it's really just about care (probably stuff you already know)
Hope it helps though!

 

[Tccarolina]

Mine don't seem to like grass, only broadleaf weeds. Some drink water, others don't seem to (as far as I know). If you keep feeding them, they won't aestivate in the summer. Really like grape leaves.
Mine stay outdoors year-round here in California's Central Valley.
It seems like most imports have some respiratory infection that will stay in the background and crop up during periods when it's cool and they can't cook it away with heat. This expresses itself first by a clear runny nose that will progress to a wheezing. After a successful bout of antibiotics, the same tortoise does fine in cool weather, and even hibernates fine outdoors in cold, wet conditions. Even if your new torts have been in captivity for years, if they've never been treated but kept indoors, they still could show it. Keep an eye out for it.

They are fantastic, usually shy at first if kept outdoors, but they seem to have individual personalities. I really like mine (all 14 of them).

Steve

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Did you get them from Gummibearpoop? His look really nice!

 

[Arizona Sulcata]

RE: "Golden" Greek Tips

Mine don't seem to like grass, only broadleaf weeds. Some drink water, others don't seem to (as far as I know). If you keep feeding them, they won't aestivate in the summer. Really like grape leaves.
Mine stay outdoors year-round here in California's Central Valley.
It seems like most imports have some respiratory infection that will stay in the background and crop up during periods when it's cool and they can't cook it away with heat. This expresses itself first by a clear runny nose that will progress to a wheezing. After a successful bout of antibiotics, the same tortoise does fine in cool weather, and even hibernates fine outdoors in cold, wet conditions. Even if your new torts have been in captivity for years, if they've never been treated but kept indoors, they still could show it. Keep an eye out for it.

They are fantastic, usually shy at first if kept outdoors, but they seem to have individual personalities. I really like mine (all 14 of them).

Steve

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Did you get them from Gummibearpoop? His look really nice!

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Yes that's who I got them from. Both seem very healthy. The male is a little shy but getting more and more used to me every day. The female is super friendly, let's me hand feed her already. Both seem to love the enclosure. I'll keep adding diversity to their diet, I've tried leads, clovers, the basics, they seem to like grazing on the grass and weeds most. I do have a question though, when it gets cold should I give then heat lamps or let them get cold and hybernate? I have no idea... Shouldn't have to worry about that for a long time now though. Thanks to both!

 

[DanaLachney]

RE: "Golden" Greek Tips

Wow Austin no tips for you but Congrats!!!

 

[Guggie]

There are several dozen threads about hibernating. let's see if I can summarize what I've read. Some think hibernating is more natural and therefore better; some think it's tricky and risky so forget it. I'm in the "forget it" camp for right now, but my Greeks are inside - it's much easier to keep their temps up. Since yours are outside, I think the question is if you want to bring them in or not. I'm not sure I've ever seen a setup for Greeks like I've seen for Sulcatas - outdoor house, lights & heat, etc. (But I haven't been doing this long!) So I would think that if you're going to keep them up, you'd bring them inside.

One thing - most people seem to think that the first year you own a tort it should not hibernate. I believe this stems from the fact that a sick tort shouldn't hibernate at all, and sometimes it's hard to tell if a relatively new tort is sick or not.

Hope this helps. Remember it comes from another newbie Greek owner!

 

[Tccarolina]

Guggie, agreed! Hibernate entirely at your own risk, not because I've had success with it. My pen is a very natural pen with lots of rocks, a dry creek, small hills, and trees and brush. They have many choices and kind of fend for themselves. There is natural sun hitting the area they hibernate in all winter long (when the sun shines). Most people do not hibernate Golden Greeks. You will have to bring them indoors if you don't hibernate them.

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When it gets hot, mine are active in the mid-morning and again in the evening.

The only nest I almost observed was laid between 11 am and 1:30 pm. The other nests I missed, and could not find. But the females do tend to roam a lot in the days prior to the laying. This year, I'm hoping time-lapse game cameras will help me.

Mating activity seems to be a spring and fall thing for my two males, they seem to be fairly mild most of the summer.

All of them are very adept climbers, and I've found them 6 inches off the ground up in weeds trying to get those out of reach leaves.

In the mornings, they find a favorite sunny location and warm up. The same tortoise tends to favor the same spot.

 

[Arizona Sulcata]

RE: "Golden" Greek Tips

Thank you very much! That's some great info! Sounds like I will probably have to move them inside. No big deal considering I have a spot for them inside but I was just so excited for their outdoor space! How many eggs do you normally get per clutch? I've read between 1-4 but there's really not a whole lot of info on these guys I feel like.

 

[Tccarolina]

My one female who's nest I found laid 4, of which 2 were fertile.

I agree, there isn't a whole lot on Greeks, even though they've been kept for a very long time.

 

[parrotlady]

I have a colony of 10, and for the most part I leave them outside only bringing them inside when it drops below 32. Mine have had no respiratory problems so far. I have had mine approximately 1 year. I am located inTucson Az.