Hello From: Samera & Helios

[Astroidblues]

Heya guys & gals !
My name is Michael and im here to Introduce my lovely new greek tortoise's Samera & Helios. And to show my habitat terarium. And to get general information on there sex and sub-species.

So i have purchaced and recived these wonderfull greek's about 4 days ago and me haveing prior experance with reptiles i noticed that the tortious with the lighter color might have a resperatory infection
=( I noticed a little wetness on the nose area with a bubble. But it has been dry since then. It couild be because she just came out of the water ? I dont know. Also i noticed that they sleep alot the light colored one more then the other. I have seen them bolth eat. Its got me stressed out :S So i made a appointment with a vet for monday. Hopefully they dont get to sick untill then.

So i have my habitat heated to a Air temp of 80-85 and 90-105 on the lamp side.
The Substrate is dry with little moisture & the only water is in the pool.

So about my habitat terarium and what i used !

80 gal B All Glass aquarium
All Glass oak aquarium stand & hood
All Glass glass flip and fold Aquarium fitted tops

Heating and lighting:
x2 All Glass 48 in Ballest's with uva & uvb zoo med Bulb's
x2 Flukers 75 watt clamp on lights with infrared and ceramic heat bulb's
Zoo med 40-60 Gal under tank heater

Substrate & Plants:
Im useing a combination of materials for substrate
1/4 beach sand washed 5 times
1/4 organic potting soil
1/4 echo earth
1/4 echo bark
Topped with dried sweet grass bedding
x2 planter rocks with flowering keal and cabbage
a 6 x 16 strip of organic grass

Water pool:
tank is divided with 2 pcs of plexi glass siliconed to a pc of 1.1/2 x 1.1/2 x 16
A duel air pump with 12 inch bubble stone and a 1-5 gal mini water filter
brown pea gravel

Misc:
zoo med corner feed dish
weaved square basket i cut a door into
feed organic super greens variety

So here's some pic's for sexing & species and my habitat set up. please be honest and provide me info one anything else i need.

Thx.... Michael

 

[Guggie]

RE: Hello From: Samera & Helios

Wow - that looks great!! I've got 2 baby Greeks about 6 months old, so it's nice to see what I have to look forward to. Welcome!

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome, that is a very nice set up and 2 nice looking tortoises...

 

[ascott]

Your set up looks great to me I am not versed at sexing these guys...if I guess...which I am I would say the second one is male...I can't give a guess on the first one as my eyes can't make out the parts in the pic..a little darker than the second one...I bet you will get other experienced keepers of this species.... they are both cuties ...

 

[Neltharion]

Very nice torts, and a very impressive set up.

Two suggestions that I would make.

One, the gravel in the water becomes a bed for bacteria, particularly aerobic bacteria (Nitrosopira/Nitrospira). Useful in aquariums with fish for the breakdown of ammonia and nitrites. Not so useful and possibly harmful for torts. Since your torts are likely to defecate and pass urates in the water, that increases the possibility that the gravel will become a breeding ground for unwanted microorganisms. I would suggest going with just a glass bottom, no substrate in the water.

Two, cabbage and kale are members of the Brassica family, which are higher in goitrogenic compounds. Cosuming large quantities will block the uptake of iodine, which can result in enlarge thyroids, resulting in goiter. As a very small part of their diet, it should be ok. But having those plants in there for them to munch on at will, may not be a good idea. I stay away from cabbage and kale altogether. For foliage, my outdoor enclosures have dwarf hibiscus and grasses and weeds. The hibiscus can grow to three feet though, and not suitable for an aquarium. One of the other members that uses indoor aquariums, could give you a good recommendation on plants.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Michael:

I think both your tortoises are male.

I'm also a little worried about the water section in the habitat. Its a beautiful set up, but my thought is that it will make the air a bit too humid for your Greek tortoises (along with the bacteria thing posted above).

 

[Astroidblues]

Well its not permanent. It can all come out as eazly as it went in.
as for humidity the current lvl is between 30%-40% and since i added the dried sweet grass it has goin down almost to 30%
Also i do have a small fan in there on a Timer of on 30 mins off 60 mins cycle. For air circulation. I also have a dehumidifyer in the same room the Tank is in since it is a basement.

The Pea Pebble will come out. I wasent sure about it originaly i was going to put in a small tile cloth sheet for eazy cleaning and removal.
and just boil it when it needs to be cleaned. Also there is a small charcoal 1-5 gal filter. I may just put in one square pc of rock.

The kale and cabbage inside are almost dead. The tort's enjoy laying on it more then eatting it lmao.
It will be replaced with heads of romane & maybe mustard greens & collered greens.

What about climbing ? It seems what ever i put in the tank they want to be on top of it. Shall i add a Ramp and another level ? Or will that be a risk in them falling. They are clumsey.
BTW. can anyone estamate there age ?
And i think the smaller lighter one is a male and the darker one is a female.
The only reason i think this is because the smaller lighter one is constently raming the bigger one and also mounting it aswell. And the other does not.

Let me know what you think
Thx...Michael...

 

[AnthonyC]

Hey Michael that enclosure looks amazing! Good luck with your new torts!

 

[Astroidblues]

Hey Michael that enclosure looks amazing! Good luck with your new torts!

Thank's guy's

 

[HipsterTorts]

Oh, how I love greeks lol
You have two very lovely greeks, and your enclosure looks amazing!

 

[Astroidblues]

Heya again =P
heres some new pic's i took.
Enjoy them i did

Bath time !

New Indoor / Outdoor Playpen. I decided to get it for outside & main liveing room since there tank is downstairs in the basement.

Greek's on the run !

Slow & Steady wins the race !