Ibera Greek tortoise

[kaitiejane]

Okay that sounds about right, mine is around 30 grams now but was said to be 1-2 months in December! Very cute tortoise! I've looked a lot on here for people with Iberas and I've had a hard time finding people!

 

[WithLisa]

He weight exactly 1 ounce when I got him

That's what they should weigh at around 1 year.

 

[kaitiejane]

Hmm. Interesting, I was just told that he was 1-2 months when I got him

 

[WithLisa]

I guess it's true, but this means he was growing very fast.
Many tortoises (if not most) are too big and pyramided.

 

[kaitiejane]

What do you mean?

 

[WithLisa]

If you give them too much of the wrong food, tortoises can grow very fast. And if the conditions are too dry they are starting to pyramid. Many owners make those mistakes, but it's sad to see a two months old hatchling that is already so big and shows pyramiding.

But your baby is still very young and I'm sure he's getting the best care now, so don't worry about him.

 

[kaitiejane]

So you're saying my hatchling Is way to big and has pyramiding?

 

[puffy137]

This baby was born( emerged from the ground ) last July. This second pic is him this morning.

 

[puffy137]

So he's roughly 8 months old. He's never been fed on anything but kitchen veggies & Romaine lettuce

 

[kaitiejane]

Mine is no where near the size of your second picture and a lot closer to the size of the one in the first picture! So that makes me feel a lot better! I've spent so much money and put so much of my time into him I just don't want an unhealthy tortoise!!

 

[puffy137]

Mine is no where near the size of your second picture and a lot closer to the size of the one in the first picture! So that makes me feel a lot better! I've spent so much money and put so much of my time into him I just don't want an unhealthy tortoise!!

My babies never sleep during the winter months , & I only feed them once a day. The little ones seem happier in the cool air than their older family members

 

[WithLisa]

So you're saying my hatchling Is way to big and has pyramiding?

He definitely has some pyramiding, but he is very young, so I guess the shell will smooth out if you keep him in a humid environment.
His size is normal for a 6 month old hatchling without brumation, but he was already very big in december.

So he's roughly 8 months old. He's never been fed on anything but kitchen veggies & Romaine lettuce

Vegetables and lettuce is an unhealthy diet, I guess that's why your tortoises are growing so fast.

I have Eastern Hermanns, they are similar in size and habitat to t.g.ibera. I try to keep my hatchlings (hatched in August) in a natural way with temperatures and food like in their habitat (but unlike wild hatchlings of course they always had water and food available).
Now they weigh about 20g and have smooth shells.

 

[kaitiejane]

what do you feed your tortoises?

 

[WithLisa]

I don't have to feed them, they have weeds in their enclosure (and maybe they find a bug or worm every now and then).

 

[goozball96]

Hello! Was so glad to find a recent thread on this and some other Iberia Greek Tortoise keepers. Mine are 5 years old now. And still so tiny so I wanted to make sure they were healthy and growing at a good rate. We mostly feed them dandelions, Blackberry leaves and other non-poisonous weeds we find in our yard. Our male is only 3.25 inches and our female is 4.0 inches. We try to keep them in as close to their natural environment as we can. So we let them hibernate when it starts falling below 40 degrees at night.

 

[WithLisa]

Hello! Was so glad to find a recent thread on this and some other Iberia Greek Tortoise keepers. Mine are 5 years old now. And still so tiny so I wanted to make sure they were healthy and growing at a good rate. We mostly feed them dandelions, Blackberry leaves and other non-poisonous weeds we find in our yard. Our male is only 3.25 inches and our female is 4.0 inches. We try to keep them in as close to their natural environment as we can. So we let them hibernate when it starts falling below 40 degrees at night.

For pet tortoises they are quite small, very similar to wild tortoises (that have to starve). But I wouldn't worry as long as they look healthy and are growing every year. How long do you hibernate them?

 

[goozball96]

Well in Grass Valley it gets cold October through March. So 6 months about. I start checking on them every few days in late Feb, to see when they are awake and then I put them back in there outdoor enclosure....they are sluggish for up to a week or two and them start eating finally. I was thinking of measuring them at the end of fall and if they habent grown more than a half inch to keep them awake this winter indoors. ? ? Thoughts?

 

[WithLisa]

6 months is very long. I guess that's why they are so small, they don't have much time to grow (I think in the wild it's 3-4 months?).
I think it's better to hibernate longer than to keep them indoors, even if it makes them grow slowly - but that's just my opinion. .

In my climate I have the same problem, it's colder and the winters are longer than in their natural habitat. But my tortoises have a cold frame in their enclosure to prolong their active time for a few weeks.

 

[goozball96]

Hmm...wasn't sure what a cold frame was so I looked it up. That's a great idea. I didn't know know you could do this without cooking / overheating your tortoises. Once my brother out his leopard gecko outside in his tank on a nice sunny day. Thought ot would be good for him and he died. :-( but probably cause it was all glass on sides too and smaller area amd gecko had nowhere to escape sun and not enough ventilation. Idk.

 

[WithLisa]

There are automatic window openers to prevent overheating (they expand in the heat, without electricity).
But in the really dangerous hot summer time they don't need the cold frame anyway, so I just remove the lid.