Just got my Greek Hatchling!

passwordstaco

Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2020
Messages
40
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago
Hi All,

Pretty new to this forum, but have been reading a lot to prepare! Lot of the guides were super helpful(this one in particular: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-any-temperate-species-of-tortoise.183131/), but I see a lot of inconsistencies across different sites.

First off, here are some photos! I received him/her from ArizonaTortoiseCompound and it was a very easy and safe process. Also got lucky with a pretty active tortoise, it is already roaming and eating a bit!
MVIMG_20200909_100858.jpgMVIMG_20200909_103805.jpgMVIMG_20200909_103839.jpg
My enclosure location is not finalized yet. I left it on the table for testing and making sure the little guy is doing okay before moving it to its own secure location.

There are a few things I still need to work on, being the enclosure will not be big enough after a few months, but I am also a bit worried about the humidity. In the hide, when I moisten the orchid bark with warm water, I can easily get 90%+ and 80+ temp, but I do not think it lasts very long. Because the heat from the lamp doesn't reach it, it will drop to mid to high 70s after a few hours when I tested it out. The other side does not retain the humidity very well at all, so not really sure to do there besides maybe soaking longer daily? I plan on rinsing out the bark each day for sanitary reasons and also to help with the humidity, but haven't read anything anywhere to see if that is a good or bad idea. The enclosure is water proof, stained and caulked the sides weeks in advance, so not worried about it leaking or anything.

Another questions I have, I want to take the entire enclosure outside(supervised) to get some natural sunshine and heat a couple hours a day. If I do that though, do I need to manage the UVB lighting? I did not read anything about mixing the two sources and how to handled that. Any tips here?
 

Golden Greek Tortoise 567

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Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Messages
1,756
Location (City and/or State)
Colorado Springs,CO
Hi All,

Pretty new to this forum, but have been reading a lot to prepare! Lot of the guides were super helpful(this one in particular: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-any-temperate-species-of-tortoise.183131/), but I see a lot of inconsistencies across different sites.

First off, here are some photos! I received him/her from ArizonaTortoiseCompound and it was a very easy and safe process. Also got lucky with a pretty active tortoise, it is already roaming and eating a bit!
View attachment 305819View attachment 305820View attachment 305821
My enclosure location is not finalized yet. I left it on the table for testing and making sure the little guy is doing okay before moving it to its own secure location.

There are a few things I still need to work on, being the enclosure will not be big enough after a few months, but I am also a bit worried about the humidity. In the hide, when I moisten the orchid bark with warm water, I can easily get 90%+ and 80+ temp, but I do not think it lasts very long. Because the heat from the lamp doesn't reach it, it will drop to mid to high 70s after a few hours when I tested it out. The other side does not retain the humidity very well at all, so not really sure to do there besides maybe soaking longer daily? I plan on rinsing out the bark each day for sanitary reasons and also to help with the humidity, but haven't read anything anywhere to see if that is a good or bad idea. The enclosure is water proof, stained and caulked the sides weeks in advance, so not worried about it leaking or anything.

Another questions I have, I want to take the entire enclosure outside(supervised) to get some natural sunshine and heat a couple hours a day. If I do that though, do I need to manage the UVB lighting? I did not read anything about mixing the two sources and how to handled that. Any tips here?
You need a closed chamber to keep in the heat and humidity, it’s all explained in the care sheet that you mentioned.
 

Ink

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Congrats!
 

bonsai tortoise

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Mar 16, 2014
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74
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Maintain your soaks and make sure it always has the option of going into the humid hide. The hide should be dark. I use sphagnum moss to maintain humidity in the hide. Soak it in a bucket or bowl for 15-20 minutes and then squeeze out every bit of wetness you can. You want it humid not wet. Your moss or substrate should drip. As for substrate, it will dry out. Don’t worry about that too much. Just spray it down at least daily and every few days you might want to dump water into it to help it maintain that moisture. I think washing your substrate daily is overkill. I use a mix of organic/natural potting soil, play sand, sphagnum, and peat moss or coconut fiber. It does the trick for my hatchlings. Remove waste when you see it and don’t leave food sitting on it go too long in order to maintain cleanliness but also to keep critters (bugs) out.
70 degree temp drop isn’t bad for a Greek. In fact it’s probably a good thing. I find that their health relies on daily temp drops and lighting on a timer. If all else is good and your tortoise is healthy, there’s no reason a drop to 70 would hurt it assuming it has the opportunity to bask and get higher ambient during the day.
 

Hamiltondood

Active Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2019
Messages
248
Location (City and/or State)
Richmond, Texas
I wouldn't use any sand or soil, play sand can impact your tortoise (especially calcium sand), soil isn't the best because you never really know what's in it, but handful or 3 shouldnt be terrible but it's still a risk (personally) that i wouldnt take, you can use coco coir/eco earth mixed with orchid bark, i prefer not to use moss because it could also impact the tortoise, ive heard somebody put a "net" on top of their humid hide (a plastic tub) and put moss and a sponge on the net so it'd provide humidity. i 100% agree with GoldenGreek about the closed chamber.
 

passwordstaco

Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2020
Messages
40
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago
Thanks for all the tips! I started closing up as much of my enclosure with baking wax paper to keep in the moisture. Each night I can easily maintain 80+. During the day, I fluctuates a bit but it's in the 60s, the lights really evaporate the water.

Almost done with my new enclosure that will have a greenhouse encasing on top of it. Hopefully the little guy will be happier in there!
 

AgataP

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Aug 18, 2020
Messages
647
Location (City and/or State)
Seattle, WA
Plexiglass prices are out of control now but you might look on Craigslist or something similar and sometimes people give away or sell cheap some pieces. I lucked out my friend had one sitting 5x3 that he never used I took it right away ??
 
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