Moroccan Greek Tortoises? Or Moroccan Tortoises?

[devsharkey]

Hi! It's Dev again.

I just left the Reptile Expo in Phoenix with two new babies this weekend, and I got a pair (male and female) of Moroccan tortoises from Doug Dix, of Deer Fern Farms. I traded him my Golden female for these two little beauties.

I was actually just curious if anyone had any pictures of any older Moroccan's, so I know what to expect as they mature? Everywhere I look on Google, I get mixed images of the Testudo family, so I was just curious if there is anyone else on here with a few Moroccan's of their own who could offer up some tips, perhaps?

I did talk with Doug for quite a while about them, so I get that their care is similar to my Ibera Greeks, but does anyone have any additional suggestions for their care? These two are just juveniles so they're staying inside with me until the spring comes again, but if anyone's got any pictures, I'd love to trade some!

I'll post pictures of the tiny pair in the morning

Thanks!

 

[Yvonne G]

The person to talk to would be @HermanniChris

 

[HermanniChris]

I'm still on my honeymoon so can't stay on here for long but you need to know right now up front that the care for Moroccon Greek tortoises is entirely different from iberas. This is an extremely sensitive subspecies of T. graeca which are native to arid areas of the Souss valley among other surrounding expanses and typically do not fair well in captivity. See the other thread concerning them in this forum a little ways down. As adults they look very much like what they look like now at between 4-5". Be ready for a heavy worming regime and have fecals done immediately. Don't waste anytime even if the seller claims to have already wormed them. Keep them hot and dry but they must have access to drinking water at all times. Sorry I can't go into more detail but like I said, I'm on my honeymoon. Good luck!

 

[devsharkey]

Thanks! Here are some pictures of them.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Some where along the way, Andy Highfield published some accounts on the natural history of these tortoises. Maybe in CC&B or one of his own newsletters or books. As I recall he said what Chris is saying, that they are not a typical 'greek' in many aspects of their environment. I looked real hard at those tortoises Doug had. They were close to 'not there' even before Saturday.

 

[devsharkey]

Not there? I'm not sure what you mean by "not there." They've been pretty lively since I've had them, if that's what you mean? I've been feeding them constantly, and they've gobbled everything up, and they've been moving around their enclosures pretty much ever since I put them in...