My Ibera? Greek

[diamondbp]

I rescued this young Greek female a few months ago and Chris from gardenstatetortoise said he believed it to be an Ibera but I hadn't provided the best photos.
It's grown an inch since then and might be easier for identification. @HermanniChris and any other Greek experts that could help me pin down the subspecies of this beautiful female.

 

[Pawciorc]

Not an expert but too dark for Ibera in my opinion Lovely tho!

 

[wellington]

I couldn't tell YA, but love the color. Congrats. @tortadise or @HermanniChris may be able to tell you

 

[stojanovski92113]

What a true beauty

 

[HermanniChris]

It's an ibera without a doubt bud. Parents could possibly derive from western turkey. They're very dark from there. Here's a quick pic of a female from our western turkey group:

 

[diamondbp]

Thanks Chris. I've grown really fond of her. Her personality is very very bold. How large should I expect her to get? The specimen you are showing seems to be a good size. @HermanniChris

 

[HermanniChris]

No problem. She's over 8" and I've seen bigger.

 

[Anthony P]

Gorgeous tortoise!

 

[tglazie]

I've always dreamed of getting a tortoise like this. She is a truly rare beauty, and if she's an ibera, I'm sure she has the energetic personality to match.

T.G.

 

[diamondbp]

I've always dreamed of getting a tortoise like this. She is a truly rare beauty, and if she's an ibera, I'm sure she has the energetic personality to match.

T.G.

I really appreciate that. Can I ask what makes you so intrigued by her? Of course I think she is a beauty but what exactly makes her rare? I would love to know ...thanks

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Is her skin really as black as it looks in the photos? That's what makes her so stunning to my eyes

 

[tglazie]

She's rare given the fact that you can never find melanistic western Turkish ibera, at least not where I am. Throughout the early 2000s, when I was in my early twenties, I was dead set on finding a female for my melanistic western ibera Graecus. I got him back in the mid nineties, when they were still relatively common. After deciding I wanted to breed tortoises, I searched for a female, only to be confounded at every turn. Maybe it was just my bad luck. They used to be relatively common back in the early nineties, but since Turkey stopped exporting them, the supply has simply dried up given how small the number of people with actual interest in breeding this species. I don't know, maybe I'm living in the wrong place, but here in San Antonio, I've never seen one for sale, not even at the Texas Herp Show. I see baby Golden Greeks on occasion (mostly animals of Syrian, Jordanian, and Lebanese origin, from what I understand), eastern Hermanns are a regular fixture, as is the occasional marginated tortoise (I maybe see one of those every two years; always one, which is interesting), and there are always wild caught adult Russians, occasionally captive born babies (which I'm always surprised there aren't more of them). But yes, maybe it's just my locale, but even online, I rarely see melanistic, Western Turkish ibera, let alone a female, let alone a lady that is as awe inspiring as yours. You must understand that to me, this was the holy grail of tortoise keeping for the longest time. However, once my baby margies that I got in the early 2000s started coming of age, eventually I resigned myself to the fact that I would never find a mate for Graecus, that the Gino group would be my focus for breeding (and they have been simply wonderful; as a species, marginateds are, for me, without compare). So I accepted that Graecus living without a mate actually wasn't such a bad thing. I mean, Graecus is awesome, one of the most interesting tortoises I've ever kept. He's bold, highly aggressive and pugnacious (he'll fight anything that even looks like a tortoise, and his front legs can match my thumbs for strength, given the crazy amount of time he spends patrolling his enclosure). I mean, he is really something to see, and I always imagined that this tenacity, this incredible wellspring of energy was at least partially rooted in his lineage, that if I could just let him meet the right little lady, that I could have a bunch of little Graecuses running about, looking to start some trouble. But who knows. Maybe his outstanding personality, his almost robotically stubborn yet savage nature is all his own, in which case all the world ever needed was one Graecus.

Apologies. I probably sound a little crazy, but when it comes to Western Turkish ibera, I was pretty obsessed for the decade that comprised my twenties, and it was one of those things that I had to learn to let go. But damn if I don't like seeing a gorgeous representative of my former singular obsession, I must say.

T.G.

 

[diamondbp]

She's rare given the fact that you can never find melanistic western Turkish ibera, at least not where I am. Throughout the early 2000s, when I was in my early twenties, I was dead set on finding a female for my melanistic western ibera Graecus. I got him back in the mid nineties, when they were still relatively common. After deciding I wanted to breed tortoises, I searched for a female, only to be confounded at every turn. Maybe it was just my bad luck. They used to be relatively common back in the early nineties, but since Turkey stopped exporting them, the supply has simply dried up given how small the number of people with actual interest in breeding this species. I don't know, maybe I'm living in the wrong place, but here in San Antonio, I've never seen one for sale, not even at the Texas Herp Show. I see baby Golden Greeks on occasion (mostly animals of Syrian, Jordanian, and Lebanese origin, from what I understand), eastern Hermanns are a regular fixture, as is the occasional marginated tortoise (I maybe see one of those every two years; always one, which is interesting), and there are always wild caught adult Russians, occasionally captive born babies (which I'm always surprised there aren't more of them). But yes, maybe it's just my locale, but even online, I rarely see melanistic, Western Turkish ibera, let alone a female, let alone a lady that is as awe inspiring as yours. You must understand that to me, this was the holy grail of tortoise keeping for the longest time. However, once my baby margies that I got in the early 2000s started coming of age, eventually I resigned myself to the fact that I would never find a mate for Graecus, that the Gino group would be my focus for breeding (and they have been simply wonderful; as a species, marginateds are, for me, without compare). So I accepted that Graecus living without a mate actually wasn't such a bad thing. I mean, Graecus is awesome, one of the most interesting tortoises I've ever kept. He's bold, highly aggressive and pugnacious (he'll fight anything that even looks like a tortoise, and his front legs can match my thumbs for strength, given the crazy amount of time he spends patrolling his enclosure). I mean, he is really something to see, and I always imagined that this tenacity, this incredible wellspring of energy was at least partially rooted in his lineage, that if I could just let him meet the right little lady, that I could have a bunch of little Graecuses running about, looking to start some trouble. But who knows. Maybe his outstanding personality, his almost robotically stubborn yet savage nature is all his own, in which case all the world ever needed was one Graecus.

Apologies. I probably sound a little crazy, but when it comes to Western Turkish ibera, I was pretty obsessed for the decade that comprised my twenties, and it was one of those things that I had to learn to let go. But damn if I don't like seeing a gorgeous representative of my former singular obsession, I must say.

T.G.

I'm totally open to a breeding loan when she becomes of age. She is growing like crazy. I'd love to help each other out to produce some beautiful black ibera beauties if you're up for that

 

[diamondbp]

She's rare given the fact that you can never find melanistic western Turkish ibera, at least not where I am. Throughout the early 2000s, when I was in my early twenties, I was dead set on finding a female for my melanistic western ibera Graecus. I got him back in the mid nineties, when they were still relatively common. After deciding I wanted to breed tortoises, I searched for a female, only to be confounded at every turn. Maybe it was just my bad luck. They used to be relatively common back in the early nineties, but since Turkey stopped exporting them, the supply has simply dried up given how small the number of people with actual interest in breeding this species. I don't know, maybe I'm living in the wrong place, but here in San Antonio, I've never seen one for sale, not even at the Texas Herp Show. I see baby Golden Greeks on occasion (mostly animals of Syrian, Jordanian, and Lebanese origin, from what I understand), eastern Hermanns are a regular fixture, as is the occasional marginated tortoise (I maybe see one of those every two years; always one, which is interesting), and there are always wild caught adult Russians, occasionally captive born babies (which I'm always surprised there aren't more of them). But yes, maybe it's just my locale, but even online, I rarely see melanistic, Western Turkish ibera, let alone a female, let alone a lady that is as awe inspiring as yours. You must understand that to me, this was the holy grail of tortoise keeping for the longest time. However, once my baby margies that I got in the early 2000s started coming of age, eventually I resigned myself to the fact that I would never find a mate for Graecus, that the Gino group would be my focus for breeding (and they have been simply wonderful; as a species, marginateds are, for me, without compare). So I accepted that Graecus living without a mate actually wasn't such a bad thing. I mean, Graecus is awesome, one of the most interesting tortoises I've ever kept. He's bold, highly aggressive and pugnacious (he'll fight anything that even looks like a tortoise, and his front legs can match my thumbs for strength, given the crazy amount of time he spends patrolling his enclosure). I mean, he is really something to see, and I always imagined that this tenacity, this incredible wellspring of energy was at least partially rooted in his lineage, that if I could just let him meet the right little lady, that I could have a bunch of little Graecuses running about, looking to start some trouble. But who knows. Maybe his outstanding personality, his almost robotically stubborn yet savage nature is all his own, in which case all the world ever needed was one Graecus.

Apologies. I probably sound a little crazy, but when it comes to Western Turkish ibera, I was pretty obsessed for the decade that comprised my twenties, and it was one of those things that I had to learn to let go. But damn if I don't like seeing a gorgeous representative of my former singular obsession, I must say.

T.G.

I'm totally open to a breeding loan when she becomes of age. She is growing like crazy. I'd love to help each other out to produce some beautiful black ibera beauties if you're up for that

 

[diamondbp]

Is her skin really as black as it looks in the photos? That's what makes her so stunning to my eyes

Oh yeh she as black as they come. I never thought I would be do captured by a black tortoise but it's really unique and beautiful

 

[tglazie]

That sounds like a fabulous idea. I'll PM you.

T.G.

 

[leigti]

I'm totally open to a breeding loan when she becomes of age. She is growing like crazy. I'd love to help each other out to produce some beautiful black ibera beauties if you're up for that

I hope that works out for you guys, breeding projects like that I think are a great idea.

 

[diamondbp]

A few bonus shots I just took for y'all

 

[Moozillion]

She's a beauty!

 

[bouaboua]

Sure is a beautiful tortoise! ! !