Need help figuring out which type of Greek my Silas was..

[pickadillydo]

This is my dear boy Silas who passed away last friday .. I was wondering if anyone can tell me what type of greek tortoise he was.. Thank you..

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Looks a bit like an Iberian (Testudo graeca ibera), but I'm nowhere nearly an expert...hopefully, someone better qualified will be along, directly.

Condolences on your loss.

 

[pickadillydo]

Thank you.. I just looked that up and it really does look like him!.. It was such a hard thing to deal with.. Im still having a hard time with it

 

[Sky2Mina]

I don't know what type he was, but he was really really pretty.
Sorry for your loss.

 

[GBtortoises]

If your tortoise was recently purchased from a pet shop it is probably more likely a Middle Eastern Greek (Testudo gracea ssp.). This may be especially true given the respiratory infection issues that your tortoise is having. This is a very common aliment of newly imported, highly stressed T. gracea. Several hundred wild caught Middle Eastern Greeks have been imported again in the past couple of months. They've all been ranging around 4-5", are very diverse in color and patterns and have been collected from several different locations (and countries) within their natural range. Clear photos of the plastron, the head and from above would make identification easier.

 

[tortoises101]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[dmarcus]

That was a nice looking tortoise, sorry for your loss..

 

[egyptiandan]

He was most likely Testudo graeca terrestris from Syria. I'm sorry you lost him.

Danny

 

[pickadillydo]

If your tortoise was recently purchased from a pet shop it is probably more likely a Middle Eastern Greek (Testudo gracea ssp.). This may be especially true given the respiratory infection issues that your tortoise is having. This is a very common aliment of newly imported, highly stressed T. gracea. Several hundred wild caught Middle Eastern Greeks have been imported again in the past couple of months. They've all been ranging around 4-5", are very diverse in color and patterns and have been collected from several different locations (and countries) within their natural range. Clear photos of the plastron, the head and from above would make identification easier.

Now that you say that, it does make alot of sense.. I work at a pet store and I have been seeing ALOT of 4 to 5" greek tortoises on the list.. Are you saying they will all have respitory infections? We have one at the store now that came in with mine about 4 weeks ago and he is still doing great.. Mine on the other hand didn't.. I cant give you any more pictures because he died before I could take ones of his belly and such.. He was sick and I didnt want to flip him over and move him all around.. He had quite a dark face and dark feet as well.. some of his scales were kinda orangy too..

 

[Tortoise]

So sorry for your loss.

 

[GBtortoises]

Not all wild caught tortoises are necessarily going to have respiratory infections. But many do and Middle Eastern Greeks are very noted for it. When the tortoises were captured in the wild they were probably very healthy. But in the long stressful (sometimes fatal) process from being collected to ending up in pet shops they are usually kept in less than ideal conditions. Often exposed to temperature and humidity levels out of the range of their normal environment, in overcrowded crates and boxes for long periods, without adequate nutrition or water and often in very filthy conditions. The process can add up to high levels of stress, weakened immune systems and parasite & bacteria blooms which often becomes a doorway for more easily contracted illnesses.