pterry

New Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2020
Messages
7
Location (City and/or State)
N E Lincolnshire
Hi all, a friend knows I have a sulcata and asked me if I could take on a tortoise from someone else. I said yes just because it seemed they had nowhere else to go and recieved her today. She’s a tiny little Greek tortoise, fortunately she came with her annex certificate so it’s not as dubious as the whole thing could’ve been.

She seems active enough, went straight for the veggie plate as soon as I popped her into the tortoise table. I’ve had a little research up but want to just double check some things.

I’m only referring to her as ‘she’ just because they said she was female, but she’s only 5 and it might be a bit too early to tell, she’s quite small. How big do Greek tortoises get about? I was told nothing about her, not even her species, just her name and age and her papers said she’s been imported from Turkey (we’re in the UK).

Her face is looking pretty dang crusty. I’m going to give her a warm bath after she’s stopped gorging herself on her food. Her beak is looking a bit worse for wear too. Is there anything here I should be worried about in particular, or is it just a case of rehydration + providing enough crunchy grasses for her to wear the beak on? I only have experience with my sulcata and from what I’ve seen, Greek tortoise care isn’t much different, but I want to be sure I’m doing things right.

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Lyn W

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
23,497
Location (City and/or State)
UK
Thanks for rescuing that lovely tort.
This is the most up to date care sheet to follow -
Maybe try a cuttlefish bone or mineral block in his enclosure for the beak, but it can also be trimmed or filed - a vet could do it if your not confident yourself (I'm not).
 

pterry

New Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2020
Messages
7
Location (City and/or State)
N E Lincolnshire
Thanks for rescuing that lovely tort.
This is the most up to date care sheet to follow -
Maybe try a cuttlefish bone or mineral block in his enclosure for the beak, but it can also be trimmed or filed - a vet could do it if your not confident yourself (I'm not).
Many thanks. She does have a cuttlefish bone, hopefully she’ll take to giving it a nibble. I forgot to ask about hibernating, since my sulcata doesn’t do that. Will she give me signs that she wants to hibernate at some point, or do I have to induce it myself? Is she old enough to hibernate, or do I keep her awake this winter while trying to bulk her up a bit since I don’t know her health right now?
 

Lyn W

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
23,497
Location (City and/or State)
UK
Many thanks. She does have a cuttlefish bone, hopefully she’ll take to giving it a nibble. I forgot to ask about hibernating, since my sulcata doesn’t do that. Will she give me signs that she wants to hibernate at some point, or do I have to induce it myself? Is she old enough to hibernate, or do I keep her awake this winter while trying to bulk her up a bit since I don’t know her health right now?
My leopard doesn't hibernate either so I've no personal experience of it but I've seen it recommended that you don't hibernate torts the first winter they are with you to make sure they are healthy enough to survive it, so because this one is new to you maybe keep her awake.
As I understand it hibernation is something that has to be induced by gradually reducing the temps so that they stop wanting to eat, and go into hibernation with empty stomachs - any food in the gut could rot and kill them.
That's just what I've read on TFO but there are quite a few threads about it. Many people use fridges these days to make sure they aren't disturbed by our fluctuating winter temps.
I'm glad I don't have to do it with my tort.
 
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