The Greek Tortoise

The Greek tortoise is spread in northern Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, Asia, and in the Balkans. It is a middleweight tortoise with a green, yellow color. They live in dry areas, on hills and in places with rich vegetation, such as the forests. Contrary to the legends, this tortoise is a fast one. During the day, it runs after food all day long, and during the night or when the weather is really hot, it stays under bushes, stones, or in the call caves appeared in mountains. It usually eats vegetal components, but accidentally, it can eat worms. If the food is not enough, it can eat mud, which has an increased concentration of nutritive substances. Practically, the Greek tortoise can’t die of hunger in natural habitats.




It has a solid shell, and only a few enemies. Only the young tortoises are vulnerable to attacks, as their shell is softer and it can be cracked. In June. The female lays 2-5 eggs, which will hatch in August or September. Sometimes, the babies will enter directly in hibernation until the next spring, if they are born during the winter. The problem is that many tortoises that enter directly in hibernation will die, because they don’t have enough fat reserves to get over the winter. The ideal scenario is the one in which the baby turtle is born with one or two months before hibernation, so it would have time to prepare.



The Greek tortoise can be found in Greece, but it is often found in Eastern Europe and Northern Africa. It is one of the most common types of tortoises that can be used as pets. They are not pretentious to alimentation, they are also resistant to diseases, and they are also friendly. The problem is that you will need a special place for your pet, an enclosed surface of 2 square meters at least.




Greek tortoise habitat

black Greek tortoise

Greek tortoise size

full grown

greek tortoise care

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 Common Tortoises in Europe

Common Tortoises in Europe

Testudo Graeca can be found in Eastern Europe and around the Mediterranean Sea, where the climate is proper for its development. It is a protected species. Kidnapping such tortoise from its natural environment is considered a criminal offence. Moreover, buying one without documents attesting the origins of the tortoise, from an authorized breeder is also forbidden. It is a dry tortoise with small dimensions. An adult can reach 20 centimeters or even 30. The males are smaller than the females. The shell is rectangular, and if has a brown color with different nuances. The young ones have a light brown shell. The sides of the shell are big, and they are contoured in black. The head is covered with large scales and the legs are also covered with scales of a light color.

The Greek Tortoise comes from the arid zones with a sandy field, and with high temperatures. It is ideal to offer the tortoise some space that imitates the natural conditions. The Greek Tortoise CAN’T live in the interior, no matter if you have a generous space or aquarium. For the entire hot season, you can keep her outside in a designed space in the yard. Surround it with big stones or with a fence, at least two square meters for an adult. Those tortoises can climb really fast, so the fence must be high and vertical. The area must have two zones: one with grass and another one with sand. Make sure that the ground under it is not humid, as this damages the health of the tortoise. Breathing problems that are often lethal occur. The dry tortoises are shy animals, so they need places to hide. Give them two or three places of this kind. Leave your imagination to guide you. Contrary to the general belief, the dry land tortoises drink water. You need a large vessel for water, but don’t choose a deep one. The torto
ise might fall in it and it might not be able to get out. Birds and foxes are ferocious hunters of tortoises, so make sure you protect it against those also.

The Greek tortoise needs natural light to produce D3 vitamin, under the influence of the UV rays. This is important for the metabolism of Calcium. A tortoise without natural light and exposure to the sun can lead to affection of bones. The place where the tortoise stays must have sunny and shadowed areas.

The Greek tortoise is herbivore. It needs fibers, and fewer proteins. Only a few people know this and they offer the turtle all kinds of animal originated snacks, which affect the digestive system. The Greek turtle must be fed with vegetables, salad, green onion, spinach, pumpkins.

Greek Tortoise

Baby greek tortoise

Greek tortoise habitat

Black greek tortoise

Greek tortoise size

Greek tortoise full grown

Greek tortoise care

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Different types of turtles

Before analyzing the types of turtles, we must establish the differences between turtles and tortoises. The turtles are the ones that live in the water. The tortoises live on dry land, but they also have the capacity to swim.

The most common type of turtle in USA that is also popular as a pet is the Florida Turtle (chrysemys scripta elegans). It is a middleweight species that reaches 20-25 centimeters as an adult, and a weight of 1.5-2 kilograms. Many times, it is appreciated like a small turtle considering that it only measures 3-4 centimeters at birth, and a weight of 10 grams. When she is young, the turtle has about the same dimensions. It is found in North America subtropical areas, but it is easily adaptable and spread all over the world. The young baby turtles have an intense color, with a green shell with yellow and green stripes. As the baby grows, those expand to the neck, head and members. On each part of the body, on the posterior side of the eye, a red dot can be observed. Sometimes, there is also a red stripe on the head, but this has a less intense color.

As the turtle gets old, the general color of the turtle becomes darker, and when it reaches maturity, it has a brown-green color with violet reflexes. The yellow stripes are less obvious. In the natural environment, they can be found on watercourses that are less deep and flooded areas.

The European turtle (emys obicularis) has small dimensions, with varieties of 15-25 centimeters. The body is different considering the age category, evolving from a rounded shape to an oval one for an adult.

The members of the European turtle are strong, with long claws for the five anterior members and the four posterior ones. As a particularity, we can say that the claws are united with a membrane that allows them to swim easily.

The body is enclosed with a bone shell, covered with bone scales. Even if it is called the European Turtle, it can be found in Northern Africa and Eastern Asia also. This turtle likes to stay on the shore of the river, but at the smallest alarm, it jumps into the water and disappears. It is an agile species that can swim easily, where it also eats. It is carnivore, expecting the pray covered by aquatic vegetation. The European turtle eats roaches, rodents and even small birds, worms and insects. During the winter, the turtle hibernates on the bottom of the water. At the end of May, the female lays 3-16 eggs in flooded areas, but not far from the shores of the water.

There are many other types of turtles, but those two species are the most common one as pets. They are small enough for an average aquarium, and they are not so pretentious when it comes to food. It is estimated that 60% of pet turtles are a part of one of those species.