Species Profile & Temperament

Housing & Enclosure

Enclosure Type & Size

• Type: Terrestrial.
• Minimum for Adults: A large, wide enclosure or "Tortoise Table" (ask our staff to help you choose a size), ideally with a secure outdoor pen in warm weather. Even though they are small, tortoises walk for miles a day in the wild. They need space to roam.
• Enclosure Walls: Avoid clear glass at the tortoise's eye level. Tortoises do not understand glass and will endlessly pace and scrape against it trying to walk "through" the invisible barrier. If using a glass tank, tape a background around the bottom 6 inches.

Substrate

• Recommended: A deep 50/50 mix of organic topsoil and coconut fiber (Eco Earth), or cypress mulch (Forest Floor).
• Depth: Deep enough to dig into. Ask our staff for the depth we use. They love to dig and bury themselves to sleep.
• Avoid: Sand (impaction risk) and rabbit pellets.

Décor & Enrichment

• Hides: Provide at least two hides (a warm hide and a cool hide). Half-logs or cork flats work perfectly.
• Terrain: Add flat slate rocks to their enclosure. Walking on rocks naturally files down their sharp toenails so you don't have to clip them!

Heating & Lighting

Temperature Requirements

Give them a warm basking spot at one end and a cooler end at the other. A little cooler at night is fine. Ask our staff for the range we keep ours at, and check both ends with a thermometer.

• Heating: Use an overhead incandescent or halogen basking bulb. Under-tank heat mats are practically useless for tortoises because their thick shell blocks the heat from reaching their organs.

Lighting & UVB (CRITICAL)

• UVB is 100% Mandatory. A tortoise without UVB will develop Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD). Their shell will grow soft, deformed, and eventually they will die.
• Recommended: A T5 high-output linear UVB bulb (like the Arcadia 12% Desert or Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0) mounted overhead.

Humidity & Water

• Target Range: Ask our staff for the range we keep ours at.
• The Humid Hide: Tortoises need humidity while they sleep to prevent their shell from growing incorrectly (pyramiding). Provide a "humid hide" filled with slightly damp sphagnum moss on the warm end of the enclosure.
• Soaking: Soaking your tortoise in warm, shallow water (up to their chin) is highly recommended. Ask our staff how long and how often. It encourages them to drink and to pass waste.

Diet & Nutrition

Greek Tortoises are strict herbivores. Do not feed animal protein.

The Leafy Green Diet

Their diet should consist of high-fiber, low-sugar greens and weeds.

• Staples (Feed Daily): Dandelion greens, endive, escarole, turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, and safe weeds like clover or plantain.
• Treats (Sparingly): Carrots, squash, hibiscus flowers.
• Fruit: A rare treat only. Too much sugar upsets a grassland tortoise's gut.
• Avoid: Spinach (binds calcium), iceberg lettuce, and dog/cat food.

Supplements

• Calcium: Dust their greens with a calcium supplement and follow its label for how often. Ask our staff which calcium we recommend for a tortoise kept indoors.
• Multivitamin: Use a reptile multivitamin as its label directs.
• Cuttlebone: Leave a whole cuttlebone in their enclosure. They will chew on it when they crave calcium, which also helps file their beak!

What We Use & Recommend

These are products we use and recommend for this species. Stock varies by store, so ask us what we have in store today.

Last updated: 2026-08-04

How We Keep Them at Critter Cabana & Gresham Pet Supply

• Beating Dry Oregon Furnace Air (and Summer Heat Spikes): Across the Willamette Valley and Portland Metro, running the house furnace all winter drops indoor humidity to 25–35%, which quickly causes stuck sheds and dehydration in screen-top tanks. To hold steady humidity for Greek Tortoise, our crew uses a deep substrate bed (or our store-shelf 10-Part Bioactive Mix of ReptiSoil, Coco Fiber, Orchiata Bark, Sphagnum Moss, and Leaf Litter), a dedicated humid hide packed with damp sphagnum moss, and partial screen cover when needed.
• Thermostat & Linear UVB Standard: Every heating element in our Newberg and Gresham reptile rooms runs on a thermostat probe, with a warm side and a cool retreat set to the range we keep ours at, paired with linear UVB lighting on a 12-hour day/night timer. In summer, if an upstairs room climbs above 82°F, a dimming thermostat automatically backs down the basking lamp so the cool side never overheats.
• Shopping at Newberg & Gresham: For enclosures, thermostats, UVB lighting, bioactive supplies, springtails, isopods and feeders at Critter Cabana (Newberg) and Gresham Pet Supply, ask us what we have in store today.

Common Questions (FAQ)

What size tank does an adult Greek Tortoise actually need?

An adult Greek Tortoise needs a large, wide tortoise table or enclosure with room to roam, a warm basking side and a cooler side. Ask our staff to help you choose a size and for the temperature range we keep ours at.

How do I keep Greek Tortoise humidity up during dry Oregon winters?

Oregon winter furnace heat dries out thin bedding fast. Use a deep moisture-retaining substrate mix (such as Zoo Med ReptiSoil blended with coco fiber, Orchiata bark, and sphagnum moss), provide an enclosed humid hide, and cover 50–70% of an open screen top with HVAC foil tape or a PVC panel if ambient humidity drops too low.

Where can I get Greek Tortoise setup supplies, live feeders, and thermostats in Oregon?

Ask us what we have in store today at Critter Cabana in Newberg (514 E First St, 503-537-2887) and Gresham Pet Supply (2185 NW Burnside Rd, 503-665-7606).