My cart

Housing a Greek tortoise: 120 × 60 × 30 cm, 32-35°C basking

Male spur-thighed tortoise walking on the ground
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Greek tortoise : A spacious outdoor enclosure (10 m² and more for an adult), well drained and south-facing, with buried opaque fencing and a dry shelter. Indoors, a tortoise table with strong UVB rather than a closed terrarium.

See it in the Planète Pets shop: Stump-effect resin islet and hide for young aquatic turtles (€21.90) · the whole shop

Our products don’t ship to you yet, but the PDF practical guide is instant: Your First Terrarium: Leopard Gecko, Bearded Dragon, Corn Snake, Ball Python (€15)

In short: 20 to 25 cm as an adult, commonly over 50 years of lifespan, intermediate level. Close to Hermann's tortoise, peaceful and a grazer, it digs a little more and enjoys loose-soil areas. Learn its exact origin: some lines cope poorly with long, cold hibernation, but like all land tortoises its true home is a well-drained, south-facing OUTDOOR enclosure.

120 × 60 × 30 cm and a strict thermal gradient

For an adult Greek tortoise: 120 × 60 × 30 cm minimum indoors — though an outdoor enclosure remains the serious standard for land tortoises, with a basking spot at 32-35°C and a cool zone at 22-25°C. That gradient is not comfort: it is how a reptile regulates temperature, by moving. No cool zone means overheating; no hot spot means no digestion.

Heating, UVB, humidity: the technical trio

Heating ALWAYS runs through a thermostat — the least negotiable equipment in herpetoculture — with thermometers at both ends. On light: a UVB tube (10-12 rating for desert setups, 5-7 for tropical) spanning a third of the enclosure, replaced every 6 to 12 months even if it still lights up. Humidity held at 40 to 60% — excess humidity harms as much as a deficit in a dry biotope, checked with a hygrometer, not by feel.

Substrate and layout

A dry, diggable substrate (packed soil mix, never calcium sand), two hides minimum — one warm, one cool — and a structured background for security. Place the enclosure out of direct sun, which would turn the volume into an oven despite the thermostat.

Frequently asked questions

What enclosure size for a Greek tortoise?

120 × 60 × 30 cm minimum for an adult — sized for the adult from day one, plus an outdoor enclosure whenever the climate allows.

What temperatures for a Greek tortoise?

Basking spot at 32-35°C, cool zone at 22-25°C, all on a thermostat with a natural night-time drop. Humidity sits at 40 to 60%.

The guides that apply to you

The rest of the Greek tortoise’s gear

Going further