Greek spur thighs?

[BlondeBabs]

Hi,
Can anyone tell me how big greek spur thighs grow to when they are adults?
And what age are they ,when they"re classed as adults?
My 2 are 4 years old.

[wizzasmum]

Originally Posted by BlondeBabs

Hi,
Can anyone tell me how big greek spur thighs grow to when they are adults?
And what age are they ,when they"re classed as adults?
My 2 are 4 years old.

It depends on what sub-species you have. Most spurs are not actually from Greece and subspecies grow to different adult sizes.
Hope this helps

[BlondeBabs]

Hi wizzasmum,
Oh I see!
I haven"t got a clue what sub-species they are! Do they have an average size or are they all different?

[Henry-flash]

The adult size varies greatly within the spur thigh group. From tiny animals weighing in at just 450g to huge animals that reach more than 5kg in weight. If you post pics we can ID your tortoise for you.

[BlondeBabs]

Ok! I can"t seem to load up pics on this page, but there is a picture on my profile.
Thanks I would be grateful for that!

[wizzasmum]

Originally Posted by BlondeBabs

Ok! I can"t seem to load up pics on this page, but there is a picture on my profile.
Thanks I would be grateful for that!

They look rather large for their ages Babs. Do you have weights for them?

[JayFromTheSouth]

Chances are they are Testudo graeca (basically the common spur thigh) and they look about the right size for the age and are likely to get between 9-11" depending on sex. Hope that helps.

[wizzasmum]

Originally Posted by JayFromTheSouth

Chances are they are Testudo graeca (basically the common spur thigh) and they look about the right size for the age and are likely to get between 9-11" depending on sex. Hope that helps.

Which gracae sub species though? Chances are they could be ibera too or another subspecies. There are several available, as Peter says all growing to different sizes.

[Darwin]

My Minty (as seen in photo below) is about 4 years old and her plastron is about 4.5 inches long.
Just looked on her certificate and it just says she is a graeca.
She is fed on weeds and a small amount of T-rex pellets.
A friend of mine has spur thighs from the seventies, they are about 10 inches long and have lovely smooth shells.

Sarah x

[gtm]

Originally Posted by JayFromTheSouth

Chances are they are Testudo graeca (basically the common spur thigh) and they look about the right size for the age and are likely to get between 9-11" depending on sex. Hope that helps.

No such thing as a common spur thigh (although Testudo Graeca Ibera and Testudo Graeca Graeca are most commonly kept as pets in the UK). Here is a list of subspecies:-

North African

T.g.graeca
T.g.soussensis
T.g.marokkensis/whitei
T.g.mauritanica
T.g.cyrenaica

European/Middle eastern greeks

T.g.ibera
T.g.terrestris
T.g.anamurensis
T.g.antakyensis
T.g.armeniaca
T.g.buxtoni
T.g.floweri
T.g.nikolskii
T.g.pallasi
T.g.perses
T.g.zarudnyi

This is by no means definitive - over time some will drop out & new ones added - it's not called the spur thigh 'complex' for nothing