[BecciBoo]

As it says...can any one ID them?
Had them about 18 months now, they were given to us as hatchlings and were a little bigger than £2 coin. They are now the size of the palm of my hand.

Thanks

 

[[email protected]]

Hi,:smile:

They are Hermanni's

Why did the person you got them from not tell you? if you don't me asking!!:smile:

 

[[email protected]]

Hi,:smile:

There are 2 sub spieces;

Testudo hermanni boettgeri vs. Testudo hermanni hermanni, I think yours is the Hermanni hermanni, but if you click on this link you can judge for your self!!:smile:


Shelled Warriors :: View topic - Testudo hermanni boettgeri vs. Testudo hermanni hermanni

 

[BecciBoo]

Why did the person you got them from not tell you? if you don't me asking!!:smile:

They were given to us by customs at the airport. They didn't know anything about them or even which flight they came in on!, just that someone had been stopped carrying them!

 

[[email protected]]

Hi,:smile:

Oh, how sad!! sounds like they were wild caught!

Are you you enjoying having them, i've got hermanns and i can't stop watching them, they are so much fun!

If you didn't know what they were, that must of been hard working out how to take care of them!! Thank god for the internet info at the finger tips!!

 

[Henry-flash]

I'm not convinced that they are hermanns, could I see plastron (underside) please?

 

[Andy b 1]

yeah same, i dont think they are hermanns

 

[SWsarah]

The last lot of pictures dont look hermann to me.

 

[BecciBoo]

Thanks everyone so far.

Ok, I'm pretty sure they arn't hermans as when we first got them we took them to a specialist vets to get them checked out, he told us that they were to small to ID at the time but he was sure they wern't a species of tortoise that you see normally for sale in the UK.

Heres the underside of them both:

 

[SWsarah]

The vet you went to was not very specialised in tortoises. No tortoise is too small to ID.

 

[Henry-flash]

They look like tunisians to me. A male and a female.

 

[SWsarah]

100% male and female and do look tunisian. I have just been to look at my group and they do look like yours.
How heavy are they?
How long (shell underneath)?

They do need papers so must never be sold on, they are so so delicate can come down with runny nose at the drop of a hat. No more should be introduced to these guys else problems occur.
They must only be put outside on really hot days.

 

[SWsarah]

My boys

 

[BecciBoo]

They do need papers so must never be sold on

We have cities papers for them, we recieve alot of animals in the same way. But we never plan on selling any of the animals anyway we are given.

I will go weigh and measure them a little later on. They don't go outside, we have a special area for them.

Looked up tunisian tortoise (Furculachelys nabeulensis) and they look pretty much the same.

 

[SWsarah]

What does it say on the papers?
It is important for them to go outside to get natural UVB and plus they love it.

 

[wizzasmum]

Look like ibera to me - definately not hermanns. Sack the vet, he obviously has no idea. He should also have told you they were growing way too fast. This is why the nuchal scutes have gone off at an angle and are not pointing forward over the head as intended. These torts should weigh something in the region of 60 - 100 grams now but judging by what you say probably weigh at least four times that, which means there could be problems going on internally. I wonder what speices of tortoise your vet thinks is usually imported!

 

[wizzasmum]

They look like tunisians to me. A male and a female.

Ah well there you have it I never did know my ibera from my tunisians having no spurs whatsoever myself. Makes sense though as there are lots of sellers in the streets of North Africa persuading tourists to buy them

 

[kerrypudge]

they look a bit pink underneath,is that not the start of septacemia<sp>???

 

[Tamie]

My boys

Lovely tortoises !!

However, if I may be so bold ..... the substrate appears incorrect, also those nails need sorting too, they are a real worry, ouch!! This species need to be on a really dry, sandy substrate. They actually live in sand dunes in the wild. They'll get shell rot on regular soil in the UK.

HTH

Tamie

 

[SWsarah]

This was an old picture when we first put the enclosures up, the nails have been sorted lol
As stated they are only outside on really hot days which it was on that day. Inside they are on 2 foot of top soil and a layer of hemp kept very dry
I do not use sand as it causes gut impaction now that is nasty.