What species is my tortoise?

[Helen Robinson]

Hi can anyone help me determine what species of tortoise I have. We were given him by someone who no longer wanted him. The only information I have is that he is 5ish and has never hibernated. Not even sure of his sex. I have tried looking on websites and he looks to me like either a Russian or Egyptian. When I had him given to me he was in a tank, after reading up I discovered this was not at all suitable and he now has a large indoor run with heat lamp etc but need to know what type he is so that we can ensure he is given the best standard of care. He is such a cute little guy. Any advice much appreciated

 

[sissyofone]

I'm not sure what kind it is, but he/she is gorgeous. Very pretty.

 

[SunnySideUp]

My guess would be some type of Hermann's Tortoise. I can't tell what subspecies they are, though. Very nice coloration on that one

 

[LLLReptile]

Looks like a hermann's with a bit of poor shell development (the lumpy-ness and how flat he is isn't quite normal). Not a Russian or greek/egyptian, though

-Jen

 

[Tom]

Your tortoise has metabolic bone disease. This comes form poor diet, lack of calcium, lack of D3, or some combination of the three. The pyramiding suggests the he/she was grown in conditions that were too dry. Can we help you get him back on track?

 

[Helen Robinson]

Your tortoise has metabolic bone disease. This comes form poor diet, lack of calcium, lack of D3, or some combination of the three. The pyramiding suggests the he/she was grown in conditions that were too dry. Can we help you get him back on track?

Yes I would really appreciate that.

 

[Tom]

Can you tell us the details about your set up, feeding routine and heating and lighting equipment? What size enclosure? What type of substrate? Does your tortoise have a large outdoor pen for grazing exercise and sunning? What are you using for indoor UV? Etc...

 

[HermanniChris]

You have a Hermann's and like Tom stated, it has MBD. You should also be aware that it is in fact a hybrid, most likely from crossing a T.h. boettgeri to a T. hermanni hermanni. It would be best if this tortoise was simply kept for pleasure as a pet and not for breeding purposes.

 

[Helen Robinson]

Yes
Like I say before I had him (roughly a month ago) he was an a tank roughly 2ft by 1 ft with a dry wood substrate and soaking dish.
My husband made him a pen which is 4ft by 2ft, one third of it is a covered section with wood chips the rest is his living space with a mesh lid where he is on a mixture of sand/soil 50:50 ratio with stones, I have also put logs for him to climb on, a soaking dish large enough for him to get in, a hide and a seed tray with plants in (grasses and dandilions). I feed him dandelion leaves, he also likes lettuce, grapes, apples, pears, tomatoes and cucumber. I have tried giving him other things but he doesn't seem interested. I have given him a cuttlefish but this has been ignored. I also give him Komodo tortoise diet (supposedly a complete holistic diet) which is pelleted but I can't say I've seen him eat much of it. I feed him once a day. His indoor pen is by our patio doors which gets sun for most of the morning, he has a heat lamp suspended above his daytime enclosure which is on for a couple of hours a day (depends what the temp is like).
As it has been summertime over here he has been able to go out for a couple of hours every day. He either roams free in the garden or when no one is with him is in a pen similar size to his indoor pen which can be moved about on the grass. Obviously now autumn is coming I don't think he will be able to go out as much and there won't be as much sun. Would really appreciate any suggestions you could make to get him as healthy as possible.
Thanks

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Helen welcome to the TFO from AZ . Hermann's rule !


Sent from my iPhone using TortForum

 

[Helen Robinson]

You have a Hermann's and like Tom stated, it has MBD. You should also be aware that it is in fact a hybrid, most likely from crossing a T.h. boettgeri to a T. hermanni hermanni. It would be best if this tortoise was simply kept for pleasure as a pet and not for breeding purposes.

Thanks definately no plans to breed him. Just want to get him back on track.

 

[Tom]

Hmm... I think it would be easier to link you to a care sheet than explain everything. I wrote this for russians, but I would house hermanni exactly the same. Try these:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Your tortoises diet needs some serious help right away. And I saw that you offer cuttlebone, but this tortoise needs some powdered calcium carbonate supplement two or three times a week two. The sunshine is good, but your tortoise ought to have some indoor UV as well. And it needs heat for 12 hours a day. Tortoises don't function well if they cannot get their body temperature up. Room temp, even in summer over there is not quite enough. Also, sand is no good, and neither are the wood chips... Its all in the care sheet.

 

[Helen Robinson]

Hmm... I think it would be easier to link you to a care sheet than explain everything. I wrote this for russians, but I would house hermanni exactly the same. Try these:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Your tortoises diet needs some serious help right away. And I saw that you offer cuttlebone, but this tortoise needs some powdered calcium carbonate supplement two or three times a week two. The sunshine is good, but your tortoise ought to have some indoor UV as well. And it needs heat for 12 hours a day. Tortoises don't function well if they cannot get their body temperature up. Room temp, even in summer over there is not quite enough. Also, sand is no good, and neither are the wood chips... Its all in the care sheet.

Thanks Tom will definately be using your factsheet as a reference and will get a UVB lamp and make sure I leave the heat lamp on for the required time right away. Am also happy to get the calcium carbonate but wanted to know what your opinion is on the Komodo Holistic diet (I got this as it says it has calcium to phosphorus ratio of 3:5:1.). Do I carry on trying to give him this too. One last question, can he recover from the Metabolic Bone Disease? and can you tell me what to look out for so I know he is a happy/ healthy tortoise.

Thanks Again.

 

[Tom]

We don't have Komodo over here, so I have no advice to offer on that. Other UK keepers see to like it from what they say here on the forum. The best things to feed them are certain broadleaf weeds and leaves.

Make sure you get the right kind of UV bulb, and make sure you use it correctly. The pet shop will probably try to sell you a coil type bulb, and those are not suitable as they seem times burn tortoise eyes. I prefer either the mercury vapor bulbs, or the long tube type fluorescents. There is a European brand called Arcadia that is quite good. If possible, get a UV meter to test the output of your bulbs too.

Yes the can recover from MBD, but it will help if you fully understand the cause of MBD. Once you improve the diet, cut out the fruit, increase the calcium, provide a suitable indoor UV source (Like a Powersun, for example.), and continue with that excellent outdoor sunshine when weather permits, he should recover just fine. It is a slow process though. It takes a long to time to remineralize bone.

 

[angie1980]

Looks like a Hermann but shell a bit flat but that maybe be because his diet lacked calcium or he didn't have a uvb light before you got him ?? There is a great group on Facebook called tortoise keepers they are very knowledgeable

 

[angie1980]

Hermann tortoise are not mention to eat fruit I know they like the grapes but they can't handle the sugar in them , lettuce not very nutritious mostly water but if u do give lettuce lamb's lettuce is a good one , cucumber sparingly along with a mixed diet of weeds & flowers , tomatoes only occasionally x there is an app & also a group on Facebook called the tortoise table it lists all edible food's x i know how complicated & confusing it all is when you first get a tortoise & not much information xx

 

[johnsonnboswell]

These tortoises cannot handle the sugar in fruit. If you continue to offer him these sweet attractive goodies he will ignore the real food he needs. Cucumber should be fed rarely since it's mostly water. Lettuces can be part of a varied diet, but avoid iceberg lettuce.

There should still be a number of edible weeds and flowers available outdoors as well as leafy greens to offer him.

Wood chips aren't good.

 

[HermanniChris]

Hi Helen, yes you must stay away from fruit and there are other pointers you should take into consideration that pertain to members of the Hermann's tortoise species group. At the very top of this forum is my new updated care sheet specifically for Hermann's. You can follow that and also e-mail me directly or contact me through either of my sites hermannihaven.com or gardenstatetortoise.com and I would be happy to assist you one on one with your tortoise.

Chris

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Helen, and welcome to the Forum!

We have a very good care sheet for Hermanns tortoises at the top of the Hermanns section:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/sticky-hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet-updated.101410/

It was written by one of our members who has a lot of experience with this species, HermanniChris. I see he has offered to help you. Please take him up on the offer.

 

[Helen Robinson]

Hi Helen, yes you must stay away from fruit and there are other pointers you should take into consideration that pertain to members of the Hermann's tortoise species group. At the very top of this forum is my new updated care sheet specifically for Hermann's. You can follow that and also e-mail me directly or contact me through either of my sites hermannihaven.com or gardenstatetortoise.com and I would be happy to assist you one on one with your tortoise.

Chris

Thanks Chris that's really helpful