Advice needed!

[miquel_tortoise]

Last summer in a trip in Sardegna (Italy) i found this turtle. Maybe some of you would be against me picking it. However i like it so much and im keeping it in my garden where it has enough space to wander and a little fresh cave for sleeping. Im feeding it with lettuce, tomatoes, ham and turtle fodder. I think it is a male but i have no idea about his age. Eats and pooes normaly.
What do you think about it?? It looks so wonderful to me. Would it be possible to find him a couple and make him breed other little ones? Thanks

 

[Maggie Cummings]

It's not a turtle, it's a tortoise. Don't feed it fruit, (no tomatoes). No meat, that's really bad for them. They need a high fiber and LOW protein diet. Ham also has a lot of sodium in it and I just can't see how meat is beneficial to a herbivore. Welcome to the forum, please continue to ask questions. Here's a link to a Hermanni caresheet, I hope that will help you also...

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/forums/hermanns-tortoises.80/

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm not so sure its a Hermanni. Let's see what @HermanniChris has to say about it.

Maggie has given you good advice - no meat or fruit.

 

[HermanniChris]

It's definitely a Hermann's tortoise. It also appears to be a T. h. hermanni but a clearer top and bottom shot will confirm.

 

[miquel_tortoise]

Ok. Thank you for your advice @maggie3fan . Understood, no more ham or tomato. And sorry for the mistake. In spanish language there is not distinction between turtle or tortoise. @Yvonne G now im so curious about what kind of tortoise it is exactly. Ill post more pics soon. Thx

 

[HermanniChris]

I can actually see the "gular mustache" (1 or 2 black stripes on the inner sides of the gular scutes just under the throat) in the photo you have already posted. Definitely a Sardinian Testudo hermanni hermanni.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Miquel...Welcome to TFO, and I am glad you are asking questions. A turtle and a tortoise are like the difference between a Zebra and a horse. The same species, almost.Take a clear shot of his carapace (top shell) and one of his plastron (bottom shell.) HermanniChris is our resident expert on Hermanni and he will be able to tell you if for sure the tort is a Hermanni. His face is beautiful...

 

[Yvonne G]

I think you both have missed Chris's post. In post #4 he says it is definitely a Hermanni, and most likely a T. h. hermanni.

 

[miquel_tortoise]

Ok nice! Here I post more pics of my Testudo Hermanni Hermanni!

 

[HermanniChris]

100% Testudo hermanni hermanni and has all the classic Sardinian features.

 

[miquel_tortoise]

Is it possible to roughly estimate his age based on the pics?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I think you both have missed Chris's post. In post #4 he says it is definitely a Hermanni, and most likely a T. h. hermanni.

But then he asked for clearer pix to make sure...I think you missed that part... But I did miss his confirmation post #6