Help adopted 20year old hermann tortoise

Appolo

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Hi ive just taken on a 20+year old tortoise I was told his a hermann his just come out of hibernation his lived in the garden all his life with access to a greenhouse on colder days the old couple have said his fine just being in the greenhouse until the weather heats up and he should eat or drink in a few weeks his shell looks in poor condition signs of pyramiding and generally ruff looking could someone please help me with getting him to eat should I give him a warm soak? And if possible confirm his breed thank you20210319_145528.jpg
 

crimson_lotus

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doesnt look like a hermanns to me but i could be wrong. how long have you had him? keep him warm, otherwise they cannot digest their food.

how are you keeping him?
 

Appolo

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doesnt look like a hermanns to me but i could be wrong. how long have you had him? keep him warm, otherwise they cannot digest their food.

how are you keeping him?
Thank you for replying I collected him yesterday he was in a garden shed ive got him in a greenhouse his in a wooden house filled with straw I was told his a hermann about 25 years old his been in the garden all his life im worried about his shell and I not sure if I should encourage him out for a soak
 

crimson_lotus

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Thank you for replying I collected him yesterday he was in a garden shed ive got him in a greenhouse his in a wooden house filled with straw I was told his a hermann about 25 years old his been in the garden all his life im worried about his shell and I not sure if I should encourage him out for a soak
i would definitely soak in warm water. the shell doesnt look too worrying - yes its pyramiding, but its pretty much cosmetic and not life threatening or anything - pyramiding is caused by lack of humidity basically. this does indicate the tortoise was kept improperly previously though.
 

crimson_lotus

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can you take a pic of the tort from the side? I want to make sure the shell is not relatively flat
 

Appolo

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He was with an old couple who could not care for him anymore his been a garden tortoise all his life from what I was told his had a good diet 95% weeds they also said his never had any heating just the green house I will give him a soak tomorrow and get some pictures from different angles I didnt want to disturb him to much as his just waking up thanks again
 

Appolo

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His had a 10 minute warm soak he passed some white looking stuff ive offered him some cucumber and some strawberry but his not interested his put himself back to bed
 

TeamZissou

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Looks like some type of Greek tortoise, Testudo graeca, possibly a dark Testudo graeca ibeara. It is a male.

They don't need to be fed strawberry or cucumber. Those are actually counterproductive for the gut.

Here's care info. There's a section on food and a lot of other great info.


Make sure to tortoise proof the garden so that he can't escape if you're going to keep him in the garden full time. It would actually be better to setup a dedicated outdoor enclosure with ~18" wooden walls. There's a whole section on enclosures on the forum.
 

Lyn W

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Hi and welcome.
He looks more like a Greek to me - but I could be wrong and someone with a wider knowledge of torts .will ID him for you

Here is the caresheet that will help you put things right.

I'm surprised he survived this last winter outdoors with our low ground temps. Long gone are the days when torts are left to survive in gardens year around but the old couple wouldn't have know about changes to torts and animal welfare. There is a lot more to tort keeping than you would think.

Torts often wee and poop in their soak. The white is urates and is quite normal if floaty. If they are gritty or solid that indicates that they are dehydrated and need soaking more often.

The caresheet will suggest foods and this is a good guide to tort safe foods - www.thetortoisetable.org,uk
Fruit is not good as it contains sugars which most species can't deal with.
He could probably do with some heat source now he is out of hibernation to warm him up and get his digestive system working. He'll need a source of uvb, (T5 HO tube) and a basking lamp - see the caresheet and they love to dig and climb so are great escape artists so he will need a secure enclosure. I'll see if I can find a thread about keeping torts outdoors in UK.
@JoesMum knows all about that.
 
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Lyn W

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This will help you provide proper outdoor care for your tort


and I'm sure Linda (JoesMum) will gladly help you too
 

JoesMum

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Hi there

I agree with the others that you have a Greek. Probably Ibera. However, it doesn’t mke a great deal of difference to care.

None of the Testudo can tolerate sugares, they cause gut and kidney problems, so fruit, red pepper, carrot and tomato should only be fed very sparingly and very occasionally.

Your tort should be eating weedy and leafy greens.

As it has only just emerged from hibernation, don’t expect much eating to happen yet. It needs soaks of at least 30 minutes in warm water twice a day. From personal experience, eventually the tortoise does a massive poo and wee, expect loads of white urate in with it, and eating kicks back in properly after that.

Your tort does need to bask to raise his body temperature so he can eat, digest food and be active. The sun isn’t out enough at the moment, so a basking lamp is necessary .

I think you will find my thread about keeping our old-timer, Joe, outdoors in the UK helpful. Feel free to ask as many questions as you need to :)
 

Appolo

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Looks like some type of Greek tortoise, Testudo graeca, possibly a dark Testudo graeca ibeara. It is a male.

They don't need to be fed strawberry or cucumber. Those are actually counterproductive for the gut.

Here's care info. There's a section on food and a lot of other great info.


Make sure to tortoise proof the garden so that he can't escape if you're going to keep him in the garden full time. It would actually be better to setup a dedicated outdoor enclosure with ~18" wooden walls. There's a whole section on enclosures on the forum.
Thank you I will have a read I was told to offer him this to encourage him to eat
 

Appolo

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This will help you provide proper outdoor care for your tort


and I'm sure Linda (JoesMum) will gladly help you too
Brilliant read thank you so much
 

Lyn W

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Thank you I will have a read I was told to offer him this to encourage him to eat
There is a lot of old and outdated care information still circulating but if you get all your information here it will be up to date so forget the rest.
There are threads about torts coming out of hibernation too in the search facility or start another with your own specific questions.
 
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