Identification, please help

[Pawciorc]

Hi Guys,
This is my first post but I guess I will be a very active member .
I live in Malta and bought those 4 cute babies form a local breeder. They are 4 months old now. He has owned their parents for 15 years now and can not tell me what exactly supspecies they are. For geographically proximity to Tunisia I suspect they might be Furculachelys Nabeulensis, but the best would be to consult it with a wider group of ppl who are familiar with this subject.
Pics below.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum! I'm not good at I.D.ing the Mediterranean species. The best I can come up with is "Testudo" LOL! But we'll tag @HermanniChris He's wonderful at knowing these species.

 

[HermanniChris]

It's very tough with babies but based on what you've already stated, they could very be nabeulebsis. A photo of the parents will tell me for sure.

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, I looked that up online, and my supposed to be humorous comment about "testudo" totally missed the mark. Seems like Furculachelys Nabeulensis is a new designation, and not a testudo.

Your babies are very pretty. I hope you stay here and continue posting pictures of them. I'd love to watch them grow.

 

[Pawciorc]

They are gorgeous, aren't they? All of them very vital and with good apetite. I hope they will grow healthy. My only concern is about hibernation because in Malta even during winter average temperature is above 15c.

 

[Pawciorc]

So after some research I figured out they must be Ibera. I found pictures of Ibera hatchlings looking exactly like mine

 

[Pawciorc]

I wanted to avoid posting one after another, but I can't find an edit option.
Anyway, today is sunny and warm and I decided to introduce them to their outdoor, roof-located habitat. They seem veeeery happy there

 

[bouaboua]

You have a very nice outdoor enclosure. Of cause, your baby are very cute too!!

 

[Pawciorc]

Thanks. I tried my best to make it as similar to natural environment as possible. Seems like they appreciate my work

 

[ismail]

hi there,
i have raised some hatchlings. the secret to keep them alive in the first two years is to keep daily warm soaks, keep them eating everyday and keeping them inside with a uv lamp and ceramic heater during jan-june. its important to understand that hatchlings do not hibernate so you have to keep them awake and ensure to feed them everyday. keep a spot in the enclosure at 30degC, as regards the subspecies, in malta ive found nabuelensis and cyrenaica so the hathclings must be of oether subspecies. good luck mate

 

[Pawciorc]

Hi, thank you for your reply. If it is as you say regarding subspecies- Tunisian or Lybian then I suppose no hibernation is needed at all even when they ale older, right?

 

[HermanniChris]

Hibernation is not needed for nabeulensis (Tunisian) or cyrenaica (Libyan) and can actually kill them. They are definitely not baby ibera even though they appear to look like them to you. So, it's important to take that into consideration as you care for them.

 

[Pawciorc]

That is the main reason why i started this thread. I want to take care of them as good as I can so proper identification is cruicial. Anyway, soon I am going to have pics of the parents and post them here.

 

[Pawciorc]

Perhaps a few new pics will help to identify them?

 

[Heather H]

all i know is that they are so super cute. welcome to the forum.

 

[HermanniChris]

I can 100% tell you they are not ibera. They are certainly along the lines of nabeulensis but seeing the parents is really important for an absolutely sure identity. Ibera can certainly be ruled out though.

 

[TortsNTurtles]

Welcome! They are beautiful!

 

[Pawciorc]

Thank you!

 

[Pawciorc]

Pictures of their mum, Who are they?

 

[HermanniChris]

How big is the mother? She looks to be T. graeca graeca