Is this a bitten off tail end?

[reptire]

All right guys, I'm in love with every reptile but I must admit, I don't know a lot about greek tortoises.

Question 1: Is this a bitten off tail end? It's yellowish just like its shell and just as dry. Picture 1 and 2 relate to this.




Question 2: Its shell is 1.6 inches long. About how old it is?



Question 3: Can you take a guess at its sex based on these pictures, or is it too early to tell?

Question 4: Subspecies?



Its shell is extremely soft and squishy by the way. I've bought an UVB light and started it on a multivitamin supplement yesterday.

Hoping to get it in shape and provide him with a long life.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi reptire, and welcome to the Forum!

Some Greek tortoises have a bit of a spur on the tip of their tail. But your pictures aren't clear enough to see what you're worried about.

Also, your baby is too young to tell the gender.

 

[reptire]

Hi reptire, and welcome to the Forum!

Some Greek tortoises have a bit of a spur on the tip of their tail. But your pictures aren't clear enough to see what you're worried about.

Also, your baby is too young to tell the gender.

Hello emysemys,

Could you tell me more about this "spur" phenomena? English is not my native language actually, so I don't even know what that word means!

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, I think I may have mis-spoke. I don't think its the Greek that has the horny tip on its tail, but rather the Hermann's.

Put up a more clear picture so we can see what you are worried about.

 

[GBtortoises]

Your tortoise isn't a Greek tortoise, it's a Hermann's tortoise. Looks like and Eastern Hermann's, Testudo hermanni boettgeri although the plastron photo isn't clear enough to tell 100%. The hard tip on the end of the tail is a characteristic of all the Hermann's subspecies but not of Greeks whose tails are blunt.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. Where in the world are you?

 

[Laura]

soft and squishy shell is not good... do you have calcium? what is the diet? sunshine?

 

[reptire]

I live in Central-Europe, bought the tortoise from a local petshop. Its shell was already soft and squishy when I got it (about 5 days ago).
Bought an expensive as heck UV-B lamp and also started him on a multivitamin supplement yesterday (it has calcium in it).

A Hermann's? Anybody else got an opinion about this? Unfortunately I cannot make a clearer picture than these since it's so small... Maybe if you requested certain angles/body parts in focus, I could play around with my (old) camera...

 

[biochemnerd808]

GBtortoises is an expert, I'd trust the ID of it being a Hermanns.
Care of a Hermanns is very similar to a Greek tortoise - basking temperature of 35 degrees C, good that you also have a UVB lamp. They eat dark leafy greens and weeds.
It looks like your tortoise is a baby - just a few weeks or so old?
If the shell is squishy, you may want to supplement with some pure calcium for a few months, in addition to the multivitamins.
Make sure you soak your tortoise once a day, or more - babies need this to stay hydrated, and so their shell grows nice and smooth.

Good luck!

I live in Central-Europe, bought the tortoise from a local petshop. Its shell was already soft and squishy when I got it (about 5 days ago).
Bought an expensive as heck UV-B lamp and also started him on a multivitamin supplement yesterday (it has calcium in it).

A Hermann's? Anybody else got an opinion about this? Unfortunately I cannot make a clearer picture than these since it's so small... Maybe if you requested certain angles/body parts in focus, I could play around with my (old) camera...

 

[reptire]

GBtortoises is an expert, I'd trust the ID of it being a Hermanns.
Care of a Hermanns is very similar to a Greek tortoise - basking temperature of 35 degrees C, good that you also have a UVB lamp. They eat dark leafy greens and weeds.
It looks like your tortoise is a baby - just a few weeks or so old?
If the shell is squishy, you may want to supplement with some pure calcium for a few months, in addition to the multivitamins.
Make sure you soak your tortoise once a day, or more - babies need this to stay hydrated, and so their shell grows nice and smooth.

Good luck!

Thanks for the tips!
Well, its shell is 4 cm long from top to bottom, do they get that big in just a few weeks after their birth? I heard they were slow growers.

 

[biochemnerd808]

4cm is only about 1.5 inches, so that means it's a baby tortoise... I don't have experience with Hermanns, so you would need to ask an expert how old a little 4cm guy likely is. They grow faster at the beginning, that's why it's so important to soak them often and provide plenty of calcium , UVB and good food.

GBtortoises is an expert, I'd trust the ID of it being a Hermanns.
Care of a Hermanns is very similar to a Greek tortoise - basking temperature of 35 degrees C, good that you also have a UVB lamp. They eat dark leafy greens and weeds.
It looks like your tortoise is a baby - just a few weeks or so old?
If the shell is squishy, you may want to supplement with some pure calcium for a few months, in addition to the multivitamins.
Make sure you soak your tortoise once a day, or more - babies need this to stay hydrated, and so their shell grows nice and smooth.

Good luck!

Thanks for the tips!
Well, its shell is 4 cm long from top to bottom, do they get that big in just a few weeks after their birth? I heard they were slow growers.