My old Jordanian Greek passed away a few years ago and after a lot of begging, my wife finally said I can get a new tortoise, so I found this lovely guy available in the local classified ads from a family that is moving and can't take pets with them. I'm pretty sure he's a not quite mature Eastern Hermann's tortoise. I was told that he's about 4 years old, but I think he seems to be a little bit large for that, so I'd guess maybe a bit older. He weighs 556 grams (1 pound, 3.6 ounces) and his shell measures 14cm (5.5 inches) straight from front to back.
My Greek tortoise was named Gracie, based partially on her taxonomic name Testudo Graeca. Based on that, my daughters said that this guy should be named Hermes (Testudo Hermanni). He's in charge of the slow/low priority message service for the gods, and leaves the fast stuff to the other guy with the same name.
It looks like he has been very well cared for. His shell is pretty much perfect, his colors are great, and he is very active. The previous owners were missing a few things, like a hygrometer and proper basking light for the indoor enclosure, but they did let him wander outside (properly supervised) on a regular basis so that's probably not as critical as it would be for a 100% indoor tortoise.
As soon as weather permits, I'll be setting up a large outdoor enclosure stocked with lots of yummy plants growing in the ground so he can browse and chew on whatever he happens to want, as well as getting plenty of natural sunlight. Since Hermann's Tortoises are quite small, I do want to make sure he's safe from possible predators. What would you recommend that I use to put a "lid" on the outdoor enclosure? I'm thinking something like chain-link fence or chicken wire stretched over the top on hinged frames so the top can be lifted in sections for maintenance on the plants and landscaping in the enclosure.
He had a nice soak and bath just before these picture so he would be nice and pretty for his photo shoot.
My Greek tortoise was named Gracie, based partially on her taxonomic name Testudo Graeca. Based on that, my daughters said that this guy should be named Hermes (Testudo Hermanni). He's in charge of the slow/low priority message service for the gods, and leaves the fast stuff to the other guy with the same name.
It looks like he has been very well cared for. His shell is pretty much perfect, his colors are great, and he is very active. The previous owners were missing a few things, like a hygrometer and proper basking light for the indoor enclosure, but they did let him wander outside (properly supervised) on a regular basis so that's probably not as critical as it would be for a 100% indoor tortoise.
As soon as weather permits, I'll be setting up a large outdoor enclosure stocked with lots of yummy plants growing in the ground so he can browse and chew on whatever he happens to want, as well as getting plenty of natural sunlight. Since Hermann's Tortoises are quite small, I do want to make sure he's safe from possible predators. What would you recommend that I use to put a "lid" on the outdoor enclosure? I'm thinking something like chain-link fence or chicken wire stretched over the top on hinged frames so the top can be lifted in sections for maintenance on the plants and landscaping in the enclosure.
He had a nice soak and bath just before these picture so he would be nice and pretty for his photo shoot.
