New to the Tortoise World and need help identification

TestudoQ8

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Dec 22, 2020
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Hello i just bought my first tortoise and I cant determine what kind is it? Also if possible i want to know if it a male or female? Thanks everyone

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TestudoQ8

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Sorry to not mention where I live, I live in Kuwait which is basically a hot weather country expect in winter from November untill February, i live in an apartment and i dont have access to outoors like farms to let my Tortoise eat what it wants. So i need help to determine what kind of tortoise it is excatly in order for me to buy the grocery list. Cheers
 

Yossarian

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Purely from studying pics, it looks like a baby eastern hermanns to me. The best source of said images is Chris's website though so his word would certainly be definitive.
 

TeamZissou

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Its definitley a Greek based on plastron markings, but I always have a hard time deciding between T.g. Terrestris and T.g. Ibera

Here are some great care sheets. There's food and diet info in there as well. Consult the diet section of the forum for a list of grocery greens that you can feed it.


 

TeamZissou

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Here's something for you to look at in the meantime:


In terms of care, it's basically the same for Hermanns and Greeks. Be sure to read at least the first thread I posted in reply #6.
 

Yossarian

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Thanks for the replies, but Im confused now between whether its a greek or eastern hermann? ? Lets see what @HermanniChris says

If it is a greek tort it will have a spur on each hind leg high up near the shell. Im not sure what the OP is looking at but the plastron doesnt look particularly like a greek spur thigh to me but the spurs are either there or they arent.
 

TestudoQ8

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If it is a greek tort it will have a spur on each hind leg high up near the shell. Im not sure what the OP is looking at but the plastron doesnt look particularly like a greek spur thigh to me but the spurs are either there or they arent.
Do you mean those?
I spotted only one on each thigh
 

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Yossarian

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Yes, those appear to be spurs, though the pics are not great they are in the right place, they should basically look like a little horn. That would make this a Greek spur thighed tortoise or Testudo Graeca. There are subspecies as @TeamZissou alludes to. Chris should be able to confirm that for us. Hermanns do not have spurs so that part is definitive
 

Yossarian

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Its definitley a Greek based on plastron markings, but I always have a hard time deciding between T.g. Terrestris and T.g. Ibera


What differential on the plastron tells you it is greek. Just want to know how you can tell.
 

TeamZissou

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Greeks have a random blotching (Rorschach test :)) on the plastron. Hermann's have larger, well defined black sections:

 

SJTort

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I have a 10 year old Greek tortoise, tg terrestris. Here are some pics of Frank for comparison. I couldn’t figure out which subspecies he was until someone here told me. ?
 

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TestudoQ8

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Thanks for the help, yeah that looks almost same as mine except for the size and the tail, mine is a little bit longer???
 

HermanniChris

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You certainly have a Greek tortoise and it’s the subspecies Testudo graeca terrestris. Its care would be different from any Hermann’s tortoise so please use my Greek tortoise care sheet at the top of this page so you can pinpoint what you need for this subspecies.
No way to sex it this young, though.
 

HermanniChris

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And one last thing to keep in mind, let’s always remember the rule of variation here especially with Testudo. Some Greek tortoise subspecies may actually lack thigh spurs like Testudo graeca soussensis and at the same time, some Hermann’s tortoises such as Testudo hermanni hermanni from parts of Sicily will actually HAVE them. Neither are hybrids. They are pure to their type.
 

TestudoQ8

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Thanks Chris for the help and everyone for sharing knowledge, im already in already in love with my Tortoise ????
 
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