What species so I can build a suitable enclosure.

[Daniyal123]

Hi guys, yesterday when I finished work my brother spotted a tortoise walking on the road which nearly got run over by a car, I quickly reacted to stop the car luckily the driver stopped.
Now I have bought it home with me but have no idea which breed it is. Can you guys please help me identify the breed so I can do some research and get a enclosure built for him/her.

Also any tips and advices on how to look after him/her are highly appreciated

Thanks.

 

[Daniyal123]

Pics are from yesterday, I need to get some substrate aswell but don’t know what to get as different breeds like different substrates.

 

[wellington]

I'm not positive on the species
However, when you find out, if its native to where you live, you need to return it.
If it's not native then you need to first try to find the rightful owner before just keeping it
It's likely someone's pet as it's not in the greatest shape to be wild. Call local vets and animal rescues to see if anyone has reported a lost tortoise.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Take a read of this for ID Herrmani vs Greek

Distinguishing Greek from Hermanns

I've been doing this for long enough now that I should be able to distinguish between the Graeca and Hermanni tortoises. Can anyone post side-by-side pictures of each, top and bottom, so I can compare and see why I'm having so much trouble getting the hang of it? I can post pictures, but I...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Maro2Bear]

I'm not positive on the species
However, when you find out, if its native to where you live, you need to return it.
If it's not native then you need to first try to find the rightful owner before just keeping it
It's likely someone's pet as it's not in the greatest shape to be wild. Call local vets and animal rescues to see if anyone has reported a lost tortoise.

Definitely a pet. Not too many torts native in London

 

[Daniyal123]

I'm not positive on the species
However, when you find out, if its native to where you live, you need to return it.
If it's not native then you need to first try to find the rightful owner before just keeping it
It's likely someone's pet as it's not in the greatest shape to be wild. Call local vets and animal rescues to see if anyone has reported a lost tortoise.

I’m in london so I don’t think it’s wild as it gets quite cold here. I have posted in a few Facebook pages around me hoping to find the owner but no luck yet, I’ll contact local animal rescues and vets aswell thanks. But I still need some help to find out the breed so I can give him/her a suitable environment till the owners found.

 

[Yvonne G]

It's either a Hermanni or a Greek. Care for both is similar. Show us pictures of the underside and we can tell you for sure the species (not breed).

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Definitely a pet. Not too many torts native in London

The condition of the carapace screams BADLY KEPT PET

 

[Daniyal123]

Take a read of this for ID Herrmani vs Greek

Distinguishing Greek from Hermanns

I've been doing this for long enough now that I should be able to distinguish between the Graeca and Hermanni tortoises. Can anyone post side-by-side pictures of each, top and bottom, so I can compare and see why I'm having so much trouble getting the hang of it? I can post pictures, but I...

www.tortoiseforum.org

thank you

 

[Daniyal123]

It's either a Hermanni or a Greek. Care for both is similar. Show us pictures of the underside and we can tell you for sure the species (not breed).

Thanks for the information. I will upload some pictures of the underside when I get home today.

 

[Daniyal123]

The condition of the carapace screams BADLY KEPT PET

How can you tell that by looking at the carapace?

 

[Tom]

How can you tell that by looking at the carapace?

The vertebral scutes are small and incorrectly formed and the costal have grown up to meet them. They aren't supposed to be bunched up that way. This is an indication of some combination of poor diet, incorrect lighting, incorrect conditions, and metabolic bone disease caused by a lack of calcium or a lack of D3. All these things are related. Here is the correct care info:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

The pet shop will steer you wrong.

 

[TammyJ]

You got great advice!!! Follow the care sheet and he will benefit from your correct care. Whoever had him before should not get him back anyway, my opinion. He was very badly kept...maybe through ignorance, either that or plain old neglect.

 

[wellington]

You got great advice!!! Follow the care sheet and he will benefit from your correct care. Whoever had him before should not get him back anyway, my opinion. He was very badly kept...maybe through ignorance, either that or plain old neglect.

Or pet store/vets suggestions of care.

 

[Daniyal123]

It's either a Hermanni or a Greek. Care for both is similar. Show us pictures of the underside and we can tell you for sure the species (not breed).

That’s a picture of the underside.

 

[wellington]

It's a Male. Maybe @HermanniChris will pop on and ID

 

[TammyJ]

I would call him Zorba.

 

[Star-of-India]

Hi guys, yesterday when I finished work my brother spotted a tortoise walking on the road which nearly got run over by a car, I quickly reacted to stop the car luckily the driver stopped.
Now I have bought it home with me but have no idea which breed it is. Can you guys please help me identify the breed so I can do some research and get a enclosure built for him/her.

Also any tips and advices on how to look after him/her are highly appreciated

Thanks.View attachment 347646View attachment 347645View attachment 347646

That doesn’t appear to be a tortoise native to the USA. Likely it’s someone’s lost pet…

 

[jdro1210]

Hi guys, yesterday when I finished work my brother spotted a tortoise walking on the road which nearly got run over by a car, I quickly reacted to stop the car luckily the driver stopped.
Now I have bought it home with me but have no idea which breed it is. Can you guys please help me identify the breed so I can do some research and get a enclosure built for him/her.

Also any tips and advices on how to look after him/her are highly appreciated

Thanks.View attachment 347646View attachment 347645View attachment 347646

Pretty sure that's a Marginted. There are care sheets on here. S/he'll be ok if you follow that.

 

[MotherofDragons]

I don’t see a definitive ID, and I’m no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ve done a lot of research so I will chime in.

I believe I see a horn tip on the tail, and a lack of spurs on the thighs, which would indicate it is a Hermann’s tortoise. If you look at the tail head on, a Greek will have little spikey “spurs” on either side of the tail. A Hermann’s doesn’t have these, but instead has a horny tail tip. Western Herman’s exhibit much more yellow in both skin and shell, as well as a solid black line. So this leads me to believe this is likely an Eastern or maybe Dalmatian Hermann’s tortoise.

Identifying Hermann’s is a good link to differentiate different types of Hermann’s.

If I’m wrong and you see spurs instead of a horny tip, it’s a Greek.