White tail tip on hermanns

[lumitory]

Noticed the tip of my Herman’s tail is white. It seems hard, part of his scales and is curved down. I’ve done my own reading and have found mixed info. Will be taking him to vet just wanna hear any experience with this. He’s otherwise normal with eating and everything. Thanks in advance.

 

[JoesMum]

It looks like loose scales. It’s not something I would be particularly concerned about

 

[Krista S]

This is perfectly normal and appears how it should. My Hermann’s tortoise has it too. Some Hermann’s have a more pronounced tail tip than others. Here is some information about it from https://www.hermannihaven.com/t-hermanni-systematics

At the tip of the tail on both sexes, a horny nail is found. This feature has enabled a second but much less used name for Testudo hermanni, the Mediterranean spur-tailed tortoise. It is believed that this hardened tip is used by males to stimulate the female’s cloacal region and to then guide his penis into the her cloaca during courtship but its purpose on females is unknown. The only difference between the sexes concerning the horny tail tip is that with males, it is often longer than the claws while in females it is shorter.

 

[lumitory]

This is perfectly normal and appears how it should. My Hermann’s tortoise has it too. Some Hermann’s have a more pronounced tail tip than others. Here is some information about it from https://www.hermannihaven.com/t-hermanni-systematics

At the tip of the tail on both sexes, a horny nail is found. This feature has enabled a second but much less used name for Testudo hermanni, the Mediterranean spur-tailed tortoise. It is believed that this hardened tip is used by males to stimulate the female’s cloacal region and to then guide his penis into the her cloaca during courtship but its purpose on females is unknown. The only difference between the sexes concerning the horny tail tip is that with males, it is often longer than the claws while in females it is shorter.

Thank you so much! I feel so silly but I never noticed it before. Very relieving.