African Tortoise species identification

[TimothyTraddle]

Hello everyone, I am hoping some of you great people can help me.

Someone brought me a tortoise because the previous owners were neglecting him and didn't want him anymore, so I took him in.
He came to me in a bad condition and he has some trauma to his shell.
Because his shell is damaged I am struggling to identify what species he is.

I think he is a Common Padloper (Homopus areolatus) but I am not 100% sure.
Could anyone perhaps help me in identifying him?

Thank you in advance for any input.

 

[Yvonne G]

I think you're correct, but I'm unsure as to the sub species.

http://www.rsgplus.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/tortoise_identification_guide.pdf

 

[Yvonne G]

Oops. . . I forgot to say: Welcome to the Forum!

 

[TimothyTraddle]

I think you're correct, but I'm unsure as to the sub species.

http://www.rsgplus.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/tortoise_identification_guide.pdf

Thank you for the welcome and thank you for the link. It was very helpful. I think you might be right, he looks closer to the Red Padloper ( Homopus boulengeri ). His shell looks almost identical to the top left picture. I can't see the head of the tortoise in the pictures but when I google it the face looks different. I feel his face is closer to the Common Padloper?

 

[Maro2Bear]

Welcome!

 

[turtlesteve]

It think it’s a hingeback, Kinxys sp. but I am not sure which one.

 

[TimothyTraddle]

It think it’s a hingeback, Kinxys sp. but I am not sure which one.

Oh I see what you mean, yes he could be closer to the hinge-back. I think perhaps he could be a Bell's hinge-back or Speke's hinge-back? The face is a lot closer to that species and even the shell shape.

 

[zovick]

Hello everyone, I am hoping some of you great people can help me.

Someone brought me a tortoise because the previous owners were neglecting him and didn't want him anymore, so I took him in.
He came to me in a bad condition and he has some trauma to his shell.
Because his shell is damaged I am struggling to identify what species he is.

I think he is a Common Padloper (Homopus areolatus) but I am not 100% sure.
Could anyone perhaps help me in identifying him?

Thank you in advance for any input.
View attachment 301327 View attachment 301328

I have owned Parrot Beaked Tortoises and that one is definitely not a specimen of Homopus areolatus. That tortoise is one of the hingebacks. The hinge is visible just above and to the front of the rear leg socket. It could be a Bell's hingeback or a Speke's Hingeback. Not very sure of the various species IDs for that genus, though.

Here is a link to a fellow showing some of his Bell's Hingebacks. Yours looks like the one he s holding at the 2:16 mark in the video:

 

[2turtletom]

You're got a Kinixys lobatsiana, the Lobatse Hingeback Tortoise. It's endemic to RSA and neighboring Botswana. Dr. Flora Ihlow recently published about the range of this species here: http://amphibian-reptile-conservati...1/ARC_14_1_[General_Section]_132-139_e226.pdf

 

[turtlesteve]

I have owned Parrot Beaked Tortoises and that one is definitely not a specimen of Homopus areolatus.

Whoa... whatever happened to those animals? That’s one of those holy grail species and I’d love to think I have a non zero chance of working with them one day.

 

[zovick]

Whoa... whatever happened to those animals? That’s one of those holy grail species and I’d love to think I have a non zero chance of working with them one day.

Well, the ones I had were bought in about 1961 or so. I traded them to a dealer for other animals and never knew what happened to them after that.

The Behler Center in CA has some and they have been hatching them. If you donate a good amount of cash, you might be able to get a couple from them (they do this with Radiated Tortoises or used to). It is worth inquiring about the possibility if you are interested.

They also have there a male Ploughshare Tortoise (Astrochelys yniphora) which was in my possession for 33 years and some of my adult Radiated Tortoises s well as some of my Pyxis ssp.

Here is a link in case you are not familiar with the place: https://www.turtleconservancy.org/news/tag/Behler+Chelonian+Center. Write and tell them of your interest in H. areolatus and ask how much of a donation would be required to obtain a couple of their babies. You have nothing to lose.

 

[2turtletom]

Hello everyone, I am hoping some of you great people can help me.

Someone brought me a tortoise because the previous owners were neglecting him and didn't want him anymore, so I took him in.
He came to me in a bad condition and he has some trauma to his shell.
Because his shell is damaged I am struggling to identify what species he is.

I think he is a Common Padloper (Homopus areolatus) but I am not 100% sure.
Could anyone perhaps help me in identifying him?

Thank you in advance for any input.
View attachment 301327 View attachment 301328

This animal is a Kinixys lobatsiana. The Lobatse Hingeback Tortoise. @Yvonne G could you move this to the Hingeback forum?

 

[Tim Carlisle]

This animal is a Kinixys lobatsiana. The Lobatse Hingeback Tortoise. @Yvonne G could you move this to the Hingeback forum?

Wow this is an old thread lol