Distinguishing Greek from Hermanns

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,388
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
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 don't know how to get them side-by-side. And when I have to scroll up and down to look at the pictures, I can't tell the differences between them.
 

Raymo2477

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
638
Location (City and/or State)
Eastern, PA, USA
Greek vs Hermann's. The easiest way to tell them apart is the plastron, the Hermann's has two longitudinal bands of black where *most* Ibera Greeks have more of a blotch (but some have no plastron markings).
 

Attachments

  • 1462403848127.jpg
    1462403848127.jpg
    28.7 KB · Views: 478
  • 1462404017635.jpg
    1462404017635.jpg
    17 KB · Views: 463

Raymo2477

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
638
Location (City and/or State)
Eastern, PA, USA
Also Greeks are more oval and domed, Eastern Hermann's are more trapezoidal and there slope is more gentle.
 

WithLisa

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2015
Messages
967
Location (City and/or State)
Austria
The easiest way to tell them apart is the tail :p but the markings (on top and bottom) are also different.
 

TurtleBug

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 3, 2008
Messages
106
HermanniChris has a good post about this: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/which-baby-tortoise-do-i-have-a-pictorial-guide.115333/

Looking at the belly markings is probably the easiest way to tell Mediterranean tortoises apart. Scroll down to the plastron photo in the above post. These are babies, but the adults' bellies look pretty much the same. But of course, there will be variations among individual tortoises.

Notice how Hermann's have two dark "stripes" (solid or broken depending on ssp) of dark color, Greeks have various blotches of darker color, Egyptians have one pair of dark "triangles" (chevrons), and Marginateds have several pairs of dark triangles.
 

HermanniChris

Well-Known Member
TFO Sponsor
10 Year Member!
Joined
Sep 7, 2007
Messages
2,126
This should help.

I made that video a while ago. There are exceptions to every rule of course. For instance, Greek tortoises are supposed to have thigh spurs (hence the second name Mediterranean spur thighed tortoise) and Hermann's are supposed to lack them. HOWEVER, certain locales of Testudo hermanni hermanni (the western subspecies of Hermann's tortoise) can and do have them. You can read about these spurs by following this link to my second website where I discuss the tortoises of Sicily: http://www.hermannihaven.com/#!sicilian-tortoises/chld
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,388
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
I've rescued a few greek tortoises over the years, but none of them ever looked like the Greeks here on the Forum. They were gray with no shell pattern and looked like desert tortoises of a different shape.
 

JoesMum

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Oct 26, 2011
Messages
21,606
Location (City and/or State)
Kent, South East England
And then you get Graeca Ibera and Graeca Graeca. The one in the first post is Ibera.

TGG has distinctive flared scutes above the rear legs and a yellowish tinge to the scales on the head
 

Mag

New Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2020
Messages
2
Location (City and/or State)
Strathaven
I have rescued a greek tortoise. He’s roughly 4 years old. I was told he would mostly eat dark green leafy veg. In the summer he loves dandelion flowers and leaves. Hardly eats his kale, or spring greens. I think he seems sad ?
 

Randy Micheals

Active Member
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jun 8, 2019
Messages
202
Location (City and/or State)
British columbia
Hi Mag,

What makes you think your Greek is sad? Mines a grump if anything haha.

Dark leafy green weeds are better than leafy veg. Dandelion is great, as are plantains, clovers, thistle, and cactus pads. Hibiscus both leaves and flowers are good. A wide variety of leafy WEEDS should be the bulk.

In any case, you might want to post your own thread in the introductions section and include a few pics, I'd love to see your melancholy Greek! ?

Send a msg if you want to know more about plant options for his diet, I've done a lot of digging for my own Greek.
 
Top