Help identify my tort, please!

[Spin]

We have a tort who's at least 50 years old. Lately, he's been trying to escape (sometimes succeeding!) & we think he's trying to find a mate. We'd like to get another tort but have no idea what breed he is. Every time we think we've worked it out we come across a reason to say he isn't what we think he is! Can anyone help, please?

 

[Sara G.]

Not sure what kind of tort you have there, sorry to say.
Possibly a Greek? But I'm bad with species.

Personally I wouldn't worry about finding a mate for him unless you were planning on breeding torts. You couldn't house the two together as he would endlessly harass the female. So you'd be looking at two separate enclosures for them and only putting them together for breeding.
I would just work on making your enclosure as big and secure as you can possibly manage. Can he see out of his enclosure now? That might be why he's trying to get out so much. Once torts are aware that there's a big ol' world out there--they want out!

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

That's a Greek tortoise.

 

[Spin]

Thanks, Sara, for your comments. Our tort has his own house where he sleeps but has the run of the garden which is about 1/4 acre. He parades all round the perimeters looking for a way out. It seems to be at this time of year when he's been awake for a while. We were told that torts do this when looking for a mate. Regardless of that, he's been in the family for 50 years & he wasn't a youngster when he arrived. We've actually only had him for 2 years. It would be good to know what breed he is.
Sarah, is that a definite?

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm going with Hermanni, but let's send a shout-out to @HermanniChris

I agree with Sara not to look for a mate for him. Just work on making the fences more tortoise-proof and know that he'll get over his urge soon and get back to normal.

 

[JoesMum]

Hello and welcome. I'm pretty sure he's Testudo Graeca. @HermanniChris will be able to tell you.

We have a Greek male who's been with us in the UK for 46 years.

The males get a hormone surge in Spring and nowhere is big enough for them. Joe is just the same and the warm weather this weekend has made him worse - he has trashed several plants today just walking through them.

They do settle down, but it will be a few weeks yet. Keep an eye on his weight and eating. Sometimes they can get so obsessed with sex that eating gets forgotten (I've been there!)

Whatever you do DON'T get him 'a friend'. Torts are solitary creatures. In the wild they roam for miles, meet up to mate and move on. They don't want, need or particularly like company. If you got a second one, it would be harassed and bullied and it would result in the death of the new tort.

You may find these threads helpful

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/outdoor-accommodation-in-a-colder-uk-climate.140866/

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/pairs.34837/

 

[Yvonne G]

I'll never get it. I looked back at the thread on how to tell them apart, and it said the Hermanni has two bands of color on the plastron while the graeca is a big blotch of color. Spin's plastron picture looks like the plastron has two bands that are worn from age, not a big blotch that's worn with age. I'll just stick to allowing others to I.D. these species. I'll never get it.

 

[Yvonne G]

(I forgot to mention - Nice shoes, Spin!!)

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

I'll never get it. I looked back at the thread on how to tell them apart, and it said the Hermanni has two bands of color on the plastron while the graeca is a big blotch of color. Spin's plastron picture looks like the plastron has two bands that are worn from age, not a big blotch that's worn with age. I'll just stick to allowing others to I.D. these species. I'll never get it.

If you zoom in on the plastron shot, you can see the thigh spurs, unless my eyes are deceiving me. I don't think Hermann's have such pronounced leg scales either, but I could be wrong.

 

[JoesMum]

I'll never get it. I looked back at the thread on how to tell them apart, and it said the Hermanni has two bands of color on the plastron while the graeca is a big blotch of color. Spin's plastron picture looks like the plastron has two bands that are worn from age, not a big blotch that's worn with age. I'll just stick to allowing others to I.D. these species. I'll never get it.

Either way, the answer is the same. It's a spring hormone surge that should settle down and he doesn't need or want a friend. These Testudo males of all types can be a menace in middle age (Sorry Joe. I love you really, but I'm still a bit cross with your stomp over the plants today!)

 

[WithLisa]

It's definitely a Greek, but I'm not sure about the subspecies.
@Yvonne G look at that blunt tail, Hermanns tails are pointy with a horn nail.

 

[JoesMum]

Is it male? The tail is very short compared with Joe. The behaviour sounds all male.

 

[HermanniChris]

It's a T. graeca no doubt about it and it's female. Both sexes exhibit this behavior quite regularly.

 

[Big Charlie]

I believe it is normal for torts to patrol their area, often marching up and down along a fence. It doesn't mean they are looking for a mate. They are protecting their territory. Charlie does it quite a bit, mostly along a straight wall on one side of the yard. Where there are impediments, such as bushes he has to go around and can't see over, he doesn't patrol. So you might be able to add obstacles to break up his path.

He becomes amorous with the large smooth rocks in our yard. I would never breed him after reading on the forum that their personalities change for the worse after mating.

 

[JoesMum]

It's a T. graeca no doubt about it and it's female. Both sexes exhibit this behavior quite regularly.

Thanks Chris

So you have a female who is patrolling her territory. She still doesn't want a friend - in fact she's probably making sure that nobody else invades her patch of good things to eat