Help in identification please...

[bedia]

Hi everybody....
This guy, a male, is from a car park in the middle of Istanbul, Turkey. He was hit by a car and the sheel was cracked. I took him in and in over four years he became a part of our family. We have 3 others who I believe are Greeks, but he is much darker and a different shape. Can anyone identify him? I am quite new at this, until we found a hatchling in the garden we just let them be in our garden. Now we want to know )

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Sorry about the pictures but he complains sooo much... Squeells, hisssseeess!K. Had to be really fast )
[attachment=62545[attach]62546[/attach]

 

[Yvonne G]

You've taken some very good pictures (even in spite of his complaining!). I don't know much about the Mediterranean species, but someone will be along soon to help you.

 

[HermanniChris]

Looks like a Testudo graeca ibera and a male.

 

[bedia]

Looks like a Testudo graeca ibera and a male.

Chris, is there a way we can guess his age? Is that why he is so much darker than the others?
Because they are free in an acre of walled garden I wasn't really worried about them. They come out and feed on lettuce and raid our vegetable garden if they want anything, otherwise they eat the weeds and wild grass that takes about half the garden and hide under the old fig tree roots. Just a few weeks ago I found a hatchling that was very cold and 2 eggs that have not hatched. If they are going to reproduce I want to make sure I will get to the eggs before seagulls and crows. Basically I want to know if this will happen next spring and should I interfere or just let them be?
Ohh soo out of my depth here?!!

 

[FLINTUS]

I agree with Chris.

 

[HermanniChris]

There's no way to guess his age but it looks like he's up there. "Up there" could be a pretty high number especially with this species.

The dark coloration is simply variation which is inevitable with Mediterranean tortoises especially T. graeca ssp.

I wouldn't intervene with them since they are in their natural environment but it's up to you. Here, some people will watch nesting females of a certain species and then protect the nest with a wire mesh after the mother is finished covering it. When the babies finally hatch, the mesh is removed so that the neonates can start their lives in the wild.

 

[bedia]

Thank you Chris! Great advice with the wire mesh!