need help identifying my testudo

[robk84]

Hello everyone! This is my first post. I just picked up this little guy a couple of weeks ago from craigslist. I have since named him/her Lenny.. I am glad I did because he was not under a proper lighting and all he was being fed were greens with no grass. I have changed up his diet and given him proper UV lighting. He seems to be doing great eating well and weather permitting we get some natural sun a few times a week.

My question is what is he exactly? He was sold to me as a golden Greek but I just recently have seen pictures of Hermanns that also look like him. It does not show in pictures but his skin and parts of his shell have distinct pinkish peach hues. I called the pet shop that the previous owners got them from and they said they just get whatever in from breeders and sell it how its sold to them, the owner themself does not seem to be a great expert by any means. Any ideas on what species he is exactly? I bought him in part as an act of mercy as I have seen too many tortoises raised under improper conditions. I don't care what he is but would like to know in case I need to tweak his conditions a bit.

 

[peasinapod]

Definitely not a hermann's!

He should be a greek, but I am terrible at identifying the subspecies of the greek tortoises.

 

[robk84]

Yeah I didn't think so either until I google imaged it and saw a few posts on g+ maybe I am just looking at mislabeled pictures.

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, I did an image search on Google for Testudo terrestris hatchling, and they don't look exactly like your new baby. Then I looked at pictures of Testudo Ibera hatchling and it doesn't look the same either. Let's give a shout out to @HermanniChris He may need to see a plastron (underside) shot, but he'll know for sure what you have.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[robk84]

Much to his displeasure attaching a belly shot

 

[VBgecko]

He's still a little guy, so I think that's why you could mistake his little baby body as a Hermans … But his shell pattern looks like my Greek, Yoda …

 

[peasinapod]

Definitely greek with that plastron!

 

[peasinapod]

Definitely greek with that plastron!

In the first picture especially, you can see the "helmet shape" of the carapace that some greeks have. The highest point is also further back which gives it a recognizable shape. Google some pictures of golden greeks, they seem to have that shape quite a lot.

Such a cutie-pie!


(Sorry for so many posts)

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

He's so cute! It's great to know he's getting better care and is doing awesome

 

[robk84]

Thank you, I am sure you are all correct. There seems to be so much variation amongst these guys even in the same species it is confusing.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Thank you, I am sure you are all correct. There seems to be so much variation amongst these guys even in the same species it is confusing.

There does seem to be a lot of greek subspecies !

 

[Moozillion]

Gosh, he's a beauty!!! AND very lucky to have found you!!!

 

[HermanniChris]

It's a Greek for certain and its a T. g. terrestris hatchling most likely. Definitely not ibera.

 

[Jacqui]

Gosh, he's a beauty!!! AND very lucky to have found you!!!

I agree! Love his look.

 

[robk84]

It's a Greek for certain and its a T. g. terrestris hatchling most likely. Definitely not ibera.

Thank you for taking a look. Is there literature out there for these guys? I like to know everything I can about my animals and their history.

 

[Yvonne G]

We have a care sheet for Greek tortoises. It's pinned at the top of our Greek section. It is an overview, and not specifically for 'terrestris.'

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/greek-tortoise-testudo-graeca-care-sheet-overview.87146/