Tortoise identification - please help me

[Danielturu]

I have a tortoise and I have never seen another like it. I live in Malta, but the tortoise was originally bought from Catania in Sicily about 1987. Can anyone please tell me which type of tortoise it is? Photos of it can be found attached please.

 

[egyptiandan]

You have a Hermanns tortoise It looks to be Testudo hermanni boettgeri, but I would need plastron (bottom of the shell), clean carapace (top of the shell) and head pictures to tell for sure.
This isn't the subspecies (I don't think ) that is native to Sicily.

Danny

 

[HermanniChris]

Looks to most likely be a male Testudo hermanni hermanni with damage to the shell. You can tell by the shape of the head.

 

[Danielturu]

I think it is Hermanni Hermanni. I've just found out that the Hermanni lives in Italy and Sicily too and it was bought from Sicily itself. Is this species rare? Here are the photos you requested.

 

[egyptiandan]

Chris is right it is Testudo hermanni hermanni and a male. It is fairly uncommon in captivity.

Danny

 

[Danielturu]

Thank you so much for the information you provided me. I am trying really hard to get a female but over here in Malta you cannot find tortoises for sale anymore since a few years ago. I desperatley want to get a female tortoise. Now I losy hope in searching in pet shops etc. I shall have to find out if someone has them. But since they are rare in Malta it is very difficult for me. Such a pity when I have a rare species in our country and I can't get a female for mating.

 

[Ozric]

Hi Danielturu! Its a lovely tortoise you have and looks mature. The Testudo Hermanni Hermanni is not a commonly kept tortoise although its needs are the same as the Boettgeri which is much more often found in captivity. Wild populations of this tortoise exist but are under great pressure mainly because of developement around the coastal areas of Italy and the South of France, and changes in agriculture. This tortoise is officially notified as being at risk of extinction. I am sorry to say it would be very difficult for you to find an adult mate for this tortoise even if you were in the centre of mainland Europe where this tortoise is more often kept and bred. Young Hermanni's are bred in European countries but adults are not often offered for sale, and the movement of the tortoises is very much restricted by law to prevent more animals being removed from their habitat. I can imagine that the tortoise would do very well in your climate - here in Scotland I have to provide extra heat and light for them. Nice animal, I'm sure he has a nice life with you even if he doesn't have a mate!!

 

[Danielturu]

Yes, here in Malta we have pretty much the same climate as in Sicily, Southern Italy and Southern France. I keep it in my garden. It has been mine now for about twelve years, so it has grown with me (I am 20) and it spend another ten years at another owners'; he had originally bought 2 of them from Sicily in roughly 1987. But some twelve years ago he hit the other one when he was plouging and she died. It was the female. So he decided to give the other one to me as it was at the risk of suffering the same fate as the other. It was in this way that I acquired it. So it has a very colourful more than 22 years of history.

 

[Ozric]

Daniel do you allow this tortoise to do his own hibernation in the winter time?

 

[Danielturu]

Daniel do you allow this tortoise to do his own hibernation in the winter time?

Yes. He lives in my garden and as the Maltese climate is similar to that of Sicily, its origin, then I leave him in the garden all year round. In Winter he digs up a hole and stays there. As soon as the temperature begins to rise in March he comes out again.
One interesting thing is that the old Maltese people who had tortoises used to put the tortoise in a box in Winter and leave it there. When they hear it scrubbing in March they re-put it in their garden. I don't know if this practise exitsts in other countries, but in Malta it did. I never do it. I just let him free in the garden to take his own pace.

 

[Ozric]

Hi Daniel, yes the box method of hibernation is still used by many people. In the UK a lot of people put their tortoises into a refridgerator for hibernation (thats what I do). Here in the UK the box method can work well for people who have a cold outhouse or a cellar which stays about the same temperature all winter, but where I am the temperature goes up and down all the time and this would wake the tortoise at the wrong time.

Your tortoise is lucky to have such ideal conditions and you can safely let him decide these things. I would think your tortoise has a good chance of a very long and contented life in Malta.

 

[Danielturu]

Hi Daniel, yes the box method of hibernation is still used by many people. In the UK a lot of people put their tortoises into a refridgerator for hibernation (thats what I do). Here in the UK the box method can work well for people who have a cold outhouse or a cellar which stays about the same temperature all winter, but where I am the temperature goes up and down all the time and this would wake the tortoise at the wrong time.

Your tortoise is lucky to have such ideal conditions and you can safely let him decide these things. I would think your tortoise has a good chance of a very long and contented life in Malta.

He could even surpass me, I mean live longer than me! But my greatest disappointment is that I could not buy any tortoises. Here in Malta you cannot find them at shops any more. I desperately wanted another one. I have a really large garden where I can keep them. I am now searching for someone in this tiny country of ours who hatches them and try to get one!

 

[Ozric]

Hi Daniel. There are breeders of this tortoise in Italy and it might be possible for you to get one there, although I know nothing at all about laws that might apply to you taking one home. It could be the case that if you got a tortoise from a breeder who provides official papers (to prove the animal was hatched in captivity) then it might be alright to bring it into Malta.

I think most countries have laws that cover the breeding and sale etc of protected species. Often it is possible to keep and breed such animals in captivity if everything is done in the right way.

I don't know anything about tortoise breeding in Italy. Here is a link to an Italian site. They are concerned with the tortoises in Umbria and have information about the legal situation in Italy regarding tortoises.

http://www.tartoombria.org

This might be of some use. If you find someone in Italy who is willing to help, you never know what might happen! Good luck.

 

[Danielturu]

Hi Daniel. There are breeders of this tortoise in Italy and it might be possible for you to get one there, although I know nothing at all about laws that might apply to you taking one home. It could be the case that if you got a tortoise from a breeder who provides official papers (to prove the animal was hatched in captivity) then it might be alright to bring it into Malta.

I think most countries have laws that cover the breeding and sale etc of protected species. Often it is possible to keep and breed such animals in captivity if everything is done in the right way.

I don't know anything about tortoise breeding in Italy. Here is a link to an Italian site. They are concerned with the tortoises in Umbria and have information about the legal situation in Italy regarding tortoises.

http://www.tartoombria.org

This might be of some use. If you find someone in Italy who is willing to help, you never know what might happen! Good luck.

Yes that's a possibility. But my greatest fear is that you have to leave every animal for quarantine for about 40 days and I don't know if the new tortoise would make it in such harsh circumstances, besides the heavy bureaucracy there is involved. I am now trying to find someone who breeds them locally. Then I don't need any papers, just go and get one, but its really hard nowadays to find one. However, once when I was young like about 11 years old I bought one, because then you could find in shops, and my herman literally killed it. He seems to be so possesive and territorial and always suspicious when someone eneters the garden, even a human. He has been there now for about 12 years and no other creature is allowed in his territory. When the cat enters the garden he goes near her and she leaves because she fears him. The thing is that all the pets we have, my tortoise have seen them as babies and grow. He is the ultimate dominator of everything. It is rather remarkable and I fear that he would not withstand a new tortoise, even for mating!

 

[Ozric]

Daniel your tortoise sounds like quite a handful! If you were able to find another you would need to take great care introducing them and probably make a separate enclosure for the new one where it would be safe.

I hope you let us know how you get on in your search. For a couple of years I put a lot of time and effort into finding some little ones and I was eventually sucessful. Although this was very frustrating for me I was even more excited when it finally worked out.