Western Hermanni Locale

dezaxatul

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Nov 4, 2016
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12
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Bucharest, Romania
Hello,

I intend to buy a CB (western) testudo hermanni hermanni hatchling in the near future.
It will be my first tortoise. I love these shelled little things. I wanted a tortoise ever since I was a little kid.
I find them fascinating little creatures.

Now that I'm moving from my parents house, I could offer the little one the space and conditions he needs.
I've read a lot about their needs in terms of space, heating, humidity, lightning, diet, etc and I can offer everything, except an outdoor enclosure.

Anyway, what I wanted to ask is..
does anyone have any (hands on) experience with any of the following locales of T. hermanni hermanni:
Apuglia (Itally), Mallorca (Spain), Sicily (Italy)
and could give me some information about the differences between these locales (besides size and coloration)?

According to the information I was able to find, tortoises from Apuglia and Mallorca are relatively similar in size with maybe a slightly smaller size for Mallorca and more beautiful coloration for Apuglia.
Is this information accurate? Ofc, I understand there may be variations between tortoises from the same locale, but I wanted to hear from someone who actually breeds (or has experience) with them. Which one do you like the most and why? Are some locales more sensitive than others? Or more active or shy?

I was leaning towards Apuglia due to the smaller size and beautiful coloration.

The reason why I'm asking only about these locales is because those are the only ones that are somewhat available to me. There are absolutely no tortoise breeders in my country (that I know of). The closest one that I was able to find is in the nearby country, 800km+ away.

PS: I live in Romania. Before I decided to get a hermanni I was really into kleinmanni. But I think hermanni is more appropriate for the climate here, don't you think? (not that it would matter too much since it will stay mostly indoors). plus, hermanni is probably more personable? is that true, considering both are CB?

Sorry for the long post! <3
 

Tom

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The one and only person on this forum that has the first hand experience you need is @HermanniChris

I hope you and he will have this conversation publicly, so the rest of us can learn too.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Like Tom says, Chris will be able to help you. He keeps his Hermanni all separate by location and can I.D. the ones and where they come from.
 

HermanniChris

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Thanks Tom and Yvonne.

The two locales you are describing (Apulia and Mallorca) are somewhat similar in size and yes Apulia is known to be much more colorful.

Have you visited my site dedicated to T. h. hermanni? It's hermannihaven.com

On that site, I thoroughly describe most known locales, the understanding of what the western Hermann's tortoise actually is and details on properly making an outdoor habitat for them. There is also a mini documentary on the site about their care which was filmed here last summer for the TSA. Hopefully it all helps.

Don't hesitate with any further questions just please know that I am in the middle of a huge move as we just purchased a new home and land and we are beyond busy relocating ourselves and all our tortoises.

Chris
 
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