Testudo hermanni boettgeri

Eastern Hermann's Tortoise

DISTRIBUTION: The Former Yugoslavia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Western Turkey.

EMPIRE STOCK: Exported from Slovenia.

SIZE: Up to 20 cm.

HABITAT: Found in a variety of habitats, most of them dry.

DIET: I feed ours Mazuri Tortoise Diet, Romaine and other greens, strawberries, and cantaloupe. Edible Plants

SEXING: Males have longer thicker tails.

BREEDING: Up to two clutches of 1 to 6, usually 3, eggs are laid per year.

Temperature-dependent Sex Determination.

NOTES:  They are more tolerant of high humidity than the tortoises in the Testudo graeca complex.

Hermann's Tortoises have hybridized with Russian Tortoises in captivity and the two species should not be housed together.

CARE SHEETS: ATP , CTTC , WCT

Testudo hermanni hermanni

Western Hermann's Tortoise

We do not have this subspecies. I have included these pictures for those interested in seeing how they compare to the Easterns.

Male on left and female on the right. Italian specimens.

Male on left and female on the right.

Female of French origin.

Plastron of female.

The "keyhole-like" marking on the 5th vertabral scute is one diagnostic characteristic.

Another characteristic is that the plastron has heavy black markings running most if not all of its length.

Another example of the plastral markings.

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Male on left and female on the right. Italian specimens.

The "keyhole-like" marking on the 5th vertabral scute is one diagnostic characteristic.

Suggested Reading

Fritz, U. et al., 2006. A rangewide phylogeography of Hermann's tortoise, Testudo hermanni (Reptilia: Testudines: Testudinidae): implications for taxonomy. Zoologica scripta 35: 531-543.

Chelonian Library Volume 2: Hermann's Tortoise Boettger's and Dalmatian Tortoises, by Holger Vetter. 2006. 325pp. ISBN 3-89973-602-8.

Die natürliche Haltung und Zucht der Griechischen Landschildkröten, by Wolfgang Wegehaupt. 2003.