Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi my friend bought a yr old hermans for her sister in-law and as a presant they bought her another or thats what they thought they have just throughly read the cites and in fact the pet shop owner has lied to them its a 3 yr old spur-thighed they live in reading and have brought it to cambridgshire so they canot take it back ...so can spurthigheds and hermans live togther?

Sulcatas are from Africa and Hermann's tortoises are from Europe. It is not a good idea to mix different species of tortoises unless they co-mingle in the wild. The reason is that each type of tortoise has its own "friendly" intestinal bacteria which is beneficial to it, but varies from one species to the next. Since tortoises are known to eat feces, the hermann's tortoise and the sulcata would thereby, ingest intestinal flora not germane to their own kind. As a result, the tortoises could become ill and possibly die. In order to protect both tortoises, they should be raised in separate pens. In addition, the ultimate size of the two types is remarkably disparate with the sulcata reaching a size of approximately 30 to 32 inches and the hermann's tortoise growing to less than 8 inches for the Eastern race and smaller for the Western race. The sulcata would be at an advantage in obtaining most of the food in a competitive situation. The good news is that the care of both is similar.

Janie Malsin
Upscale Reptiles

First you need to tell us what you mean by spur-thighed.

1) Some people mean the tortoise also known as a Greek tortoise and by the Latin name of Testudo graeca. They are closely related to Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni) and roughly the same size and I'm guessing *might* be able to live together, but I'm sure somebody like EJ could give you a better idea. There are also several types (subspecies) of Greek tortoises, and the Golden Greeks may not mix well with other species. Again, EJ would be a good source of info.

2) Then there's the other tortoise that some people call spurred tortoise or spur-thighed or the Sulcata: Geochelone sulcata. Very different animal. Grows large (over 24" and maybe 100 pounds) and aggressive and not a good mate at all for a Greek or Hermann's.

So let us know which it is. If you aren't sure look up Testudo graeca and Geochelone sulcata on Google images and tell us what you've got. Or post an image.

its a greek tortoise