Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just curious if anyone can shed a little light on this tortoise.

Turtles and tortoises are not my fortay, I only deal with ball pythons. I would appreciate even a guess as to what this is, and/or a referral to someone that would know. A guy has this peticular animal is offering it to me for 100 bucks. He says he thinks it is a mediteranean tortoise and its about 5 years old, but wasnt sure. Jeff

Hi, your tort appears to be a Med. Spur Thigh, testudo graeca. You can find basic info at http://chelonia.org/Articles/iberacare.htm
$100 is a bit pricey considering that most are wildcaught petstore animals, but worth the cost if its captive-bred and has been kept isolated from any petstore/wc torts as this species is known to suffer from chronic respiratory infections that spread easily from animal to animal. I have a "Golden Greek" male who's been in and out of my herp vet's office to treat resp. problems due to humidity issues (they come from arid rocky areas, not desert, where they can seek out humidity in burrows when necessary and they don't fare as well with constant humid coastal air like what I have in the gulf coast).

I appreciate it very much. I just got off the phone with them and it is a female that is 5 years old. They couldnt tell me if it was CB or not, but has been in perfect health the entire time. They also said it should be hibernating right now, but changed the cage and lighting. If it is a good deal, I will pick it up. I appreciate the response. Jeff