Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Here's a pic of the baby Hermanns I got from LLLReptile. She/he looks healthy and ate the first day. My question is though, from everything I've read on the internet, Hermanns are supposed to have 5 claws right? My guy has 4 claws on each foot. Is that maybe a difference between Western and Eastern or what?

Fred

I have recently read an article on the Russian tortoise noting the habitual presence of four claws in some populations of Western Hermanns in Bulgaria.

Western Hermmans are very variable, even within the same populations. Besides, the presence of an undivided supracaudal scute is also commonplace in Western Hermanns.

Eastern ones are a different story. They've got much more defined patterns.

Greetings from Spain

Do you have pictures of the underside of her also a little more of the top and back.

Here is the top view of my Hermann also. Does this help?

Fred,

Congratulations on your new tortoise. It is very cute. Most of my tortoises were obtained as hatchlings. Higher maintenance, but they just seem to bond with you better when they are with you since the beginning. Good luck with him/her.

Michael

Looks to me like you either have an Eastern hermanns (Testudo hermanni boettgeri) or a greek (testudo graeca) tortoise. Does it have a little claw on its tail? Or spurs on its legs? If it has the little claw on its tail its a hermanns, if it has the spurs on the leg its a greek.
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