HERMANNS TORTOISE (Testudo hermanni)

FAMILY      Testudinidae

DISTRIBUTION    The Hermanns Tortoise is found throughout most of southern Europe as well as Yugoslavia.

SIZE    The average size for an adult tortoise is around 5 - 7ins rarely exceeding 8ins. The Hermann's tortoise is the smallest of all the Mediterranean tortoises.

LIFESPAN    In captivity the average lifespan is around 25 years with many being passed down family members as they get older.

INTRODUCTION     The Hermann's tortoise is one of three Mediterranean species of tortoise. The other 2 species being Spur thighed and marginated tortoises. They are fairly easy to keep and are much loved in the reptile world.

HOUSING    During the summer months these tortoises are suitable to have a outside life, the area that they are to occupy should have a small but solid fence going round to prevent escaping and there should be some logs etc for them to hide under. You can also provide an area such as a small dog kennel or something similar with a shallow water dish in for them to go in at night. This area should have a wire mesh closure as to prevent predators from getting in. You will also need to have an indoor enclosure for prolonged cold spells, this should be a vivarium with a ceramic heater at one end to provide heat and should have a repti-sun 5.0% uvb bulb in.

SUBSTRATE     The best substrate to use in their housing outside is shredded paper as it is easy to clean out and prevent the growth of bacteria. Other substrates suitable for putting tortoises on when inside are things such as alpha alpha, desert snow and coconut bark.

HEAT & LIGHT      During the summer when the tortoise is outside there is no need to provide heat unless it gets extremely cold at night. If that is the case the tortoise should be put indoors and have a temperature of around 17°c (63°f) for a healthy specimen. The basking area can be allowed to reach temperatures of up to 30°c(86°f).The basking area should be created by using a white reflector bulb with a reflector and should be connected to a thermostat to prevent it overheating.

The Hermanns tortoise need to have uvb lighting for good shell growth, this bulb should be a repti-sun 5.0% or equivalent and should be on for at least 13hrs a day and replaced every 6-12 months as per the manufacturers recommendations.

FEEDING     The tortoises diet should be low in protein, and high in fibre, vitamins and minerals and calcium. They are vegetarian and as such like foods such as dandelion, clover, cabbage, spinach, cress, watercress, beans, peas, broccoli, bean sprouts, courgettes, kale and carrots. Whilst these foods contain the nutrients the tortoise needs it is sometimes a good idea to add something a bit different in the diet to make it more palatable but they should not make up more than 20% of the meal, things such as lettuces, cucumbers, tomatoes, melons, strawberries and other seasonal fruits. They should be fed daily and have the food supplemented with a good calcium and vitamin supplement at least 3 times a week. They should have access to fresh water every day.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS     The Hermann's tortoise is a CITES appendix II animal meaning that  it illegal to collect them from the wild. Therefore any Hermann's tortoise should be sold with a CITES exemption certificate which has the breeders name and address/shop, the country of origin (within the EEC) and the tortoises hatch date. Once the tortoise is sold the certificate has to be transferred to the purchasers name. There is another legal requirement which is required if you intend to use the tortoise for personal gain i.e. breeding, but is recommended anyway as an anti theft measure, and that is that once the tortoise has reached 100mm it has to have a micro chip inserted into the rear left leg.

HIBERNATION     You should not hibernate your tortoise unless it is 100% healthy and hatchlings shouldn't be hibernated for long periods of time. Before hibernation you should check that your tortoise has sufficient fat reserves to survive through hibernation and to do this you use the Jackson's ratio graph. Firstly measure the length of your tortoise’s plastron (underneath) in millimetres; next weigh your tortoise in grams, then using the graph plot your tortoises position against weight and length. If the point is above the top line of the graph, then body fat reserves are ample. If the point is between the two lines then body fat reserves are adequate, but if the point is below the bottom line then body fat reserves are inadequate and hibernation should not be attempted. Please note the Jackson’s ratio is only relevant to the Hermann's and the Spur Thighed tortoise.

When the temperatures start to drop, normally around late October to early November, stop feeding. Tortoises should be “starved” for at least two weeks prior to hibernation. Any food left in the intestine during hibernation will not be digested, it will simply rot causing serious gastrointestinal problems. During this “starvation” period they should be well hydrated. The hibernation temperature should be around 4 - 5°c(-0.5 - 0°f), so for this reason one of the best methods is to use an adapted refrigerator. To do this first remove some of the door seal to allow for air exchange, then fit a small computer fan to avoid thermal gradients between the top and bottom of the refrigerator, then place your tortoise in a box which contains shredded paper or similar in and put it in the refrigerator. Now you turn the electric on and the temperature will slowly drop.

Around late march you can turn the refrigerator off and after about 2 hours place the tortoise into its indoor enclosure to warm back up to around 30°c(86°f). Make sure that there is plenty of fresh water available so as the tortoise can re-hydrate and remove the toxins that have built up over the hibernation period. Some tortoises will feed the same day as coming out of hibernation and some within 24hrs but they should all have eaten within a week.

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS   Captive bred specimens of Hermann's tortoise are usually problem free.