Hermann’s tortoise, Testudo hermanni

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hermann tortoise for sale are one of the most popular tortoise species in the exotic pet hobby. All of the Hermann’s tortoises at Swell Reptiles are captive bred in the UK, however, they naturally roam a wide range across Southern Europe. The species Testudo hermanni is comprised of two main subspecies,

the western subspecies (Testudo hermanni hermanni) and eastern subspecies (Testudo hermanni boettgeri), both of which are considered to be threatened species in the wild.

The eastern Hermann’s tortoise can be found in Greece, Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia, and is considerably larger than the western subspecies. The western Hermann’s tortoise, however, can be found roaming parts of Italy, Sardinia, Corsica, the Balaeric Islands, France and Spain and tend to have light claws, compared with the darker claws of the eastern subspecies.

These tortoises are very tame and will tolerate handling particularly young tortoises, however, handling can become difficult as they grow and they may become stressed when suspended, so they are best interacted with on their own terms whilst roaming and feeding. Hermann’s tortoises can outcompete one another if kept in pairs or groups, often leading to health issues in the smaller or weaker individuals, therefore they should be kept alone.

What type of enclosure should a Hermann’s tortoise have?

Hermann’s tortoises are prone to respiratory infections when kept in a low-ventilated enclosure. Due to this, we highly recommend the use of an open-topped tortoise table over an enclosed vivarium. For some people, an open-topped set-up is not an option, in these instances, a wooden vivarium can be used but you must take additional measures to increase ventilation, for example by drilling holes into the ceiling panel.

Hermann’s tortoises are natural roamers, so will appreciate a large enclosure to roam around. We recommend a minimum enclosure size of 150 x 90xm (5 x 3ft) for a fully grown adult,

although smaller enclosures can be used for a baby tortoise. We do not stock an enclosure large enough to house a fully grown adult,

which is usually required to be a custom-build, however,

they take a long time to get this large, so we have a wide range of options and even full Tortoise Starter Kits to choose from until the time comes.

We recommend always keeping your Hermann’s tortoise indoors,

as it can be difficult to provide all of the correct husbandry parameters to tortoises that are kept in outdoor enclosures,

due to fluctuating temperatures and humidity levels and a general lack of electricity sockets in gardens and outhouses, which can often prevent outdoor tortoises from being provided with heat or UVB. It is for these reasons, that indoor tortoises tend to be much healthier and live longer lives than those kept in an outdoor enclosure.