Testudo hermanni hermanni from Different Localities

[Kirkie]

Chris,

This is a fantastic document. Just been looking at some photo's of my own (which I've long thought to be Sardinian) and I see they have the U shape to the front of the second vertibral scute, but with five light coloured foreclaws.

[Hanako]

Hi,
I am wondering, all these pictures of Hermanni Hermanni still have quite a lot of yellow bits in it. Mine is nearly all black on his top shell. I got him from the Wilton tortoise shop 9 years ago (I didn't know any different than to buy from a shop, whereas now I am buying from breeders). On the paperwork it says country of Origin Germany. I hoped that your guide would help me understand where my boy is originally from because I doubt Germany is his country of origin (he may have been born there to a breeder or breeding farm, but I don't think he would live there in the nature). His painting on his top shell is not similar to any of those pictures, although he appears to be Hermanni-Hermanni - he has the keyhole, the long black marks at the bottom shell etc. I wonder if you can have a guess where he originates from.

I will send photos as soon as my computer and my camera become friends again. (at the moment the computer keeps writing that the device has not been recognised, which is ridiculous because I have downloaded photos from that particular camera many times!) Oh dear, the technology!

[NATURALIS]

Originally Posted by Hanako

Hi,
I am wondering, all these pictures of Hermanni Hermanni still have quite a lot of yellow bits in it. Mine is nearly all black on his top shell. I got him from the Wilton tortoise shop 9 years ago (I didn't know any different than to buy from a shop, whereas now I am buying from breeders). On the paperwork it says country of Origin Germany. I hoped that your guide would help me understand where my boy is originally from because I doubt Germany is his country of origin (he may have been born there to a breeder or breeding farm, but I don't think he would live there in the nature). His painting on his top shell is not similar to any of those pictures, although he appears to be Hermanni-Hermanni - he has the keyhole, the long black marks at the bottom shell etc. I wonder if you can have a guess where he originates from.

I will send photos as soon as my computer and my camera become friends again. (at the moment the computer keeps writing that the device has not been recognised, which is ridiculous because I have downloaded photos from that particular camera many times!) Oh dear, the technology!

ive seen a few now from wiltons most turn out crosses , but some pictures would help

[Ozric Jonathan]

Hi there. The colours do vary quite a lot and some are much darker than others. I have a couple that have a lot of black on the carapace and they are definitely hermanni hermanni. Wiltons were getting some of these tortoises through their German contacts but a lot of those were bred in Turkey. There are a lot of hermanni hermanni breeders in Germany.

Some people see various regional types among the hermanni hermanni. These are not officially recognised.

If you post photos we'll be happy to have a go.

[EJ]

How do you determine they are crosses. Ricky has some pretty good connections.

Originally Posted by NATURALIS

ive seen a few now from wiltons most turn out crosses , but some pictures would help

[EJ]

There are usually variances in any population that is isolated.

Originally Posted by Ozric Jonathan

Hi there. The colours do vary quite a lot and some are much darker than others. I have a couple that have a lot of black on the carapace and they are definitely hermanni hermanni. Wiltons were getting some of these tortoises through their German contacts but a lot of those were bred in Turkey. There are a lot of hermanni hermanni breeders in Germany.

Some people see various regional types among the hermanni hermanni. These are not officially recognised.

If you post photos we'll be happy to have a go.

[Hanako]

Hi,
I contacted Wilton pet centre and I was told that the Hermanni Hermanni they were selling are originally from Italy. I started reading a book "Hermann's Tortoise, Testudo beottgeri, hercegovinensis and hermanni" by Holger Vetter and it seems that the Italian ones have some variability within them and that they are not quite the same as Hermanni Hermanni from south of France and from Spain, although they still clasiffy as Hermanni Hermanni. (sorry, I can't describe it any better, English is not my first language. If you are interested, maybe read pages 36-40)

Anyway, I will send you the photos as soon as I get them into the computer. What can I do if my computer does not seem to recognise neither of our two cameras nor a card reader? (it did recognised all those in the past; now it is writing that the device has not been recognised. I tried several of those USB holes and it is the same result.) I am hoping that if I take the SD card to a photo shop, they will transfer it for me on a CD and then it will be no problem for my computer. Is there anything else that can be done to get the photos into computer? Maybe reinstall the programs that came with the cameras? Surely I couldn't have accidentally deleted programs for two cameras? Besides, one would think that windows will download it automatically? (I am sorry, I am so computer illiterate! One wouldn't believe how hard it can be for me to post a few photos here!)

[Hanako]

Originally Posted by Ozric Jonathan

Hi there. The colours do vary quite a lot and some are much darker than others. I have a couple that have a lot of black on the carapace and they are definitely hermanni hermanni. Wiltons were getting some of these tortoises through their German contacts but a lot of those were bred in Turkey. There are a lot of hermanni hermanni breeders in Germany.

Some people see various regional types among the hermanni hermanni. These are not officially recognised.

If you post photos we'll be happy to have a go.

Yes, mine has on his certificate that he was bread in Germany. I am pretty sure that mine is 'proper' Hermanni Hermanni because he has all the signs that he is supposed to have. Just the colours are so different. Very deep colours, but different shade of yellow and much more black. In fact, the top shell is mostly black with yellow just going around the shields (I haven't learned the correct terminology yet).

[EJ]

If you have done any kind of program work on your computer you might have lost the drivers for those accessories. Re installing the programs that came with the units should work.

Originally Posted by Hanako

Hi,
I contacted Wilton pet centre and I was told that the Hermanni Hermanni they were selling are originally from Italy. I started reading a book "Hermann's Tortoise, Testudo beottgeri, hercegovinensis and hermanni" by Holger Vetter and it seems that the Italian ones have some variability within them and that they are not quite the same as Hermanni Hermanni from south of France and from Spain, although they still clasiffy as Hermanni Hermanni. (sorry, I can't describe it any better, English is not my first language. If you are interested, maybe read pages 36-40)

Anyway, I will send you the photos as soon as I get them into the computer. What can I do if my computer does not seem to recognise neither of our two cameras nor a card reader? (it did recognised all those in the past; now it is writing that the device has not been recognised. I tried several of those USB holes and it is the same result.) I am hoping that if I take the SD card to a photo shop, they will transfer it for me on a CD and then it will be no problem for my computer. Is there anything else that can be done to get the photos into computer? Maybe reinstall the programs that came with the cameras? Surely I couldn't have accidentally deleted programs for two cameras? Besides, one would think that windows will download it automatically? (I am sorry, I am so computer illiterate! One wouldn't believe how hard it can be for me to post a few photos here!)

[Hanako]

Hi,
I posted my Hermanni Hermanni in this thread (the second tortoise, not the first one).

http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/for...045#post602045