![]() Females build nests by digging into the ground, and then deposit their eggs several centimeters deep in the soil. Hermann's tortoises begin mating immediately following hibernation, which ends in late February. Females and males both have multiple mates. Males also compete to mate with females by biting the female's legs, but are not as aggressive as other species of tortoises. It appears that olfactory cues are also used in mate selection, although their exact mechanism is still unknown. Females use visual cues and high-ptched calls that are made by males to choose quality mates. Hermann's tortoises breed seasonally in February after their winter hibernation. After hatching, the hatchlings are at a high risk of predation and stay close to their nests, only leaving their hatching sites after their carapace has completely developed and hardened. However, this patterns follows a bell curve - at 31.5 and 34☌, the sex ratio is nearly 50:50. When the temperature is between 31.5 and 33.5☌, more males than females are born (85 to 90% males at 33☌). Soil temperature directly determines the sex of the hatchling. Range length 120 to 230 mm 4.72 to 9.06 inįor Hermann's tortoise eggs to be able to develop and hatch successfully, the temperature must stay in the range of 23 to 34☌, and mortalty rates are still quite high at the extreme ends of this range.It takes at least 4 years (ir sometimes up to 10) before carapace differences are obvious, as the carapace length must be 10 cm or more to be useful in sex determination. Sex can be identified in juveniles by the combination of a number of subtle differences in the shapes of the tail, carapace, plastron and anal scutes. Females with 4 claws on their front limbs are 4 times as likely to have offspring with the same number of claws. These tortoises can have 4 or 5 front claws/digits, which is apparently strongly influenced by the genetic characteristics of the mother. Both subspecies have distinct dark bands under the shell. ![]() The coloration of the shell varies - the western subspecies is very colorful, while the eastern subspecies is relatively dull. Another unique feature of Hermann's tortoises is a horny scale located on the tail. Hermann's tortoises are unique due to their divided supracaudal scute, which is a scale-like plate located on the tail end of their shell. Females tend to be larger than males and reach sexual maturity at a younger age. ![]() Hermann's tortoises range in size from 120 to 230 mm total length and weigh 2 to 2.5 kg. ( Burke, et al., 1989 Mazzotti, 2004 Rugiero and Luiselli, 2006) Despite being suboptimal, these habitats still allow for the tortoises to actively forage in ground vegetation. Due to habitat destruction within their range, they are also found in habitats such as dry, hilly grasslands or farmland. Females build their nests in the forests, which keeps the eggs isolated from predators. Hermann's tortoises prefer inland and coastal forest habitats. Up to a quarter of the total population is estimated to reside in the Italian peninsula. Hermann’s tortoises, are found along the northern coast of the Mediterranean Sea in western Europe, ranging from Romania and Greece to southern Spain. ![]()
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