[5] Although some factors indicate this might be correct,[6] the data at hand are not unequivocally in support and the relationships between Hermann's and the Russian tortoise among each other and to the other species placed in Testudo are not robustly determined.

[7] Of note, the rate of evolution as measured by mutations accumulating in the mtDNA differs markedly, with the eastern populations having evolved faster.

While this has no profound implications for taxonomy of this species, apart from suggesting that two other proposed subspecies are actually just local forms at present, it renders the use of molecular clocks in Testudo even more dubious and unreliable than they are for tortoises in general.

The subspecies T. h. hercegovinensis, known as the Dalmatian tortoise,[10] (Balkans coast) and the local T. h. peloponnesica (southwestern Peloponnesus coast) are now included here; they constitute local forms that are not yet geographically or in other ways reproductively isolated and apparently, derive from relict populations of the last ice age.

However, molecular evidence suggests extant populations of both this species and Emys orbicularis on Sardinia were actually introduced in recent times.

Young animals and some adults have attractive black and yellow-patterned carapaces, although the brightness may fade with age to a less distinct gray, straw, or yellow coloration.

[13] Their scaly limbs are greyish to brown, with some yellow markings, and their tails bear a spur (a horny spike) at the tip.

Early in the morning, the animals leave their nightly shelters, which are usually hollows protected by thick bushes or hedges, to bask in the sun and warm their bodies.

Certain plants such as dandelion and kale are high in oxalic acid, which can build up over time causing renal failure, it is therefore important to carefully monitor their diet and give a varied selection of wildflower leaves.

Experiments have shown they also possess a good sense of time, the position of the sun, the magnetic lines of the earth, and for landmarks.

In late February, Hermann's tortoises emerge from under bushes or old rotting wood, where they spend the winter months hibernating, buried in a bed of dead leaves.

[14] Between May and July, female Hermann's tortoises deposit between two and 12 eggs into flask-shaped nests dug into the soil,[14] up to 10 cm (3.9 in) deep.

[13] Young Hermann's tortoises emerge just after the start of the heavy autumn rains in early September and spend the first four or five years of their lives within just a few metres of their nests.

[14] If the rains do not come, or if nesting took place late in the year, the eggs will still hatch, but the young will remain underground and not emerge until the following spring.

Until the age of six or eight, when the hard shell becomes fully developed, the young tortoises are very vulnerable to predators and may fall prey to rats, badgers, magpies, foxes, wild boar, and many other animals.

Captive bred animals can be kept in the basement in a roomy rodent-proof box with a thick layer of dry leaves.

[11] A UVB bulb is also needed to help process and create vitamin D3 and prevents issues such as metabolic bone disease.

This article incorporates text from the ARKive fact-file "Hermann's tortoise" under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License and the GFDL.