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The first thing you should realize about your sulcata tortoise is that it WILL get BIG!
Although sulcata hatchlings are cute and tiny and will easily fit in the palm of your hand, they will grow up and grow big -- in fact, sulcata are the third largest species of tortoises in the world. Only Galapagos and Aldabra tortoises get bigger! You can expect an adult sulcata to reach at least 18 inches (45 cm) in shell length, and 70 to 100 pounds (30 to 45 kg) in weight. And if your tortoise turns out to be the chelonian equivalent of Shaquille O'Neal, it might reach 24 to 30 inches (60 to 76 cm) in shell length, and around 150 lbs. (68 kg) in weight!
Species Name
New owners often (and erroneously) refer to these tortoises as "African Spur-Thighed Tortoises." This can create a lot of confusion with a completely different tortoise species from the Mediterranean area. Experienced owners tend to avoid this confusion by referring to their tortoises as "sulcata tortoises," based on the correct scientific name (Geochelone sulcata). That's why we use the term "sulcata tortoises" throughout this website.
[The "true" spur-thighed tortoises that originate in the areas around the Mediterranean Sea belong to a completely different complex of tortoises. They also require completely different care than sulcata tortoises. The scientific name for the whole complex (or Genus) of Mediterranean-area spur-thighed tortoises is Testudo. There are various species within the Testudo genus. The most commonly available ones in pet stores are Testudo graeca, Testudo hermanni, Testudo ibera, and Testudo kleinmanni. These are all commonly referred to as "Mediterranean Spur-Thighed tortoises."]
Housing and heating requirements
Sulcata tortoises are native to the semi-arid Sahel region in Africa (loosely defined as the region just south of the Sahara Desert). They have evolved to deal with a warm, dry environment with lots of natural sunlight, so their habitat in your home or yard should be set up with this fact in mind.
You need to provide your tortoise with daytime temperatures between approximately 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit (23 to 29 degrees Celsius). Always make sure that your tortoise has access to cooler areas or shade so that it can cool down when necessary. Nighttime temperatures should be lower than the daytime temperatures, but should not be allowed to drop below 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius).
Note that sulcata tortoises DO NOT hibernate during the winter -- in their native environment, winter is a dry season, not a cold season. If you live somewhere that has cold, snowy winters, you must be able to provide large, secure indoor quarters (along with appropriate heat and UVB light) for your sulcata tortoise.
Aquariums of any size are NOT suitable for sulcata tortoises. A tortoise table is a much better way to provide an indoor enclosure for juvenile sulcata. A tortoise table provides more room and better air circulation than a mere aquarium. We provide photographs and plan drawings of the tortoise tables that we've built on the HOUSING page of this website.
At some point, your tortoise will become large enough that it will be inconvenient to keep indoors. When this happens, you will need to construct a heated, secure tortoise shed to serve as the tortoise's nighttime home. We describe the requirements for such a shed on the HOUSING page.
UVB Light requirements
Because they are from a very sunny, semi-arid environment, sulcata tortoises require a great deal of light to stay healthy and active; without high light levels, these tortoises can become lethargic. Sulcata tortoises also require daily exposure to UVB light to help them produce proper levels of Vitamin D3 in their bodies. Vitamin D3 is essential for the effective metabolism of calcium from food -- tortoises that lack sufficient levels of Vitamin D3 cannot build healthy bones and shells, no matter how much calcium they eat.
Sunlight is the single best source of UVB radiation, so the best and safest way to provide Vitamin D3 to your tortoise is to allow it to go outdoors and be exposed to sunlight for at least 20 minutes per day. If this is not possible where you live, then you must provide the tortoise with an artificial UVB light.
We highly recommend using a combination UV and heat bulb with your sulcata tortoise. These bulbs are self-ballasted mercury vapor bulbs that put out a great deal of UV as well as a good deal of heat. (Be aware that, for safety reasons, you need to use a clamp lamp or reflector lamp with a ceramic socket with these bulbs.) Please see our LINKS page for online sources for these bulbs.
NOTE: As a "substitute" for UV exposure, some pet stores sell "Solar Drops" or other products that contain high levels of Vitamin D. DO NOT use these products! Giving your tortoise large doses of Vitamin D orally or by injection can be dangerous -- or even fatal.
Feeding your tortoise
These tortoises thrive when they are allowed to graze at will in a large, safely enclosed, outdoor yard planted with a variety of grasses and edible weeds such as dandelion, mallow, plaintain (Plantago species), clover and so on. Make sure that the grasses and weeds have not been treated with pesticides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers.
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DO NOT ATTEMPT to maintain your sulcata tortoise on the following foods:
* A steady diet of fruit and vegetables
* Cat or dog food of any kind
* Canned or dry commercial tortoise food, no matter who manufactures it
Want to know why we say this? Read our Diet Page
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Grass hay (NOT alfalfa hay) IS a good staple food for sulcata. Grass hay is usually sold for horses, so you may find local suppliers by calling feed stores in your area. If you cannot find grass hay in your area, please see our LINKS page for suppliers that will ship grass hay throughout North America.
Calcium and vitamin supplements
Sulcata hatchlings and juveniles grow relatively quickly, so they need additional calcium in their diets along with daily exposure to the UV radiation in sunlight.
You can buy calcium supplements for reptiles at pet stores or at various websites on the Internet. However, a much cheaper alternative is plain, powdered limestone (calcium carbonate), which is usually sold as a supplement for poultry. You can usually purchase a 50-pound bag of powdered calcium carbonate for less than $10 at feed stores. The best way to provide any calcium supplement is to sprinkle it lightly over dandelion greens (or any type of edible weeds) and offer it to your tortoise at least once per week.
Vitamin supplements for reptiles are also available. Use these in the same way that you use the calcium supplements (sprinkled lightly over greens), but use them sparingly, and only once a week at most, because over-supplementing with vitamins does as much or more harm than non-supplementing. Once a week is plenty for vitamin supplements!
Water requirements
Tortoises do require some water! Dehydration is probably the most common problem that hatchling tortoises can experience and it can actually be fatal to them.
Always make sure your tortoise has access to a water bowl of some type. The water bowl should be large enough for the tortoise to climb into, and shallow enough that the tortoise won't drown in it. The large plastic or terra cotta saucers that go underneath potted plants make excellent water bowls. Plastic saucers are much easier to clean and sterilize than the terra cotta ones. You can purchase these saucers at almost any home improvement or gardening supply store.
An alternative for larger tortoises is to use a round plastic snow saucer. These are typically sold in the sporting goods department of Target, Wal-Mart, etc. You can get them for less than $5 each when these stores clear out their winter inventory in early spring.
The smaller a tortoise is, the more easily it can become dehydrated. Therefore, if you have a hatchling or juvenile (less than 5 years of age) tortoise, you should provide a supplemental humidity source in the tortoise's enclosure OR soak their tort in shallow water regularly to make sure that the tort stays properly hydrated.
Supplemental humidity sources
Very small tortoises can become severely dehydrated -- literally overnight -- if conditions are not right to prevent it. You can help prevent this by providing an area in the tortoise's enclosure that has higher humidity. This can be a hide box with a dampened sponge attached inside it, or an area filled with a moisture-holding substrate like Bed-A-Beast® where the tortoise can dig in and sleep overnight.
Soaking your tortoise
Some owners choose to soak their tortoises in addition to providing a water bowl and a higher-humidity sleeping area. Hatchling (less than 1 year old) torts can be soaked every day, since they are the most likely to become dehydrated. Juvenile tortoises (between the ages of 1 year and 5 years) should be soaked two or three times per week. If you have an adult sulcata tortoise, make sure you provide it with a very shallow pond so that it can walk into the water to drink and soak as necessary.
The water in which you soak a tortoise should be comfortably warm -- but not hot. The water level should be no deeper than the base of the tort's neck. It's best to use some sort of plastic container that you can clean thoroughly after each use. Your tortoise may poop when placed into warm water, so be prepared to change the water at least once during each soak. Soaking time can range from 5 minutes to 15 minutes -- just don't let the water cool down too much. After the soak, dry the tortoise off with paper towels before you put it back into its pen or enclosure. (After all, you don't like to run around the house without drying off after your bath, do you?)
Other sources for good care information
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