Grasses and hay: Sulcata tortoises NEED access to grasses and hay on which to graze.In captivity, they need to be able to graze on pesticide- and herbicide-free grasses and weeds. The phrase used most commonly by sulcata owners to describe their tortoises is “eating machine.” Sulcatas graze and forage for hours during the day. Provide an interesting terrain by leaving (or building) some low hummocks, smooth rocks, pieces of wood, clumps of weeds and edible plants. Provide a cluster of sturdy, low growing plants they can crowd in amongst. Tortoises do not bask on the bare open ground. Sulcatas are voracious, if not always smart, eaters and will ingest anything small enough and colorful enough. Steps, dogs, raccoons and children are among some of the dangers that must be guarded against. Keep dangerous objects out of their area.
Sulcatas also need to burrow away from the heat and do so by retreating to their pallets or into muddy wallows where they will stay for hours, flipping cool mud up onto their backs. If they flip onto their backs and are not able to right themselves, they may die. Care must be taken to assure they are not given the opportunity to climb things that are too steep resulting in their toppling over. Like many tortoises, they are also climbers. Whether housed indoors or out, Sulcatas roam about and are voracious eaters. Sulcatas like to move around and are very strong - they must have a large area in which to freely and widely roam. While they can tolerate some surprisingly low temperatures, they cannot be allowed to get both chilled and wet or kept outdoors in chill, damp weather. Unlike the California desert tortoises, the sulcatas do not hibernate. In captivity, a similarly hot and dry environment must be provided year round. Sulcatas are, like most turtles and tortoises native to dry areas, extremely efficient in their use of water. Burrows may average 30 inches in depth some dig tunnel systems extending 10 feet or more underground. Towards this end, they will excavate pallets or burrows in the ground to get to areas with higher moisture levels in the wild, they may spend the hottest part of the day in these microhabitats. To make the most of available moisture, their skin is resistant to fluid loss but, when exposed to moisture, may become highly permeable. Sulcatas come from some of the Sahel, the hottest, driest area in Africa. The oldest recorded specimen in captivity, also at the Giza Zoological Gardens, was 54 years of age. The largest on record was a male resident of the Giza Zoological Gardens (Egypt) who weighed in at 232 lb (105.5 kg) and measured 41.6 inches (104 cm) over the carapace (Flower, 1925, in Stearns). The sulcata is the largest of the African mainland tortoise, with specimens easily reaching 24-30 inches (60-75 cm) in carapace length and 80-110 pounds (36-50 kg). Sulcata tortoises are native to more northern parts of Africa, ranging from the southern edge of the Sahara down through the arid countries, including Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, the Sudan, and Ethiopia, up through the dry, hot Massaua coast bordering the Red Sea.Ĭaptive bred and imported Sulcatas can be found increasingly found in the pet trade.
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