Meet the Animal Park's African Spurred Tortoise
Centrochelys sulcata
Werst
About African Spurred Tortoises
NATIVE RANGE
Along the southern edge of the Sahara Desert in Northern Africa. They’re typically found in semi-arid grasslands, scrub, and savannah areas.
DIET
These tortoises are herbivorous (i.e., plant eaters). Staple foods include grasses, flowers, weeds, and succulent plants, upon which it relies for water.
In human care, these tortoises also receive supplements of calcium and vitamin D3.
BEHAVIOR
They are most active at dusk or dawn (aka “crepuscular”) and generally bask in the morning to raise their body temperature after the chill of the night.
FASCINATING FACTS
- The name “sulcata” is a Latin word for “furrow”; furrows are found on the tortoise’s back between each scute, the large scale-like structures made up of keratin (like fingernails) that cover the shell.
- They can go weeks without food or water, and when they find a water source, they can drink up to 15 percent of their body weight.
- These reptiles find relief from the desert heat by digging burrows.
