Diet

African Sulcata Tortoises have voracious appetites. Providing a proper diet is critical for Sulcata Tortoise health. They require a diet high in fiber and calcium and low in fat and protein. In the wild, Sulcatas graze, similarly to cows or sheep, and the desert vegetation is often coarse and of poor nutritional quality. Offering a diet of higher nutritional quality can lead to malformations of the shell, too rapid of growth rate, diarrhea, and other problems. Grass hay or hay flakes most closely resemble their natural vegetation.

Grass hay and hay flakes may be bought commercially or grass pasture seed may be purchased and grown. Clover is another source of forage. Dark green leafy vegetables should be offered, but should make up less than 25% of the diet. Appropriate items include turnip greens, endive, escarole, dandelions, and small amounts of romaine lettuce (not iceberg lettuce). Spinach, beet greens, carrot tops, kale, broccoli, and especially rhubarb, contain high amounts of oxalates which bind calcium, so these should be offered in limited quantities, if at all. Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, and mustard greens contain substances called "goitrogens" which can affect thyroid function, although this effect is seldom seen unless large amounts of these foods are fed. Small amounts of strawberries, bananas, melon, berries, and apples may be given. A calcium supplement needs to be given regularly. A vitamin/mineral supplement is also recommended. Tortoises are herbivores, so meat-based food items should not be fed.

Reproduction

In the wild, reproduction occurs most often right after the rainy season — September through November — but can occur anytime from June through March. Males typically become very vocal during mating. As the eggs are developing inside the female, her appetite will decrease. She will become restless as she begins to roam looking for a suitable nesting site. She may excavate several nests before she selects one. The female will dig a large nest, approximately two feet in diameter and several inches deep and deposit a clutch of eggs, 15-30 or more. Tortoises in warmer climates that are kept outdoors for most of the year may have two clutches. After all the eggs are laid, the female will fill in the nest, covering the eggs with the soil and sand that was excavated.

The eggs incubate for about eight months. Hatchlings will emerge from the nest and will be 1½-2 inches in carapace length and weigh less than one ounce. They are aggressive and active, ramming into almost anything kept in their enclosure.

Hatchlings may be kept indoors in a dry aquarium or vivarium. The substrate should be edible, such as alfalfa hay. (Alfalfa is not appropriate for adults.) The enclosure should be kept no cooler than 72°F with a basking area of 95-110°F. 10-12 hours per day of UVB lighting is necessary for healthy growth.

Hatchlings may not start eating right away. Food should be offered daily until they start to feed, then every other day after they begin eating. They tend to like darker greens such as alfalfa, kale, dandelion, collards, and grasses. Multivitamins and a calcium supplement may be added to their food.

Hatchlings kept outdoors should be provided the same housing requirements as adults.

Sulcatas grow rapidly and will reach their full adult size within 15-20 years.