The Spurred Tortoise Diet

With a healthy diet, the shell of the spurred tortoise will be smooth.

One of the most common causes of health problems in the African spurred tortoise is an improper diet. Feeding it a diet that is too high in protein or has too much or too little calcium can result in pyramiding (the overgrowth of the top shell where it looks like several pyramids growing out of the shell), jaw malformations, soft shells or other growth problems. A healthy diet that meets the dietary needs of a spurred tortoise prevents many of the common health problems associated with these pets.

Dietary Requirements

The spurred tortoise diet must be "high in fiber, low in protein and very low in fat" states tortoise expert Russ Gurley in "Sulcatas; African Spurred Tortoises in Captivity." As a pet, it is too easy to provide foods that are high in nutrition, which is actually the opposite of what these tortoises need. The goal is to replicate their native wild diet, which is low in nutrition.

Grazing

These tortoise naturally spend their day grazing on grasses and other plant matter in the wild. Likewise as a pet, these tortoises need to be provided with the opportunity to feed throughout the day. This means not giving them just a large pile of food once a day, but opportunities to seek out and find naturally growing foods in their habitat.

Naturally Growing Food

The bulk of a pet spurred tortoise's daily diet should grow right in their outdoor habitat. Planted grasses, clover and dandelions will provide them with much of the nutrition that meets their particular needs. Various flowers such as roses (with thorns removed), hibiscus and petunias are also relished by spurred tortoises and good for them. Regular offers of tree branches with leaves, such as mulberry, can also be part of their regular diet.

Supplemental Foods

Daily offerings of fruits and vegetables will supplement the main diet of grasses. Good foods include romaine lettuce, kale, carrots, squash, alfalfa hay and spineless cactus. Fruits high in sugar such as banana, apples and pears should be considered treats and fed only rarely according to Gurley.

Vitamins

Once or twice a week adult tortoises need a reptile vitamin supplement sprinkled on their supplemental foods. Young tortoises and egg laying females will need these vitamins two to three times a week. These vitamins are available at any reptile retailer.

References

• "A Beginner's Guide to Leopard and Other South African Tortoise"; Misty Corton; 2000
• "General Care and Maintenance of Popular Tortoises"; Philippe de Vosjoli; 1996
• "Sulcatas: African Spurred Tortoises in Captivity"; Russ Gurley; 2005