User:Bush 007/African spurred tortoise

What the Lead was: The African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata), also called the sulcata tortoise, is a species of tortoise inhabiting the southern edge of the Sahara desert in Africa. It is the third-largest species of tortoise in the world, the largest mainland species of tortoise, and the only extant species in the genus 'Centrochelys. '

What it will be: The African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata), also called the sulcata tortoise, is a species of tortoise inhabiting the southern edge of the Sahara desert across central Africa. It is the largest mainland species of tortoise in the world, and the third-largest in the world. It is the last remaining species in its genus, Centrochelys, with five other species already extinct.

Current topics: taxonomy and Etymology, range and habitat, diet, breeding,

current Taxonomy and Etymology: Its specific name sulcata is from the Latin word sulcus meaning "furrow" and refers to the furrows on the tortoise's scales.

What I will change it too: The African spurred tortoise is apart of the:


 * Animalia kingdom
 * Bilateral Subkingdom
 * Deuterostomia Infrakingdom
 * Chordata Phylum
 * Vertebrata Subphylum
 * Gnathostomata Infraphylum
 * Tetrapoda superclass
 * Reptilia class
 * Testudines order
 * Crytodira suborder
 * Testudinoidea superfamily
 * Testudinidae family
 * Centrochelys genus

The taxonomic species name is Centrochelys sulcata and is otherwise known as C. sulcata. Its specific name sulcata is from the Latin word sulcus meaning "furrow" and refers to the furrows on the tortoise's scales.

Range and habitat
The African spurred tortoise is native to the Sahara Desert and the Sahel, a transitional ecoregion of semiarid grasslands, savannas, and thorn shrublands found in the countries of Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen and possibly in Somalia, Algeria, Benin, and Cameroon. It is possibly extirpated from Djibouti and Togo. They are found on hills, stable dunes, and flat areas with shrubs and high grass. In these arid regions, the tortoise excavates burrows in the ground to get to areas with higher moisture levels, and spends the hottest part of the day in these burrows. This is known as aestivation. In the wild, they may burrow very deep; up to 15 m deep and 30 m long. Plants such as grasses and succulents grow around their burrows if kept moist and in nature they continue to grow for the tortoise to eat if the soil is replenished with its feces. Sulcata tortoises found in the Sudanese part of their range may reach significantly greater size at maturity than those found in other regions.

Reproduction
Reproduction occurs from September to April. Males will compete in sexual combat with the winner usually being the larger of the two. Females tend to lay about 2-3 clutches of eggs with each clutch containing from 14-40 eggs.

Conservation Status
The status of C. sulcata is currently ranked as an endangered species. . The species faces threats from livestock as they have to compete for resources. . They also face threats from the pet trade as they are over harvested. Another threat that the species faces is habitat loss due to climate change

Life in Captivity
African Spurred Tortoise at the Las Vegas Zoo (image)

African Spurred Tortoise are passive and docile pets. They are almost never aggressive and barely ever show territorial behavior. This docile behavior is complimented by their slow speed and silence. Despite their docile attitude, the tortoise should not be handled often as handling will cause stress. Stress can lead to health problems and premature death. The Tortoise are also very curios. They can end up getting suck or end up stuck on their backs. Lastly they have a life span of around 70 years which means that they are a long term commitment.

The ideal enclosure for the African Spurred Tortoise is an outdoor pen where they will be able to construct a burrow. A fence of around two feet is recommended with some parts of the fence being extended underground. They prefer high temperatures and thrive in temperatures as high as 100 degrees Fahrenheit when they have a borrow to go into to cool off. When in captivity they should also have access to heating systems to keep the temperature of an enclosure above 60 degrees Fahrenheit for when the temperature drops during the night. If the tortoise is being kept inside they need access to artificial means of sunlight. . The enclosure should also be kept somewhat humid. Humidity should be kept around 40-50 percent as any higher than that can lead to repository issues. These tend to be fungal infections, but shell rot is also common.

They require high fiber diets (grasses and hays) as many "wet" vegetables can cause health problems in large quantities. Red leaf lettuce, prickly pear cactus pads, hibiscus leaves, hay from various grasses and dandelions are some of the better foods to make up the bulk of their diet. They will attempt to eat most types of plants eventually and some common garden plants can be very toxic to them, such as azaleas. They will eat such things as caterpillars and snails if given the opportunity, but this also should be a very small portion of their diet. Calcium should also be another small portion of their diet to help with shell growth. The tortoises should also avoid fruits and proteins.

(Probably don't put back in)

Per CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), a zero annual export quota has been established for Geochelone sulcata for specimens removed from the wild and traded for primarily commercial purposes.

A captive diet for G. sulcata should be organized around five important factors: high dietary fiber, low protein, low fruit or sugary foods, adequate calcium, and not overfeeding.

The sulcatas' native habitats are semi-arid, and the plants available to this terrestrial herbivore are primarily dry grasses and weeds. Grasses should make up at least 75% of a captive sulcata's diet, to provide the high dietary fiber found in the wild.

Young sulcatas grow very fast - they can easily double in size each year during the first three years. For proper bone and shell development, their diet must include adequate calcium. In the wild, this is provided by a high calcium content in the soil, and therefore in their diet, but in captivity calcium supplementation is required.

Last, the diet that is available to captive sulcatas can be much more nutritious than in the wild, which offers its own challenges. Sulcatas are naturally voracious, to offset the dearth of nutrients in their habitat; care must be taken to insure the tortoise does not overfeed. Bedding, or other plant material in their enclosures, should be restricted to grasses or grass-based hay, to ensure that the animal does not take in too much nutrition.

In much of the United States, their temperature requirements are of greater concern to their keepers. Given their large size, sulcatas are most easily kept out of doors, but should not overnight outside when the temperatures drop below 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16°C). As this describes most of the US, especially during winter, prospective sulcata keepers may find housing them to be impossible after their first few years of age.