In recent years, spurred turtles are increasingly kept by animal lovers as pets. However, caring for them in captivity is a rather difficult task. What problems will the owner of such an animal have to face? What conditions are required for keeping a spur tortoise? What to feed and how to care for such creatures? I would like to consider the answers to these and other questions in our publication.
Conditions of detention
A young spurred tortoise, whose age has not reached 3 years, can be kept in a small terrarium. Subsequently, the animal will require much more free space, due to a significant increase in body size. For the existence of such a pet in captivity to be comfortable, he will have to take part of the room, resort to the construction of a special fence in the garage, utility room or shed. At the same time, the room should be dry, well ventilated and heated.
Despite the fact that spurred turtles are friendly and not afraid of people, they need shelter that will allow them to feel completely safe. Therefore, in the place of keeping the animal will have to place large segments of tree branches, decompose an abundance of dry foliage, pile up straw or hay.
If we talk about the terrarium substrate for the turtle - it should be presented in the form of a mixture of peat and sandy soil. The main thing is that such soil is dry. Indeed, spurred turtles are not able to stay in conditions of high humidity for a long time.
The fence where the animal will be kept must be made of durable materials. Otherwise, there is a possibility that the animal will push the fence with its massive, overweight body. In addition, a solid surface should be under the soil substrate. Otherwise, the turtle is able to dig and get out into the wild.
Temperature mode
Spurred turtles, photos of which can be seen in our article, require not only an abundance of heat. It is important that there are shaded areas in the terrarium that are free from direct sunlight. In such places, the pet will be able to cool its own body.
If the turtle is kept in the room of the house or apartment, for it to create uninterrupted artificial lighting for at least 14 hours. Use should be ultraviolet lamps, as well as electric heaters. Only with this approach will an adequate amount of vitamin D be produced in the animal’s body, which is necessary to strengthen muscles, bones and grow shell.
It is necessary to place a powerful lamp in the terrarium, which will create an extensive heat spot on the soil substrate with a temperature of about 35 ° C. The remaining free zones in the daytime should heat up to 23-25 ° C. Moreover, the owner of the turtle will need to be monitored so that at night the temperature in the room did not fall below 21 o C.
Nutrition
In its natural habitat, an African spur tortoise bases its daily diet on all kinds of herbaceous plants, foliage of shrubs and low trees. For healthy growth and development, the animal needs food with a small amount of protein and plenty of fiber. For this reason, such turtles avoid eating fruit.
To diversify the diet, bring minerals and minerals to the body, spurred turtles occasionally eat insects, grind the bones that were left from the found corpses of animals with powerful jaws. Because of this, they for a while become scavengers, and also absorb dry feces of mammals.
It is recommended to feed hay turtle at home. About 25% of the diet should be fresh leaves of vegetables, for example, cabbage, rhubarb, spinach. If the specified norm is exceeded, the tortoise may overeat, diarrhea, defects in the development of the shell caused by too progressive body growth. Periodically, in the food of a spurred tortoise, which is contained in captivity, mineral supplements with a high content of calcium should be mixed.
Care Features
As already noted, spurred turtles are voracious creatures. Accordingly, such pets will produce a significant amount of natural waste. So that such animals do not get sick by absorbing their own excrement, it is extremely important to regularly clean the terrarium. Turtle feces should be given to a veterinarian for analysis. Such actions will not make you worry because the pet has caught an infection or has become infected with parasites.
Access to water
When kept in captivity, a spurred tortoise should have constant access to a copious amount of clean, fresh water. Liquid is recommended to be poured into a shallow, stable container that will not tip over under the pressure of the animal’s body. Turtles of this species do not know how to swim. Therefore, if you get into a deep container with water, from which it is difficult to get out, they can easily drown and drown.
Captive breeding
Spurred turtles are quite prolific creatures. The period of mating activity can occur at any time. In order for the female to be able to masonry, it is necessary to create a thick soil layer in the terrarium or barrier. Here the turtle will dig a nest and lay several tens of eggs. This place should be well heated. Otherwise, the embryos will not develop and die quickly.
Eggs will be in the above incubator for eight months. Then, one after another, newborn turtles a few centimeters in size will begin to appear. To prevent young animals from dying from contact with adults, they should be moved to a separate dry aquarium.
Feed the turtles once a day. Alfalfa, dandelion, freshly cut grass, and cabbage leaves are suitable as food. All this should be offered to the kids in powdered form. It is important to add calcium and vitamins to food periodically. In general, the content of young animals does not differ much from the conditions that adult spur turtles require.