Tunisian Tortoise Care Updated

Tunisian tortoises showing typical shell, head and leg colour and patterns

Tunisian tortoises belong to the spur-thighed (Testudo graeca) group of tortoises, but in 1990 they were described as a new species, nabeulensis, on the basis of their unique appearance and certain other morphological characteristics. In most older texts, they are still referred to as 'Testudo graeca', however they are now widely recognised as at least a separate subspecies, 'Testudo graeca nabeulensis'.

Tunisian tortoises are small - adult males are usually no more than 130 mm long, adult females typically no more than 165 mm long. This is much smaller, say, than typical Testudo graeca from Morocco. They are very brightly coloured, with a light yellow shell with striking black dots in the centre of the scutes. The scales of the legs are pale cream and black, and there is usually a central yellowish mark on top of the head.

These photos which were all taken in Tunisia should help you to identify these tortoises quite easily, as they are highly distinctive. They also provide valuable insghts into the habitats, substrates and typical vegetation of the areas where these tortoises live. Many of these images have never been seen before and were taken over the course of several field-trips carried out by the Tortoise Trust.

Captive Care

These are very sensitive little tortoises. They must be kept generally warm and dry. They do not tolerate extended periods of wet and cold conditions at all as often experienced in northern europe, although of course they do experience episodes of coooler weather and rain in the the wild in north africa This is usually followed by bright sunshine and rapidly rising temperatures, however. There is still a lot we are not entirely sure aboiut with this species, particularly with regard to more inland, mountainous populations where the climate differs substantially from milder, coastal populations. There are reports of lager, more melanistic animals from such locations, though to date these are unverified. We hope to do more fieldwork in future to establish more reliable information on these questions.

They MUST NOT be mixed with ANY other species. This is vital as they have virtually no resistance to alien viral or bacterial diseases that are often carried by other species and they will rapidly develop serious 'runny nose syndrome' or other respiratory symptoms if allowed contact with other than their own kind.

Diet

These tortoises are strictly herbivorous. No animal protein should be given. Provide a good mixture of wild flowers and edible 'weeds' as for other Testudo species. See our general dietary guidelines.

Housing

Provide warm, dry indoor accommodation over winter and in summer or spring during periods of bad weather. Daytime temperatures should be minimum 20°C with a 32° C basking zone. Overnight, temperatures can fall to 10 C .

We use a sand/soil 50/50 substrate to a depth of about 2 inches or 50mm.

These tortoises do well in greenhouse or mini-greenhouse accommodation such as our 'Climate Frame' design.

Hibernation (Brumation)

These are very thin little tortoises and do not carry adequate reserves of fat to see them through an extended brumation (hibernation) period. In the wild, most populations are located in a coastal zones which are very hot in summer and very mild in winter. In summer, they aestivate to escape the heat, and tend to be most active from December to March. In captivity, most keepers 'overwinter' them as described here.

In practice we found that keeping them in very similar conditions to the Egyptian tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni) proved very successful.