Turning Point

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg3lJ1apq2g

The month of May is an important time in Testudo graeca graeca habitats throughout much of North Africa and Southern Spain. The 'great flowering' period of Spring seen in late March through April passes very quickly, and the heat (and dryness) of summer begins to build up rapidly. By late May tortoises that were feeding and active up until mid-day or even later earluer in the month, are now rarely found after 10.00 am. By mid-day and early afternoon both the air temperatures and especially surface (substrate) temperatures are so high as to be positively dangerous, limiting activity. This species is most active at ambient air temperatures in the low to mid 20 Celsius range, but when air temperatures surpass 30 Celsius they increasingly seek retreat and cease activity.

Eventually, they cease activity entirely and bury down for aestivation to escape the very high temperatures (and lack of food and fluid) typical of June, July and August in these habitats, only emerging again after the heat of summer has passed and some rain has arrived.

Testudo graeca is not active and feeding every day in the wild. Far from it. They are only active for relatively short periods and during certain temperature ranges. In captivity, many people expect much longer periods of feeding and activity, but this is nothing like what occurs in nature and can have very damaging effects, especially upon acellerated growth and consequently poor bone density. At its most extreme, this behaviour occurs in Testudo horsfieldii (the Russian tortoise), something we have explained in detail elsewhere.

So although not quite as profound as experienced by Testudo horsfieldii, Testudo graeca graeca certainly follows the same general pattern. A period of brumation (hibernation) over winter, an awakening in spring that coincides with plentiful vegetation (food) and moderate temperatures that permit extended periods of activity. This does not last for very long, however, as the fast-approaching heat of summer closes in and the vegetation rapidly dies off.

Tortoises are supremely well-adapted to these 'on-off' conditions. Indeed, they rely upon them and if (in captivity) we deprive them of these important cycles we can cause numerous serious health issues. We have described this in a separate article: Unnaturally High Growth Rates in Tortoises - Causes and Consequences.

The above is also a good explanation of why depriving tortoises that would brumate (hibernate) in the wild from doing so in caprivity is not as simple or safe as many assume.

It is not just feeding periods that matter, however. What is fed is just as important. Sadly, there is a vast amount of highly dangerous and grossly misleading advice out there on this subject. We have a number of highly detailed articles on this very website about it, and we have also covered in in various text-books. Understanding the highly specialised nutritional requirements of herbivorous tortoises also a very important part of our online 'Beginners Course in Tortoise Care'.

Finally, it is important to dispell the myth that because now there are many areas in and especially bordering natural tortoise habitat where fruits are grown commercially, this means that this is a 'safe feed' and is a part of their natural diet. Absolutely not. What many consider typical 'Mediterranean' fruits, figs, oranges, pomegranates and grapes, etc., are actually not native to this region at all. They originate in Asia and what we now find are cultivars (fruits altered via selective propagation to make them very different from their original, wild counterparts). Most such cultivars are designed to increase the sugar content to make the fruit larger and more palatable to humans. Many of these cultivars were introduced to Spain and North Africa by the Phonecians and Romans within the last three thousand years. This might sound like a long time, but in terms of tortoise evolution and how they adapt to diet, it is insignificant. These fruits are not appropriate for reasons explained in the video and which are discussed in depth here. These same considerations apply to most arid-habitat tortoise species, incidentally.

To receive updates and notifications of new articles, videos and other important news please consider 'Subscribing' to the Tortoise Trust and to our YouTube channel. There is a free option available. This supports our work and allows us to continue to make this information available. The Tortoise Trust also offers comprehensive online courses that cover all aspects of behaviour, ecology and captive care.