These tortoises are Africa natives, mainly in the area of Sahara; that is why when you are adopting one, you must provide them a place with similar surroundings and temperature. When your pet is a hatchling, they can stay for a long time inside the tank indoors, 10 gallons is the minimum size, 20 gallons (long) is much better, 60 gallons (long) or more is preferred. Spur tortoises grow quickly! You’d be even surprise to see their growing bodies in just a few months.
A healthy spur tortoise diet must have a lot of edible reptile grass and dark, leafy veggies. If you are planning to feed them with your own grown veggies, make sure that you do not put any pesticides on your veggies so it could be safe for them to eat it. They can also eat a lot of veggies such as the peelings from carrots and squashes, hibiscus flowers and rose flowers and leaves. Store bought tortoise food is also available but not advisable for other spurs to eat because there might be some ingredients on it that might cause health problems to other spurs.
Most spur tortoise breeders suggest rabbit feed as a substrate because it’s soft and won’t hurt the hatchlings and it’s very affordable and you can buy large quantities at feed stores, and if these are accidentally mixed with the tortoise food, it won’t cause the tortoise any harm. Spur tortoises are strict herbivores and there are many things you should never feed to spur tortoise. Never feed spur tortoise berries or citrus, stick to apple and pear peels and do not ever feed them cooked food.
A weekly bath is just perfect for older and aged spur tortoises. Spur tortoise do grow very fast. In a matter of months you will notice how big they have grown, which is approximately 4-6 inches a month. You will surely run out of room for your pet tortoise, and older or aged spur should have enough time outdoors to grow properly and healthy. Spur tortoise burrow that is why having fences are not enough to keep these tortoise safe and protected. If your pet tortoise does not have any shelter tortoise pen, do not leave it outdoors without supervision or else they might end up escaping your premises.
Alfred Maginnis is a turtle expert. Do You Want To Know How To Take Care Of Your Pet Turtle? Discover more information about Spur Tortoise, visit http://www.petturtlecaresecrets.com.