I've had all sorts of thoughts running through my head on this subject. I'll try to keep it somewhat organized. I'm mainly speaking about sulcatas with some of this, but many points are valid for other species too.
Years ago when I was first learning about sulcatas they were referred to as a "desert" species. All the books said that they needed it hot and dry. The books said that they live in "desert scrubland" or "dry savannah" areas and warned that humidity could make them sick and eventually kill them. Humidity was "unnatural" according to the books. I figured that there were scholarly people with reams of information on the wild habitats and habits on these creatures that I loved so much. I believed, like most people, what the books and "experts" had to say, and kept my tortoises the way they recommended. Years later, I now know that these people had no idea what they were talking about. They were just making stuff up and speculating. I started with sulcatas in '91. Right around 2000, after many failed attempts to raise a "natural" looking smooth tortoise, is when I figured out that the info that was "out there" was just wrong. It took another 7 or 8 years to even begin to figure out just which part is wrong, and how it was wrong, but I knew we were missing something. We still have a long way to go, but progress is being made. Both by captive keepers here in the US and by field researchers in Africa.
Wrong concept #1: Hot and dry or "desert". First of all, the range of the sulcata is huge. I was looking at a world map today with my daughter and pointing out all the countries where sulcatas live (or used to live, as the case may be). Then I glanced across the Atlantic at the entire USA. Its roughly the same size as the range of the sulcata. I think the sulcata range might be narrower top to bottom but its close to the same width, if you believe the books about their range. Either way, however big their range is, its a HUGE area. When I consider the difference in temps and climate in the relatively small Los Angels County, much less the entire country, how could anyone even know what climate sulcatas need? The CA desert tortoise occurs in a fairly small range and the climate is pretty similar throughout. The sulcata's range spans many countries! Dean lives 40 minutes North of me. Our climates are somewhat similar, but its a little more windy, dry, colder in the winter and the natural vegetation is a bit more sparse up where he is. 40 minutes south of me, where I grew up, its totally different. Up here we get 110 regularly in the summer and its very dry. Down there if it reaches the high 80's people freak out. Being close to the beach the humidity is moderate and most of the houses don't even have A/C. In the winter we regularly dip into the high 20's up here. Down there it rarely gets below 50. Its only 40 minutes away! Look at the weather in Dakar Senegal vs. any of the cities to the East like Naye on the border of Mali or Kedougou to the south east. Drastically different. Here's the thing. It doesn't matter a whole lot WHAT the above ground climate is. They spend 8 or 9 months underground in their grass lined burrows. The other 3-4 months its raining and everything is lush, green and wet. Seasonal marshes are formed and this is when and where the babies hatch (Best guess of someone who knows more about wild sulcatas than I ever will). We don't have a climate like that here in the US, so speaking at least for myself, its hard to wrap my brain around that. I think its good to try to understand what the climate is like in a general sense where your species comes from. Just don't lose sight of the fact that there are literally millions of "micro-habitiats" and "microclimates" within the range of ANY species. Further, for the info to be relevant for us in captivity we should be studying the climate INSIDE those burrows that they spend 9 months of every year in. (This study is just about to begin, by the way.) As far as hatchlings go, almost nothing is known about any aspect of their life. We really don't know where and when they hatch, what they eat, how far they range, where they hang out, if they bask at all, or all the time, how often they drink, where they go during the dry season, where they go between hatching and the 10-12" size that locals and tourists report seeing them above ground at. Since no one knows ANYTHING about them, how can anyone say what is a "natural" way to keep them? I can't. I can only say what works for me in captivity, AND I can write volumes about what does NOT work. Even someone who lives in range of the sulcata can't say what a baby needs or what is "natural" for them. No one knows. There is one thing we do know. They do NOT pyramid over there at all, ever. Quote from Tomas Diagne of Senegal, "Pyramiding does not exist in my country."
Wrong concept #2: Slow growth and reduced food amounts. They do not grow slow over there. I have seen studies on other species, notably Testudo sp., that suggest they grow slower in the wild than captivity. Okay. From the small amount that I have seen, sulcatas grow at around the same rate over there as the "average" ones over here do. I saw pics of 6 year old semi-wild raised (inside a giant fenced area, but NO supplemental food from people), and I estimate they were 30-40 pounds. I'll try to get the pics and post them. There is a common sentiment that they survive on next to no food for months out of the year over there and there is not much to eat on the savannah. For three or four months during the rainy season they eat their fill of lush greenery every day, and drink their fill too from the wetlands that form. During the dry season, I recently learned, they eat all the grass that they have drug into their burrows during the end of the rainy season. I think, based on the tidbits I have gathered, that they are just as gluttonous over there as they are over here. Now I'm not suggesting we feed them their fill of Mazuri, grocery store greens, veggies and fruit every day, but weeds, grass, leaves and cactus are fair game in my opinion. I intentionally grew my current adults slowly. It is a mistake I will always regret. Only time will tell if they are permanently stunted or if they will eventually catch up. Please be clear: I am NOT suggesting we attempt to grow them fast. I AM suggesting we let them eat as much as they want of the RIGHT foods. Grass, grass hay, appropriate tree and bush leaves (mulberry, hibiscus, rose, etc...), and even spineless opuntia. I know spineless opuntia does not naturally occur in Africa, but due to its high fiber, high Ca : Ph ratio and water content, I think its a great food and does simulate some of the succulents that DO occur over there.
Wrong concept #3: Not too much water or soaking. There are all sorts of reason I hear NOT to soak them or give them a water bowl. Shell rot, too much humidity, it makes them poop too often and they don't digest their food, its "unnatural", etc... All of these reasons are bunk. If they are hatched in the rainy season in a marsh, how in the heck is drinking water and humidity "unnatural"? If you still believe that sulcatas are "desert" animals and envision them walking on a barren sand dune in the hot sun, then I guess it would seem unnatural. I don't envision them that way. I see them as an animal that has adapted to survive underground when water and food are scarce, but also as an animal that seeks out and takes advantage of water whenever it can.
My way of keeping sulcata babies is certainly unconventional, but for 20 years I watched "conventional" fail over and over again. Nobody ever attacked me, insulted me or questioned me when I was doing it all wrong like everyone else. But now that I am finally raising "natural" looking healthy tortoises of two different species that commonly do NOT look natural here in captivity, I am the target of much animosity, ridicule and insult. I take this all in stride. I don't care if some people think is "unnatural". I think its very "natural". It also seems totally logical based on the tiny bit that we do know about wild ones. Disregarding wild ones, since we know so little about them, I have really tried to focus on what works, or does not work, for me, in my enclosures, with my tortoises.
The purpose of this thread is to share my thoughts AND stimulate discussion on these matters. If anyone has more info on wild sulcatas or other torts, I would love to hear it. I want to LEARN and share what ever I learn with others.
Years ago when I was first learning about sulcatas they were referred to as a "desert" species. All the books said that they needed it hot and dry. The books said that they live in "desert scrubland" or "dry savannah" areas and warned that humidity could make them sick and eventually kill them. Humidity was "unnatural" according to the books. I figured that there were scholarly people with reams of information on the wild habitats and habits on these creatures that I loved so much. I believed, like most people, what the books and "experts" had to say, and kept my tortoises the way they recommended. Years later, I now know that these people had no idea what they were talking about. They were just making stuff up and speculating. I started with sulcatas in '91. Right around 2000, after many failed attempts to raise a "natural" looking smooth tortoise, is when I figured out that the info that was "out there" was just wrong. It took another 7 or 8 years to even begin to figure out just which part is wrong, and how it was wrong, but I knew we were missing something. We still have a long way to go, but progress is being made. Both by captive keepers here in the US and by field researchers in Africa.
Wrong concept #1: Hot and dry or "desert". First of all, the range of the sulcata is huge. I was looking at a world map today with my daughter and pointing out all the countries where sulcatas live (or used to live, as the case may be). Then I glanced across the Atlantic at the entire USA. Its roughly the same size as the range of the sulcata. I think the sulcata range might be narrower top to bottom but its close to the same width, if you believe the books about their range. Either way, however big their range is, its a HUGE area. When I consider the difference in temps and climate in the relatively small Los Angels County, much less the entire country, how could anyone even know what climate sulcatas need? The CA desert tortoise occurs in a fairly small range and the climate is pretty similar throughout. The sulcata's range spans many countries! Dean lives 40 minutes North of me. Our climates are somewhat similar, but its a little more windy, dry, colder in the winter and the natural vegetation is a bit more sparse up where he is. 40 minutes south of me, where I grew up, its totally different. Up here we get 110 regularly in the summer and its very dry. Down there if it reaches the high 80's people freak out. Being close to the beach the humidity is moderate and most of the houses don't even have A/C. In the winter we regularly dip into the high 20's up here. Down there it rarely gets below 50. Its only 40 minutes away! Look at the weather in Dakar Senegal vs. any of the cities to the East like Naye on the border of Mali or Kedougou to the south east. Drastically different. Here's the thing. It doesn't matter a whole lot WHAT the above ground climate is. They spend 8 or 9 months underground in their grass lined burrows. The other 3-4 months its raining and everything is lush, green and wet. Seasonal marshes are formed and this is when and where the babies hatch (Best guess of someone who knows more about wild sulcatas than I ever will). We don't have a climate like that here in the US, so speaking at least for myself, its hard to wrap my brain around that. I think its good to try to understand what the climate is like in a general sense where your species comes from. Just don't lose sight of the fact that there are literally millions of "micro-habitiats" and "microclimates" within the range of ANY species. Further, for the info to be relevant for us in captivity we should be studying the climate INSIDE those burrows that they spend 9 months of every year in. (This study is just about to begin, by the way.) As far as hatchlings go, almost nothing is known about any aspect of their life. We really don't know where and when they hatch, what they eat, how far they range, where they hang out, if they bask at all, or all the time, how often they drink, where they go during the dry season, where they go between hatching and the 10-12" size that locals and tourists report seeing them above ground at. Since no one knows ANYTHING about them, how can anyone say what is a "natural" way to keep them? I can't. I can only say what works for me in captivity, AND I can write volumes about what does NOT work. Even someone who lives in range of the sulcata can't say what a baby needs or what is "natural" for them. No one knows. There is one thing we do know. They do NOT pyramid over there at all, ever. Quote from Tomas Diagne of Senegal, "Pyramiding does not exist in my country."
Wrong concept #2: Slow growth and reduced food amounts. They do not grow slow over there. I have seen studies on other species, notably Testudo sp., that suggest they grow slower in the wild than captivity. Okay. From the small amount that I have seen, sulcatas grow at around the same rate over there as the "average" ones over here do. I saw pics of 6 year old semi-wild raised (inside a giant fenced area, but NO supplemental food from people), and I estimate they were 30-40 pounds. I'll try to get the pics and post them. There is a common sentiment that they survive on next to no food for months out of the year over there and there is not much to eat on the savannah. For three or four months during the rainy season they eat their fill of lush greenery every day, and drink their fill too from the wetlands that form. During the dry season, I recently learned, they eat all the grass that they have drug into their burrows during the end of the rainy season. I think, based on the tidbits I have gathered, that they are just as gluttonous over there as they are over here. Now I'm not suggesting we feed them their fill of Mazuri, grocery store greens, veggies and fruit every day, but weeds, grass, leaves and cactus are fair game in my opinion. I intentionally grew my current adults slowly. It is a mistake I will always regret. Only time will tell if they are permanently stunted or if they will eventually catch up. Please be clear: I am NOT suggesting we attempt to grow them fast. I AM suggesting we let them eat as much as they want of the RIGHT foods. Grass, grass hay, appropriate tree and bush leaves (mulberry, hibiscus, rose, etc...), and even spineless opuntia. I know spineless opuntia does not naturally occur in Africa, but due to its high fiber, high Ca : Ph ratio and water content, I think its a great food and does simulate some of the succulents that DO occur over there.
Wrong concept #3: Not too much water or soaking. There are all sorts of reason I hear NOT to soak them or give them a water bowl. Shell rot, too much humidity, it makes them poop too often and they don't digest their food, its "unnatural", etc... All of these reasons are bunk. If they are hatched in the rainy season in a marsh, how in the heck is drinking water and humidity "unnatural"? If you still believe that sulcatas are "desert" animals and envision them walking on a barren sand dune in the hot sun, then I guess it would seem unnatural. I don't envision them that way. I see them as an animal that has adapted to survive underground when water and food are scarce, but also as an animal that seeks out and takes advantage of water whenever it can.
My way of keeping sulcata babies is certainly unconventional, but for 20 years I watched "conventional" fail over and over again. Nobody ever attacked me, insulted me or questioned me when I was doing it all wrong like everyone else. But now that I am finally raising "natural" looking healthy tortoises of two different species that commonly do NOT look natural here in captivity, I am the target of much animosity, ridicule and insult. I take this all in stride. I don't care if some people think is "unnatural". I think its very "natural". It also seems totally logical based on the tiny bit that we do know about wild ones. Disregarding wild ones, since we know so little about them, I have really tried to focus on what works, or does not work, for me, in my enclosures, with my tortoises.
The purpose of this thread is to share my thoughts AND stimulate discussion on these matters. If anyone has more info on wild sulcatas or other torts, I would love to hear it. I want to LEARN and share what ever I learn with others.