Radiated Tortoise

Astrochelys radiata 

Diet

Radiated Tortoises are herbivores, with grazing making up approximately 80-90% of their diet. They feed primarily on grasses, fruit, and succulent plants.

Habitat

Found in the dry regions of brush, thorn forests and woodland of southern Madagascar. They live in areas with low and irregular rainfall. 

Nesting

Courtship includes displays of head-bobbing and smelling the female’s hind legs. Females lay three to twelve ball-shaped eggs in a nest she has dug that is six to eight inches deep. She does not stay to guard the nest. Incubation lasts between five and eight months.

Did you know?

Like a tree, a tortoise adds growth rings to its scutes (plates that form the shell), as it ages. However, the rate of growth slows as the tortoise gets older, so the rings do not equal a set amount of time.