Hi I had seen my daughters friends parents two torts today, I asked what they were and was told African Spur... Kept in a Viv type wooden unit with glass doors, no lights on... Ive just been looking them up and am confused...I thought Spur was Ibera...But looking at the African Spur Sulcata, they didnt look the same. What torts do they have? one was slighty yellow more than the other, the other was much darker which was the boy tort..The also felt very cold. I thought torts had to be kept warm. I only have 1 Horsfield, and don't know a lot about other torts.

Hi Claire,

There are Testudo Gracea (Med Spur thighed) tortoises found in North Africa, but these tortoises sound like the African Spur thighed Tortoise known as the Sulcata.(Geochelone Sulcata).

The bad news is, these tortoises are the third largest land tortoise species in the world. They quickly grow very large and very heavy. They are totally unsuitable for vivarium life, they need a large area with a heated (year round) shed or similar outdoor accomodation.

I know people who keep this species, they are great, charismatic tortoises if kept correctly and given the room to thrive.

Should add that as youngsters they can be kept in a tortoise table type setup indoors. These are not a hibernating species. There are plenty of good guides to this species around.