Beaked Cape Tortoise

1 Overview

The Beaked Cape Tortoise, also called the parrot-beaked Cape tortoise, is among the smallest tortoises, living among rock crevices much like the pancake tortoise. Unlike that species, when threatened it hides in rock cracks and does not attack.

Chinese Name: Beaked Cape Tortoise (Parrot-beaked Cape Tortoise)

Aliases: parrot-beaked Cape tortoise, hook-beaked Cape tortoise

English Name: Beaked Cape Tortoise

Binomial: Homopus areolatus

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Reptilia

Order: Testudines

Suborder: Cryptodira

Family: Testudinidae

Genus: Homopus

Distribution: southern South Africa, southern Cape Province.

Reproduction: oviparous; females lay once a year, a single egg, hatching in about 115 days at 28–30°C — much longer than most turtles.

Size: 8 to 12 cm.

Habits: most active on warm mornings, gathering to bask; after the morning warms up it becomes active, exploring and feeding.

Diet: herbivorous — grasses, flowers, leaves, cucumber, pumpkin, grapes and figs; occasionally oats, wheat, corn and calcium/D3 supplements.

2 Physical Characteristics

It feels tiny and cute, and many pay high prices for such a lovely tortoise, but it is actually hard to keep and prone to illness or sudden death, so caution is essential.

The smallest tortoise of all, even a size smaller than the pancake tortoise. There are five species: common, speckled, Karoo, Berger’s and greater padloper; only the speckled has a subspecies (fine-spotted). All five are distributed only in South Africa’s Cape, so their habitat is necessarily narrow — a South African endemic. In the pet market they are very rare; the common is relatively common, then the speckled — these two adapt best to captivity. The other three almost never appear and can barely survive in captivity.

Sexing is not difficult: males have a thick, long tail, females a round, short one. Notably the common male’s snout turns red in the breeding season, and the chin is slightly red. Females lay one egg per year, hatching in about 115 days at 28–30°C; hatchlings are about 3 cm. Overall the species is very hard to keep, especially hatchlings — suitable only for experienced keepers, with high mortality. Before buying such an expensive tortoise, think carefully.

3 General Care

In the wild it prefers warm regions; by day it enjoys the sun’s warmth and by night grows quiet — a temperature-driven change. In low winter temperatures it hibernates.

Care notes: it is found mainly in South Africa’s humid southern coastal region, from the East London coast to the Atlantic coast, and inland north to the Nieuwoudtville plateau. Most active on warm mornings, gathering to bask; after the morning warms it becomes active, exploring and feeding. After feeding, as the afternoon heat rises, it calms down and shelters under low shrubs rather than digging or returning to a nest.

Hibernation: during tortoise hibernation check them periodically and feel their legs — they should react. If they wake during still-low temperatures, take measures to encourage continued dormancy, such as re-covering with newspaper or sand. Most tortoise species in hibernation should not have the environment drop below 5°C or they die from over-freezing. Alternatively keep them heated through winter (no hibernation), though feeding frequency and amount decrease then.

4 Captive Habitat

It is demanding of its environment; many owners face illness or sudden death after a while, largely because the setup is unreasonable and the tortoise cannot adapt. What environment suits it?

Include natural factors in the setup: place rocks or wood for hiding. The light cycle is about 14 hours in summer and about 10 in winter; temperatures also differ by season — summer hotspot about 32°C, winter hotspot about 25°C; for small hatchlings about 30°C in winter is necessary.

Its wild habitat is humid, so mist the environment regularly or provide a water dish to maintain humidity. Substrate is mainly dry reptile sand or loess. Place many rocks for resting. Provide a water dish for drinking. Cover the tank well — it is a skilled climber and escape artist with nimble movements; but do not seal the tank — ensure adequate ventilation and clean air.

5 Feeding & Diet

It is not picky about food and eats little, so getting large, sufficient energy from a small amount of food is what the owner must consider. It is herbivorous and needs constant calcium supplementation — meeting these requirements is not troublesome.

Food selection: its needs are very specific; beyond native drought-tolerant plants it struggles to adapt to ordinary captive fruits and vegetables, so food choice is tricky — base the diet on cacti, with cucumber as a substitute; try carrots, pumpkin, leafy greens one by one to find its preferences, otherwise it is hard to keep well.

Feeding cautions: feed about 4 times a week; base on dark green plants — grasses, aster-family, mulberry-family, plantain; supplement a little tomato, apple and carrot weekly. It is best to place dry hay or leaves in the environment to provide food between feedings; also supplement water and vitamin D3 timely.