Burmese Mountain Tortoise

1 Overview

The Burmese Mountain Tortoise is a fairly large tortoise whose wild numbers have fallen in recent years. It ranges from parts of India to Vietnam and feeds on various plants. Its captive setup is complex and needs a large space, so few are kept.

Chinese Name: Burmese Mountain Tortoise (Asian Giant Tortoise)

Aliases: Burmese brown tortoise, six-legged tortoise, Asian giant tortoise, brown-booted tortoise, black-booted tortoise

Binomial: Manouria emys

English Name: Burmese Mountain Tortoise

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Reptilia

Order: Testudines

Suborder: Cryptodira

Family: Testudinidae

Genus: Manouria

Distribution: from western India to southern Vietnam, south to the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra.

Appearance: Asia’s largest tortoise, weighing up to 20 kg; relatively low carapace with a slightly concave vertebral region; the Borneo subspecies is brown with a somewhat pale plastron.

Habits: found only in highland tropical forests.

Reproduction: an extremely prolific species that can lay up to 51 eggs, the whole laying process rarely taking over an hour. After laying, the female covers the nest with soil and leaf litter using her forelimbs, then guards the mound for 6 to 20 days, driving off any animal that approaches.

Diet: herbivorous; wild tortoises feed on 22 plant species, 15 of which belong to the genus Alocasia.

2 Physical Characteristics

On close inspection, hatchlings have a slightly concave carapace, but adults become essentially rounded. The Burmese Mountain Tortoise is a branch of the impressed tortoise (Manouria) and is large; although the shell has little ornamentation, the scute arrangement makes it easy to identify.

It is the largest mainland Asian tortoise and one of the eight great tortoises, ranking second in size among continental tortoises only to the Sulcata. There are two subspecies, the black-booted (Manouria emys emys) and the brown-booted (Manouria emys phayrei); black-booted adults exceed 50 cm, while brown-booted are about two-thirds that size. They are easily distinguished by plastron differences. Compared with other tortoises, this species is rather shy.

Asia’s largest tortoise, weighing up to 20 kg; low carapace, vertebral region slightly concave; the Borneo subspecies is brown with a somewhat pale plastron. The outer side of the forelimbs bears huge scales, and a pair of tubercle-like scales sits on the thighs — so large they earn it the nickname ‘six-legged tortoise’.

3 General Care

Its natural habitat is the warm, humid rainforest floor. Even in the coldest season average temperatures stay above 18°C, so in captivity temperature and humidity control become very important. Unlike tortoises from dry tropical zones, it does not enjoy basking; it is somewhat light-shy and rarely exposes itself to direct sun. In strong light it burrows into the leaf litter to escape the heat, and sometimes forages on clear, moonlit nights.

4 Captive Housing

Beyond basic data like humidity and temperature, other requirements affect its health, and certain supplies are essential to keeping it. The preparations are described below.

Environment setup: provide an activity space at least four times the tortoise’s volume, with a tile or cement floor that is waterproof and easy to clean, and avoid direct sunlight — this species dislikes prolonged direct exposure. Keep the temperature above 18°C (recommended 26–28°C) with a daily fluctuation within 4°C, using constant-temperature husbandry. Humidity must be above 60%, ideally around 75–85%. Add heating (UVA lamp, ceramic heater, night light) and a humidifier as needed.

Essential supplies: a large enough tub (plastic or metal) for initial isolation and soaking, with a height at least twice the carapace; and an absorbent towel to dry the turtle quickly after soaking, especially the plastron, legs, head and neck.

5 Feeding & Diet

Healthy individuals usually start feeding easily. They never choose animal foods and are strict vegetarians, and they adapt fairly well to captivity if the correct method is used.

Appetite training: first place the new tortoise in a tub to settle for 2–3 days, then offer a piece of banana and a little oyster mushroom to gauge its preference, and choose either ‘mushroom training’ or ‘banana training’ accordingly. The food amount should be about one tenth of its volume; after placing food, step away and observe.

Feeding cautions: suitable foods include banana, oyster mushroom, pumpkin, sweet-potato leaves, carrot, papaya, leafy greens, Alocasia (note: toxic in quantity, offer only sparingly), dandelion leaves, and tortoise pellets. During taming, soak daily at about 35°C with the water level at roughly one third of the carapace height, for 30–60 minutes; once the turtle adapts, reduce soaking to under 30 minutes. Clean up any defecation during soaking promptly.