diet of african spurred tortoise

Question
We would like to know the height these tortoise can get to?  Also many web sites have feeding instructions re: these guys.  Many are contradictory of each other. Can you please tell us what is the best thing to feed him? Some say very little fruit and no store bought greens - no alfalfa but bermuda is ok.  Please clarify and add anything else he can eat and if it is not too much trouble please add the things that he can and should eat.  We realize we  will have a giant someday but we have plenty of land and will provide the type of enclosure that he needs to keep him at home. His name is "Billy" and he is delightful! Thanx, Connie
-------------------------

Followup To

Question -
We have a african spurred tortoise that we believe is about 4 years old. He is approximately 17 inches wide 20inches long and 10 inches tall. We want to know how big he CAN get. How long - how wide - and how tall? We are in the process of building a tortoise house and we want to be sure it is big enough. Thank you for your time

Answer -
Typical adult sizes run 24-30" long, and weigh around 100 lbs, although they can get to twice that size.

If you are wondering about the size of hole to cut in a doghouse-style shelter, make the shelter big enough for a 30" tortoise to turn around in, and cut the opening bigger than what it needs now, then re-cut it as needed in the future. This helps keep the house as snug as possible for as long as possible. Even so, you'll want to rig up some sort of curtain to hold warmth in.

I hope you know what you are in for. This is a frequently euthanized species when it just gets too big and heavy to work with. They need HUGE spaces, can easily bulldoze many fences and even break through household walls, have healthy diets, need lots of heat and dryness, can get very ill on the wrong (but commonly suggested) foods, etc.

When the tortoise overwhelms the keepers ability, they give it away. Most recipients, be they a zoo or a rescue site or ananimal shelter, simply don't have the resources to deal with these giants, so they usually end up euthanizing them.

It is really sad that they breed so easily and are so readily available- they really are not good pets for the average keeper.

http://www.anapsid.org/sulcata.html

Answer
I live in the midwest. Because of the cold temps, I would never keep a Sulcata, so have no direct advice.

I have never seen a size chart that lists widths and heights, but you can ask in the forums of Austin's Turtle Page, or ATP (www.austinsturtlepage.com) and keepers there will help.

There IS a ton of debate about diet. This just means no one has tackled this very scientifically, and that a lot of people are jsut reporting what they do without really knowing what is the absolute best.

For diet, I use this article as my main guide because it is based on a vet's research: http://www.petdoc.ws/TortDiet.html For more help, I'd hit the ATP forums!

Good luck!