Given their immense size and incredible personalities, sulcata tortoises (Centrochelys sulcata) are some of the most beloved tortoises in the world. And over the last 20 years or so, they’ve become remarkably popular with tortoise lovers.
But before you buy a sulcata tortoise of your own, you must understand some of the husbandry requirements of the species – especially as it relates to the temperature range and relative humidity level you provide. Read on to learn all about these requirements, where I’ll be outlining the temperature and humidity needs of sulcata tortoises.
Natural Habitat & Climate Conditions
To understand Sulcata tortoise temperature and humidity requirements, it’s helpful to begin by learning about the climate of the places they live. And although there are pockets within their natural range that differ, most areas within sulcata territory have a broadly similar climate.
Sulcatas are native to a region known as the Sahel – an arid scrubland, that borders the Sahara Desert’s south side and stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Horn of Africa in the east. This entire region is characterized by very hot and relatively dry conditions.
This makes things relatively easy for sulcata keepers, but it is still instructive to consider several specific locations within their range. Below, we share the climate data for three cities within the animals’ range.
Climate of Abeche, Chad
Abeche is warm to hot all year long; but the region’s humidity and rainfall varies significantly over the course of the year. Of the 14 or so inches of rain that fall each year, the vast majority occur within a small window of time between July and August.
- April temperatures typically fall between 80- and 105-degrees Fahrenheit
- August temperatures typically fall between 72- and 89-degrees Fahrenheit
- April precipitation averages 0.03 inches
- August precipitation averages 7.61 inches
- Humidity levels in April average 17%
- Humidity levels in August average 70%
Climate of Koutiala, Mali
Koutiala enjoys more rainfall than many other places within the sulcata’s natural range, with yearly totals hovering in the 35- to 36-inch range. However, virtually no rain falls between November and March. Temperatures are warm all year long in Koutiala, but they peak in April.
- April temperatures typically fall between 80- and 104-degrees Fahrenheit
- August temperatures typically fall between 73- and 87-degrees Fahrenheit
- April precipitation averages 0.62 inches
- August precipitation averages 11.52 inches
- Humidity levels in April average 34%
- Humidity levels in August average 83%
Climate of Combolcha, Ethiopia
Combolcha (sometimes spelled Kombolcha) receives more rain than many places within the sulcata’s range, though it’s still relatively dry for most of the year. Most of the region’s 40 inches of rainfall in July and August, while November is the driest month of the year. Combolcha is also slightly cooler than many other areas inhabited by sulcatas.
- April temperatures typically fall between 60- and 82-degrees Fahrenheit
- August temperatures typically fall between 61- and 79-degrees Fahrenheit
- April precipitation averages 4.58 inches
- August precipitation averages 10.38 inches
- Humidity levels in April average 56%
- Humidity levels in August average 70%
Temperature Requirements
With a basic understanding of the temperatures within the sulcata’s natural range, you can determine the appropriate temperatures for your pet’s enclosure.
However, it is important to note that sulcatas – like all pet reptiles – will thrive best when provided with a thermal gradient, or range of temperatures within their enclosure. You can accomplish this by clustering all of the heating devices – whether you use heat lamps or radiant heat panels – at one end of your pet’s habitat.
This effectively creates a “basking spot” directly under the heating devices and a “cool side” at the far end of the enclosure. By setting up the enclosure in this way, you’ll give your pet access to a range of temperatures.
Ideally, the temperatures at the basking spot should be about 95 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, while the temperatures at the “cool” side of the enclosure should be in the mid-70s. You can allow the temperatures to fall into the mid-60s at night, which means you can likely turn off all of the heating devices.
However, it is important to note that these temperatures are appropriate for adult sulcatas. Hatchlings and juveniles require slightly warmer nighttime temperatures; try not to allow the temperatures to fall below 70 degrees at night.
Humidity
While the humidity level rises periodically within the range of sulcatas, the climate is typically dry outside of punctuated rainy seasons. Accordingly, you’ll want to keep your sulcata’s enclosure fairly dry at most times.
However, as with the temperature inside your sulcata’s enclosure, you’ll also want to offer different areas with varying humidity levels. The area near the basking spot will naturally remain quite dry, but you want to include several damper areas, to which your sulcata can retreat as needed.
You can accomplish this easily by dampening the substrate beneath one or more of your pet’s hiding spaces. In fact, this is what often occurs in the wild – sulcatas spend a lot of their time inside burrows or beneath vegetation, where the humidity level is quite high. They then move out into the open to forage, find mates, or search for drinking water.
Tips, Tricks, & Considerations
Sulcata’s can make great pets, but maintaining ideal temperatures and humidity levels is not always easy. Fortunately, there are a number of tips and tricks keepers have devised over the years, which make some of these challenges easier to overcome. A few of the most helpful include:
- You can add dense objects to the enclosure to incorporate more thermal mass, which will have the effect of raising the temperatures near the basking spot. This is helpful in cases in which you cannot get the basking spot (or surrounding habitat) warm enough.
- You can mist the substrate and habitat walls with room temperature water to increase the humidity when necessary. Alternatively, you can simply add water directly to the substrate.
- If you need to reduce the relative humidity within the enclosure, you can opt for a narrower water dish. Generally speaking, the greater the surface area of the water dish, the higher the humidity level will be.
- While you want to keep portions of the habitat humid, you never want them to be “wet.” Wet conditions lead to the growth of bacteria and fungi, which may lead to illness.
- Be especially careful that the enclosure is not wet overnight, when the temperatures fall. This is especially important with young tortoises.
- You can reduce the enclosure humidity, when necessary, by increasing the amount of ventilation provided. Try drilling more holes at the bottom of the enclosure walls to encourage airflow, which will help accelerate the evaporation rate.
- While sulcata enclosures should be on the dry side, it is important to prevent young tortoises from becoming dehydrated. Accordingly, damp hiding spaces are imperative for juveniles. In fact, most successful keepers even employ a regular soaking regimen, to ensure that their young sulcatas remain adequately hydrated.
Citations
- IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group – Centrochelys sulcata
