What Is Needed for a Pet African Pancake Tortoise?

Pancake tortoises (Malacochersus tornieri) are unusual little tortoises native to Kenya and Tanzania. In their home range, pancake tortoises live on rocky outcrops, termed kopjes, where they use the deep rock crevices to thermoregulate and hide from predators. Most turtle species' shells are highly domed and made of platelike bones that fit edge-to-edge, but pancake tortoises have flat shells with numerous gaps between the bones of the carapace.

  1. Enclosure

    • Pancake tortoises are somewhat gregarious; they can and should be kept in small groups -- though mature males shouldn't be kept together. These small but highly active turtles require about 8 square feet of floor space for their enclosure. Commercially produced reptile cages, stock tanks, pond liners or custom-built enclosures can serve pancake tortoises. It is important that the enclosure has a lid or an inward-facing lip to prevent these acrobatic turtles from escaping. It's a concern that doesn't exist with many turtle species. In addition to being escape artists, pancake tortoises are difficult to keep outdoors, particularly in areas with vastly different climates than their tropical home. Indoor housing, with occasional supervised outdoor time, is recommended.

    Hiding and Climbing Opportunities

    • Mimicking pancake turtles' natural habitat is crucial to their long-term maintenance and well-being. Accomplish this by stacking flat rocks in several areas of the enclosure so that numerous narrow gaps exist. In addition to the hiding spots provided by the gaps, the rocks will allow climbing opportunities and visual barriers. Pancake tortoises like to wedge themselves tightly into their hiding spots, so hiding places should fit the turtles snugly. Include several rock piles in the enclosure. The stacks' temperatures will have different temperatures once you add a basking spot. It is important to ensure that the rock piles aren't subject to collapse; use a nontoxic cement to fortify the structures if necessary. Realize that pancake tortoises will wedge themselves into hiding places tightly, using their front arms to lock themselves into place -- don't be alarmed if you aren't able to remove them easily.

    Heating

    • Wild pancake tortoises thermoregulate in their rocky habitat; will move from sun to shade, using the temperature gradients within crevices to maintain their body temperatures. For captive pancakes, you'll replicate this by placing at least one heat source over one or more of the rock piles. A dome lamp fitted with a regular incandescent light bulb or ceramic heat emitter works well. Use a thermometer to measure the basking spot, which should be between 95 and 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Besides a high-temperature basking spot or two, the ambient cage temperature should be in the low to middle 80s. In some cases, the basking spot will accomplish this; if it doesn't, add additional heat lamps. Experiment with wattage and placement until you have appropriate background temperatures as well as a few basking spots.

    Lighting

    • Pancake tortoises need access to full-spectrum lighting, including the UVB portion of the spectrum. Tortoises use this UVB radiation to produce Vitamin D, and subsequently process their dietary calcium. Accomplish this by allowing regular exposure to unfiltered sunlight or by incorporating UVB producing light bulbs. A few specialty light bulbs produce both the correct light and heat, but most often you'll need two sets of lights: one for heating and one for providing appropriate lighting. Use full-spectrum bulbs over most of the enclosure, which will produce a very bright cage that mimics the tortoises' natural habitat. As the turtles hail from equatorial Africa, the lights should be kept on a 12-hour cycle.

    Food, Water and Supplementation

    • Pancake tortoises are herbivores, and should be maintained on a grass, weed and flower based diet. Bermuda grass, timothy grass and dandelions all make good food sources and should form the bulk of the diet. Offer occasional treats like spineless cactus pads, tomatoes or berries, but these shouldn't be primary components of the diet. Pancake tortoises can be fed daily, though some keepers choose to feed them on an ever-other-day schedule. A shallow dish of clean, fresh water should be provided at all times, even though the tortoises may rarely drink. Some keepers supplement the tortoises' food with additional calcium, but unfortunately, supplementation recommendations vary wildly from one keeper to the next. Consult with your veterinarian to create a supplementation schedule.