Radiated Tortoise — Fact Sheet

Astrochelys radiata · Radiated Tortoise

📋 At a glance

🏠 Enclosure

• Outdoor housing is preferred where climate, drainage, and security are suitable
• Adult starting footprint: about 300 x 200 cm (6 m²); larger animals and groups need more
• Use opaque fencing, locked gates, anti-digging edges, and a heated retreat for cold or wet periods
• Substrate: firm soil-based surfaces that support walking, grazing, and shallow digging
• Avoid small terrariums, slick floors, sharp rubble, and bedding that remains cold or wet

🪨 Enclosure furniture

• Distinct basking, grazing, shaded, and dry sleeping zones
• Several full-body shelters at different temperatures
• Edible grasses, safe browse plants, shaded shrubs, and clean feeding slabs
• Stable stones or gentle terrain changes; no overturning traps

💡 Lighting

• UVB is essential indoors; aim for Ferguson Zone 3 at shell height in the basking area
• Preferred setup: T5 HO UVB tube plus a separately controlled basking lamp
• A measured mercury-vapor system may suit a large enclosure with a safe gradient
• Check UVI at shell height; replace lamps by measured output and manufacturer guidance
• Direct outdoor sunlight is excellent; glass and most plastics block useful UVB
• Photoperiod: 10-12 h, adjusted modestly with the season; no night light

🌡️ Temperature

• Basking spot: 32-35 °C

• Warm zone: 24-30 °C

• Cool zone: 20-24 °C

• Night: 18-23 °C

• Maintain a gradient with shaded retreats near the basking area

• Measure basking surfaces with an infrared thermometer and ambient zones with digital probes

• Use thermostats where appropriate; avoid heat rocks and unguarded heaters

💧 Humidity & water

• General humidity target: 50-70%, with local short-term access around 70-80%
• Keep sleeping shelters dry and ventilated; cold, stagnant dampness is dangerous
• Fresh shallow drinking water must always be available and easy to enter and leave
• Juveniles benefit from regular hydration checks and short, controlled soaks
• Rainfall cues may raise local humidity, but never wet the whole enclosure

🥬 Diet

Feed freely:

• Grasses, dandelion, plantain, sow thistle, hibiscus leaves and flowers, mulberry leaves, grape leaves, and safe browse

In moderation:

• Mixed leafy greens and soaked high-fiber tortoise pellets as occasional support

Avoid:

• Fruit-heavy diets, animal protein, dog or cat food, bread, dairy, and sugary produce

Supplements:

• Plain calcium or cuttlefish bone; use multivitamins sparingly and maintain effective UVB

🩺 Health — warning signs

• Soft shell or weak growth → inadequate UVB, calcium, or diet
• Pyramiding or rapid weight gain → excessive calories or poor hydration
• Nasal discharge or wheezing → respiratory disease, often linked to cold damp housing
• Swollen eyes or persistent closure → infection, irritation, dehydration, or nutritional problem
• Diarrhea or sustained weight loss → parasites, infection, or unsuitable diet Consult a reptile-experienced veterinarian for breathing signs, injury, prolonged refusal to eat, shell softness, diarrhea, or sustained weight loss.