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The radiated tortoise has a high domed shell with flat top pyramids on his shell. The purpose of these is believed to help protect the tortoise and maybe to help him get back on his ventral side if he accidently tipped on his dorsal side. It has a blunt head and elephant feet to help support its body weight. Its legs, feet and head are yellow, except for a variably sized black patch on top of its head. The radiated tortoise's shell is black with yellow/orange stars on its shell. We don't really know what the colored stars do for the tortoise. The tortoise can also grow to almost 16 inches straight, making it the largest of the "starred" tortoises. To tell a female from a male is pretty hard, except that a male has a generally longer tail than the female. This unique tortoise has a lot of interesting facts about it. The tortoise has no real voice, except during mating, the male will grunt or hiss distinctively. In the wild the tortoise is an herbivore, feeding on grasses and succulents. While in captivity, the radiated tortoise will eat fruits and vegetables if it is fed them.
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In captivity, at Burnet Park Zoo, the radiated tortoise is in very warm surroundings with another animal, such as a tropical snake. This tortoise lives on the ground and sometimes burrows into the soil to keep cool. |
The radiated tortoise is native to the southern part of the country Madagascar. Madagascar is an island off the continent of Africa. There they live in dry regions of brush, thorn bushes and woodlands. |
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The radiated tortoise has special adaptions to help it survive in the wild. It has a hard shell to help protect it from animals stepping on it and trying to eat it. Sometimes humans eat the radiated tortoise. It has flat spikes to help it roll over if it is on its back, elephant feet to support its weight and help it move quickly, and claws to help move. |
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There is one big environmental change in the radiated tortoise's habitat. That is that humans are taking over where they live in Madagascar and that causes them to become rare. This is very bad for the many tortoises that live there. Our solution would be to set land aside for the tortoises so they can gain their population back. We hope someday the radiated tortoise will not be rare in their home country, Madagascar. |
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Kirkpatrick, David T. "Radiated Tortoise". Reptile & Amphibian Magazine. March/April 1992: 18-24 |