Keeping and Breeding Karoo Dwarf Tortoises (Chersobius boulengeri)

Abstract

Karoo dwarf tortoises belong to the group of so-called dwarf tortoises. The former genus Homopus, which included all five extant species of dwarf tortoises, was divided into the genera Homopus and Chersobius in 2017 (Hofmeyr et al., 2017). The genus Homopus now contains the species Homopus areolatus (Thunberg, 1787) and Homopus femoralis Boulenger, 1888, while the genus Chersobius includes Chersobius boulengeri (Duerden, 1906), Chersobius signatus (Gmelin, 1789), and Chersobius solus (Branch, 2007). With the exception of C. solus, which occurs onlyin Namibia, all dwarf tortoises are endemic to South Africa. From a husbandry perspective, it is important to note that the genus Chersobius produces single-egg clutches, whereas the genus Homopus can lay multiple eggs per clutch.