Uncharacteristically active hyper 13 year old African Spur

[Bentherules]

Hi guys. So Iv had my African spur thighed tortoise since she was a baby. She is 13 now. In that time she’s had a Number of enclosures but for the last few years she’s been living happily sharing the home with me with her base being in the kitchen with easy access to all rooms and the garden. However over the last 4-6 weeks or so she has become so crazy, non stop walking, climbing, eating, poohing, peeing and just general destruction that Iv never seen from her before. She’s becoming more of a handful than the dog. My question is: has she reached sexual maturity and is this the first mating season she’s encountered and what can I do to make things better for her?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome!

I don't think your tortoise is an "African" spur thigh, but rather a "Mediterranean" spur thigh, but I'll sent an alert to one of our more experienced members to find out for sure - @HermanniChris

She may be looking for a place to lay eggs. Is there a nice patch of dirt somewhere in the sun that would be suitable for this purpose?

 

[Bentherules]

Hi, and welcome!

I don't think your tortoise is an "African" spur thigh, but rather a "Mediterranean" spur thigh, but I'll sent an alert to one of our more experienced members to find out for sure - @HermanniChris

She may be looking for a place to lay eggs. Is there a nice patch of dirt somewhere in the sun that would be suitable for this purpose?

She hasn’t mated so no chance of that. Also she is from Morocco that much I know for sure. She’s spends time in the garden but I need eyes on her at all times due to urban foxes.

 

[Yvonne G]

They can lay eggs without a male, but they won't be fertile.

 

[Tom]

Yvonne is right. African spur thigh is the sulcata. Your torotise is one of the "greek tortoise" subspecies, Testudo graeca, aka the Mediterranean spur thigh. Its very confusing since your tortoise is a "spur thigh", and Morocco is in Africa... That's why most of us call your species the greek tortoise, even though it isn't from Greece.

First and foremost, show us a picture of the tail and anal scutes to confirm the sex. Next, make your torotise a dedicated large enclosure, and leave it in there. Loose in the house is a recipe for injury, death or disaster that we see all the time. Many people do it and they supervise and are sure it is safe, right up until the day they realize it isn't safe and can't be made safe, and then its too late.

 

[Bentherules]

Yvonne is right. African spur thigh is the sulcata. Your torotise is one of the "greek tortoise" subspecies, Testudo graeca, aka the Mediterranean spur thigh. Its very confusing since your tortoise is a "spur thigh", and Morocco is in Africa... That's why most of us call your species the greek tortoise, even though it isn't from Greece.

First and foremost, show us a picture of the tail and anal scutes to confirm the sex. Next, make your torotise a dedicated large enclosure, and leave it in there. Loose in the house is a recipe for injury, death or disaster that we see all the time. Many people do it and they supervise and are sure it is safe, right up until the day they realize it isn't safe and can't be made safe, and then its too late.

I had a tortoise table which she just wanted to get out of all the time. I am mindful of household dangers like stairs, etc . I just feel now she needs an outdoor enclosure. I’ll take a photo of her tail tomorrow and post it here as she’s sleeping. But any ideas on ways to improve her quality of life would be much appreciated.