The smallest turtle in the world. Unable to reproduce until she gets enough sleep (5 photos)

Have you seen toy model cars? They are very cool, you want to pick them up and touch them, even if you are not a collector and are generally indifferent to cars. Our heroine, the Cape spotted tortoise, evokes approximately the same feelings.





Today we will dive into the world of small turtles and find out why they won’t even think about reproducing until they get enough sleep.



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Our mini-guest lives in the south of Namibia and in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, this place gave her her name. The choice of these places to live was dictated by the fact that the animal likes shrubby savannas and forests; it is in these biomes that it successfully finds its favorite treats: flowers, fruits and other plant foods.





“Damn, man, let go already, you said we’ll only play airplane for five minutes!”

What is the most important thing in life for a turtle? Find a puddle of mutagen and meet the rat teacher. The Cape Speckled was unlucky in this regard. In size, it barely reaches 10 cm in length, and this is the case with females, they are larger. The guys are content with their 6 cm and don’t complain. The average weight of a mini tank with legs ranges from 95 to 160 grams.

No one knows how long this turtle can survive in the wild, but judging by the fact that its population is assessed as being close to vulnerable, things are not going well. But in captivity they live up to almost 30 years.



“I’d rather stay with the soft leather man.”

The babies of these small cars are born even more tiny - a turtle that has just hatched from an egg can reach a length of up to 35 mm, while it weighs only about 8 grams. The survival of the species is also hampered by the fact that the baby mother lays only a few single eggs, burying each one in a separate hole.

But before she even decides to lay at least one egg, something else must happen - the future parents must get a good night's sleep. The fact is that in this species, sexual behavior is triggered only by hibernation, which lasts up to 10 weeks. If the females get enough sleep, there will be babies; if they don’t get enough sleep, depending on your luck.



- Zina, did you get enough sleep?

During the mating season, male Cape spotted tortoises display unprecedented aggression towards both other males and females. I’ll digress a little from the topic and say that it was quite difficult for me to write a line about the terrible aggression of a six-centimeter animal with a serious face, I hope that no one suffered from their attacks.

These turtles are suitable for captivity and many terrarium keepers want to get their hands on them. However, the reptile is considered difficult to care for due to its fastidiousness in food, temperature and other factors. These little ones share the same planet with us.