The day-to-day work of breeding giant tortoises

In trying to save the Seychelles giant tortoises from extinction we have had to learn a great deal about giant tortoise biology. Over the past 12 years we have been surprised to find how little is really known about them, and how much received opinion is not based on any real facts. In their natural range it is relatively easy to provide them with a good diet, although it is very time consuming. Providing the right conditions for breeding is much harder: they need plenty of space and a good social environment. It may be anthropomorphic but it is still true that captive Seychelles giant tortoises like attention.

We provide our tortoises with all these things, and the results are rewarding: by 2009 we had produced 140 baby tortoises. We have now become the victims of our own success, with an increasing number of tortoises needing ever more food and ever more cleaning. In order to ensure that they are all growing well and receiving the food they need we weigh them every 3-4 months and move them to different enclosures depending on their weight.

We have put our experience together into a booklet "Raising Happy Giant Tortoises" designed to help people in Seychelles improve the way they keep giant tortoises.