Tiny Tortoise First

Can you imagine the excitement? The spider tortoise is one of the world’s smallest and rarest tortoises and it is possible it can become extinct in the wild. But the Paignton Zoo in England have a breeding pair, an experienced keeper and an egg that’s about to hatch.

Based on his researches, keeper Andy Meek has tried to mimic the environmental conditions of the south west coast of Madagascar to help this little egg survive. Spraying with water to make it feel like a rainforest was one, a cooling period to imitate a dormancy time within the incubation period was another.

The single egg was monitored constantly and on April 25th, after a period of 180 days, a tiny tortoise was born. The adults can grow up to six inches long and live up to 70 years. They get their name from the designs on their shells.

This breeding success will help assure that the breed continues, if only in captivity.

Luke Harding, the Curator of Lower Invertebrates and Invertebrates at the zoo said:

“This is a great achievement for all the team, but I must congratulate keeper Andrew Meek – this is an excellent example of the hard work, evidence-based husbandry and attention to detail that brings success. Andrew was the lead on this project and did all the hard work and research on how to cycle the animals and incubate the eggs, including the crucial cooling period.

“This species is not doing well in the wild. The more we can breed them and the more we can learn about their captive management and reproductive biology, the more we can contribute towards effective conservation measures in-situ.”