Spider Tortoise.

Spider Tortoise

The spider tortoise is a rare, critically endangered species of tortoise from Madagascar.

Spider Tortoises.

Spider Tortoises (Pyxis arachnoides), Toronto Zoo.

Spider tortoises are endemic to Madagascar and because of their limited range they are in danger of extinction.

Spider tortoises are mostly vegetarian but they do eat insect larvae, and even feces of other animals.

In spite of being critically endangered some people do keep spider tortoises as pets even though they are difficult to keep in captivity as they have very special needs in terms of temperature and accommodation.

Spider Tortoise.

While many spider tortoises in the pet trade are captive bred there are incidences of tortoise smuggling of wild caught animals from Madagascar which makes the whole notion of keeping a critically endangered species as pets very questionable.

Unless you are an experienced tortoise keeper you probably should not get a spider tortoise as a pet as their special needs need to be met. In any case probably only captive bred spider tortoises should be kept as pets as any wild caught animal is probably the result of illegal activity that threatens the survival of a critically endangered species.

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Last updated: October 8, 2014

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