14/03/2020
Something about ELONGATA / ELONGATED TORTOISE. Source from Wikipedia.
The elongated tortoise (Indotestudo elongata) is a species of tortoise found in Southeast Asia and parts of the Indian Subcontinent, particularly Northeast India.
Shell considerably depressed, more than twice as long as deep, with flat vertebral region; anterior and posterior margins slightly reverted, strongly serrated in young, feebly in old specimens. Carapace and plastron greenish yellow, each shield with an irregular black spot or blotch, which may occupy its greater portion, or may be much broken up or indistinct.
Typically, Indotestudo elongata are around 30 cm (12 inches) long and 3.5 kg (7 pounds) as an adult. Females tend to be wider than males and more rounded. Males also have a tail that is much larger than that of the female. The males have a concave plastron while the plastron of a female is flat. Additionally, the female's posterior claws are markedly longer and more curved than those of the male. It is believed that this is to facilitate nest building.
The species is found in India (Tripura, Jalpaiguri, East Bengal, and Singhbhum in Bihar), Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma (or Myanmar), Laos, Thailand (incl. Phuket), Cambodia, Vietnam, Western Malaysia, Southern China. Type locality: Arakan, Tenasserim, Burma.
The elongated tortoise is an endangered species and is in severe decline across its natural range.
The principal threats to this species are the mass harvesting of the remaining wild populations for the large and growing food markets in China and elsewhere in East Asia. It is also incorrectly believed in China that a mixture, made by grinding up the tortoise's shell, serves as an aphrodisiac.
In their natural habitat these tortoises browse a wide variety of plants. Likewise in captivity, they require a very wide range of foods, not just one type of vegetable. Their diet is principally a range of vegetables and edible leaves, however they also consume meat, snails, eggs and other food types. This serves to supplement their diet. Vegetables alone are not sufficiently varied.
This tropical species does not survive in cold climates. Those exported to Europe and North America for the pet trade usually suffer, and soon die, if they are not given special indoor care. They also require a constant water source, for bathing and drinking. Being reptiles, which cannot control their body temperature internally, they require a varied area in which they can access both sun and shade. This allows them to move around and thus to regulate and maintain their body temperature constant.