Herbivore

Wild -  Dry grasses & vegetation, occasionally fruit

Professional Care -  Dark leafy greens, vegetables

Wild:  20+ years

Professional Care: 30 - 35 years

Unlike most other tortoises, these tortoises have very flat and thin shells that allow them to run surprisingly quickly when threatened! They can fit into very narrow crevices in rocky outcroppings, and will often stack on top of each other like a pile of pancakes. 

Despite their build, they are very agile and can easily climb up the rocky outcroppings where they live.

Pancake tortoises are Critically Endangered due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and the illegal pet trade. Because the females reach reproductive age slowly and typically lay 1 - 5 eggs per year, Pancake tortoises have a very low reproductive rate. This means that removing individuals from the wild population has a more dramatic effect on their numbers.

Habitat loss due to human growth reduces the amount of usable land for Pancake tortoises and causes further harm to their populations.