habitat_narrative

Terrestrial

Psammobates tentorius occurs in arid regions under varying temperature regimes, from sea level to at least 1,500 m. Psammobates t. tentorius occurs in regions with winter, summer and all-year rainfall, and dwarf shrubland with succulents, annuals, grasses and geophytes. Psammobates t. trimeni is restricted to a winter-rainfall region dominated by dwarf succulent shrubs and annuals. Psammobates t. verroxii occurs mainly on the inland plateau above 900 m, although its range may extend below the escarpment in the west, and rainfall in its range is predominantly in summer and generally unpredictable.

Branch (2008) reported that Tent Tortoises feed in early morning or late afternoon on grasses (Stipagrostis sp.), annuals (Oxalis sp., Gazania krebsian), and succulents (Anacampseros sp.). Psammobates t. verroxii in southern Namibia feeds on grasses, herbs, bulbs, succulents, trees/shrubs, other plant matter, and bone (Cunningham and Simang 2008).

Females reach 15 cm carapace length, males at 10-12 cm stay much smaller (Boycott and Bourquin 2000, Branch 2008). Generation time is estimated at 25-30 years by analogy with similar small dryland tortoises. Female P. t. tentorius in the Karoo have an extended reproductive season from spring to late autumn (October to June); they produce small clutches (1.78 ± 0.63; 1–3 eggs) but produce several clutches (3.7 ± 1.6; 1–6 clutches) in a season as a means of coping with low and unpredictable rainfall (Milton et al. 2004, Leuteritz and Hofmeyr 2007). Psammobates t. verroxii in southern Namibia produces clutches of 1-2 eggs, which take 220 days to incubate (Cunningham et al. 2004). Although the reproduction of P. t. trimeni has not been studied, anecdotal reports indicate that females produce one egg at a time (Boycott and Bourquin 2000).