The Natal hinged tortoise is a small land tortoise from South Africa. It has a movable hinge on its carapace that allows it to close the back of its body for protection.
The Natal hinged tortoise is distinguished from related species by a movable hinge on the back of its shell. This helps it hide from predators. It is important for nature because it eats harmful insects and snails and spreads plant seeds.
meadows, prairies, forb glades on land
Immature form that undergoes metamorphosis before adulthood.
pecking
Worker
birth time
Hot and almost no precipitation
Hot winter with almost no precipitation
Picking small food items from foliage, ground, or other surfaces.
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Legs count
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
beak
adult
Maturity
plant
insects
About health
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
summer warm, winter not very cold
Carapace size
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
hot, rains in summer, little precipitation in winter
rains are very rare, almost a desert
little precipitation in winter, more in summer
Trophic type
Filters
Captures or processes food by biting or nipping with the mouth.
summer very hot, dry, lots of grass
grass
Upcoming birthdays
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
leaf
live snails — terrestrial and aquatic
rains almost always, very humid
Age (from birth to death)
shrubland
Hot, little precipitation in winter
woodland
Wanderers
Food items are collected from exposed outer surfaces of substrates.
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Warm summer and frequent rains
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
fruits
Lifespan average
leaves
Regeneration
Carapace color
summer warm, rains frequent
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
gleaning
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
Pets
Indomalayan realm
Repeatedly strikes or probes substrate with beak to obtain food.
biting
Hot steppe
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
turns
Rascals
terrestrial grassland and steppe
terrestrial herbaceous
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Tropical savanna
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
grazing
snails
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
Species lacks any fixed or lasting shelter structure.
Feeds by cropping or nibbling low-growing vegetation or algae.
Low precipitation in winter
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
leaves and stems of grasses and other herbaceous vegetation
Bro
Taxons
seeds, berries, fruits
if born as {name}
omnivore
age
birth date
no permanent shelter
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
climbing
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
surface
primary food sources
teeth
Potential Habitat
lots of grass, few trees, rains are rare
Very hot summer
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
Plastron color
young shoots and leaves of plants
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
winter dry and very warm
from 130 grams to 0.5 kilograms, 0.35 – 0.8 meters
summer very hot, above +25…+30 °C
{name} birthday
Food is gathered directly from leaf surfaces.
Always hot
No results found
On the map
Pleasant summer
all life stages
Female ♀
world of Afrotropics
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Maturity
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Very dry
Neither
Moving up vertical surfaces like trunks or rocks to reach food.
from birth to adulthood
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
early young
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
world of Afrotropics
Duration
live insects
This is me
Steppe
Always very wet
Gamers
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
terrestrial
Carapace count
Asexual
swap
Southeast Asia and islands, always hot and humid
active predation
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Warm summer and lots of rain
Head color
celebrated their {n} birthday
open grassy spaces — steppes, savannas, prairies
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
very hot all year round, frequent rains, but sometimes dry
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
very hot and almost no precipitation
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
embryo
Hard, projecting mouthpart used to probe, pluck, or crack food.
Zucchini
Length
kg
lots of rain, warm and pleasant summer
Observations
◉{N} more on tap