{"topic_id":"exotic_husbandry_african_spurred_tortoise","category":"exotic-pet-husbandry","context":"---\ntopic_id: exotic_husbandry_african_spurred_tortoise\ncategory: exotic-pet-husbandry\ntitle: \"African spurred tortoise husbandry — calcium-fortified fibrous plant diet; large outdoor enclosures\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com) — non-Open-Access; paraphrased derived fact summary per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3.\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/exotic-b3/reptile_husbandry.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-07-29\ntokens_estimated: 49\nverified: true\nverification:\n  method: paraphrase\n  claims: 3\n  passed: 3\n  date: 2026-08-04\nsource_document: \"Merck Veterinary Manual (professional veterinary reference)\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"Merck Veterinary Manual\"\n  title: \"African spurred tortoise husbandry — calcium-fortified fibrous plant diet; large outdoor enclosures\"\n  url: \"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/reptiles/management-and-husbandry-of-reptiles\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-07-29\"\n  ref: \"\"\n  doc_type: \"professional veterinary reference\"\n  needs_review: false\nlicense: paraphrase\ncopyright_note: \"Source Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com) is © Merck & Co., Inc. and not openly licensed; per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3 all claims are paraphrased derived fact summaries (numbers and proper nouns preserved, sentences rewritten), not verbatim quotations.\"\nauthority_tier: T3\nauthority_tier_basis: \"T3:vet-ref\"\nauthority_tier_date: 2026-08-04\n---\n# African spurred tortoise husbandry — calcium-fortified fibrous plant diet; large outdoor enclosures\n\nSource: Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com), a copyrighted professional veterinary reference. Per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3, the points below are paraphrased derived fact summaries: numerical values and proper nouns are preserved from the source, but sentences are rewritten and not quoted verbatim.\n\n## Claims\n\n*[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* African spurred (sulcata) tortoises are common pets but need calcium-fortified, fibrous, plant-based diets and broad-spectrum lighting; they grow from 5-cm (2-inch) hatchlings to over 100 kg adults, so need large (preferably outdoor) enclosures, which is hard in cooler northern areas.\n*[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* UVB light (290–300 nm) is especially important for most day-active lizards and chelonians for vitamin D3 synthesis and calcium regulation.\n*[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Humid microclimates are often critical for arid species (e.g. tortoises, leopard geckos) to reduce shell pyramiding and abnormal sheds.\n","sources":["exotic-pet-husbandry — African spurred tortoise husbandry — calcium-fortified fibrous plant diet; large outdoor enclosures (retrieved 2026-07-29)"],"source":{"authority":"exotic-pet-husbandry","title":"African spurred tortoise husbandry — calcium-fortified fibrous plant diet; large outdoor enclosures","url":"https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/reptiles/management-and-husbandry-of-reptiles","retrieved":"2026-07-29","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual (professional veterinary reference)","verification_file":"pdf-raw/exotic-b3/reptile_husbandry.txt"},"source_document":"Merck Veterinary Manual (professional veterinary reference)","source_file":"pdf-raw/exotic-b3/reptile_husbandry.txt","trust":{"authority_tier":"T3","fidelity":"paraphrase","license":"paraphrase","display_grade":"B"},"tokens_estimated":49,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}