Description
Karoo dwarf tortoises have depressed, uniformly coloured carapaces of up to 13 cm long, which may be yellow, brown, or reddish. Ocassionally, vertebral and upper portions of costal scutes have dark margins. The plastron of males is concave, and both sexes may have buttock tubercles. The soft body parts have similarly uniform colours as the carapace. The overall appearance of Karoo dwarf tortoises (e.g., size, shell shape) is similar to speckled dwarf tortoises, but the two species have very different ecologies. 

In the wild
The species occurs in the Karoo (South Africa), roughly from Nxuba in the east, to Sutherland and Calvinia in the west. Most of the range is arid and receives summer rainfall. Karoo dwarf tortoises are restricted to isolated rocky habitats, where they favour eroded dolerite sills, although they use sandstone too. They remain in rocky retreats for more than 90% of daytime, have short activity peiods in the end of the day, and seem to use radiant heat from rocks to thermoregulate inside retreats. Doll’s roses (Hermannia spp.), including various dwarf shrubs, are an important part of the Karoo dwarf tortoises’ diet, and the tortoises disperse viable seeds of several plant species. Female Karoo dwarf tortoises have a unique egg-laying pattern, producing single-egg clutches in two distinct seasons, spring and autumn. Currently, only two small extant Karoo dwarf tortoise populations that may be viable are known to exist.

In captivity
All (legal) captive Karoo dwarf tortoises outside South Africa are included in a studbook led by Dwarf Tortoise Conservation. Karoo dwarf tortoises can be successfully kept and bred in captivity, but acclimation of individuals from the wild (particularly adjusting them to a captive diet) is much more difficult than in other dwarf tortoise species . Aggression between, and within, sexes requires that adult Karoo dwarf tortoises are housed solitarily. In addition, captive Karoo dwarf tortoises tend to be more active than wild individuals, so that enclosures need to be relatively large. For this species, husbandry guidelines are available.

Description
This is the world’s smallest tortoise, growing to a maximum staight carapace length of 11 cm. Buttock tubercles are present, and males have concave plastrons. Females have shells that are higher and wider than shells of males (after correcting for shell length), presumably to accommodate the large eggs. Moreover, gravid females can temporarily expand their shell when they are gravid.
Although no subspecies are currently recognised, there are morphological differences between populations. Northern individuals are distinguished from southern individuals by their serrated posterior marginals and pronounced sulcate carapace (i.e., deep narrow grooves between the scutes) with sunken areolae. The carapace of northern individuals has an overall dark appearance and a light-brown background colour. The carapace has large, dark speckles, and sometimes rays of background colour. In contrast, the carapace background of southern individuals is orange-red or salmon-pink, with a pattern of finer dark stipples and short, thin black rays. Northern population males and females have a different colouration of the carapace. Female carapaces are darker with more rays, compared to males, and male carapaces have more speckles.

In the wild
Speckled dwarf tortoises occur in the arid Northern and Western Cape (South Africa), roughly stretching from the Orange River in the north to Piketberg in the south and from the Atlantic coast in the west to Calvinia in the east. The entire range receives winter rainfall, roughly between March and August. Tortoises are confined to rocky terrain, where they hide in or near granite or sandstone rock crevices.
The main activity season of northern individuals is spring, when males and females sometimes share retreats, and mating takes place. In this season, tortoises have a unimodal activity pattern. The spring season has cold and overcast episodes with drizzle that can last 1-3 days. Night frosts occur as well. Nevertheless, the tortoises maintain high body temperatures by spending most of the day basking, especially around noon. The body condition and growth of the tortoises is strongly influenced by the amount of rainfall and timing of rain. These relationships probably manifest through variation in primary production. The most important food items are sorrels (Oxalis spp.), little tortoise tea (Leysera tenella), and a minute annual Crassula (Crassula thunbergiana minutiflora).
In spring, females produce several single-egg clutches that they burry in shallow nests under shrubs or overhanging rocks. Some data of temperatures in a natural nest are available.

In captivity
Dwarf Tortoise Conservation has extensive experience keeping and breeding northern speckled dwarf tortoises in captivity, and there are no reasons to suspect that the northern and southern populations differ greatly in their requirements. For this species, husbandry guidelines are available, and many details on husbandry can be found in the annual reports of Dwarf Tortoise Conservation. Most, if not all, northern speckled dwarf tortoises that were legally imported into the European Union, and their offspring, are owned by Dwarf Tortoise Conservation and registered in a studbook.

Description
Nama dwarf toroises are the only dwarf tortoises that are endemic to Namibia. They grow up to 15 cm, and have orange or brown carapaces, with dark pigmentation on the scute edges. Males have a concave plastron, but not as pronounced as in some other dwarf tortoises. Neither males nor females have buttock tubercles. Females produce clutches that consist of single eggs.

In the wild
Nama dwarf tortoises occur from Aus to Lüderitz in the west and Hunsberge in the south (all Namibia). Furthermore, a dead specimen was found as far north as Tiras mountains, in 1999. The area is arid, and receives most rain in late summer and autumn. The species is confined to rocky terrain, where population densities appear to be low. This species has been very poorly studied, and its biology is almost entirely unknown.

In captivity
Although Dwarf Tortoise Conservation does not have experience keeping Chersobius solus in captivity, the foundation has assisted a Namibian keeper and breeder of the species to process and publish his results.

Photo by Alfred Schleicher

Description
Parrot-beaked dwarf tortoises grow up to about 12 cm, making it a medium-sized dwarf tortoise. This species does not have buttock tubercles, or they are very small, and males do not have concave plastrons. The heads of males are larger than female heads, and typically develop a red colouration on the nose in spring. Although females may develop a similar colouration of the nose, it appears to be more frequent in males. The carapace of female tortoises is uniformly dark coloured (grey, brown, olive), compared to males that have lighter coloured carapaces. Females produce clutches that consist of one to four eggs.

In the wild
The range of parrot-beaked dwarf tortoises, the southern coastal area of South Africa, is relatively moist (Mediterranean climate). It is bordered by East London in the east and the Atlantic coast in the west. Isolated inland populations reach as far north as Nieuwoudtville. The primary rainfall season is winter, but occasional rains fall in other seasons. Parrot-beaked tortoises are the only dwarf tortoises that are not associated with a rocky habitat. Nevertheless, they are restricted to well-structured habitats where they use dense vegetation to shelter. The tortoises can be found in various vegetation types; coastal heathland, thornveld, valley and mountain bushveld, and transitional zone from forest to shrubland.
There is little published information on wild parrot-beaked dwarf tortoises. In areas where winter temperatures remain sufficiently high, the species is active throughout the year. In some areas, their habitat can be extremely humid in winter and spring, with a soil substrate saturated with water. Drier conditions develop in summer. Parrot-beaked tortoises are a very alert and agile, and able to move with great speed compared to other tortoises.

In captivity
Parrot-beaked tortoises are kept and bred on a regular basis in the European Union. However, the genetic basis of the captive population (within and outside the Dwarf Tortoise Conservation studbook) is very narrow, with inbreeding occurring at several breeders. For this species, husbandry guidelines are available. Further husbandry information can be found in the annual reports of Dwarf Tortoise Conservation.

Description
Greater dwarf tortoises are the largest dwarf tortoises, growing up to 17 cm. The carapace has a (light or dark) brown or orange colouration, with dark pigmentation on the scute margins. In some specimens, especially old individuals, the dark pigmentation may lack so that the shell is uniformly coloured. Males do not have concave plastrons, and buttock tubercles are present in both sexes. Females produce clutches that consist of up to four eggs, but lay only one clutch each year.

In the wild
The species occurs at high altitudes on the inland plateau of the Eastern Cape, northwards to central Free State and Schweizer-Reneke, eastwards to the border of Lesotho. Relict populations extend along the, relatively humid, old escarpment edge in the Karoo (Murraysburg to Sutherland). Most of the range receives summer rainfall. Greater dwarf tortoises prefer mountain grassveld, bushveld, and appear intermediate between parrot-beaked and other dwarf tortoises in their use of rocky terrain. While greater dwarf tortoises usually occur in rocky areas, they may not depend on crevices during their activity season in summer.

In captivity
Greater dwarf tortoises can be kept and bred successfully in captivity. The Dwarf Tortoise Conservation studbook contains a small number of individuals. For this species,  husbandry guidelines are available.