Marek Harvan allow the
Marek Harvan allow the tortoises to submerge. They like to spend hours or even days in water. Dimmed overhead lights may be added with fluorescent lights. UV-B lighting is not necessary in adult animals. Heating should be provided with heat pads situated at the bottom or underneath the terrarium supplemented by a basking light. Kinyxis homeana bask under bulbs or on heated substrate for short periods. It is easy to maintain necessary humidity and temperature in such well-equipped terrariums. When simulating the rainy season, I pour several liters of water into a terrarium and spray it. During the dry season I only spray terrariums a few times in a week. Temperature should be kept at 22-28 °C (locally 32 °C) during the summer months and 20-24 °C (locally 30 °C) during the winter months. A nighttime drop in temperature as well as simulation of the rainy season and the dry season are recommended to successfully keep this species in captivity. Reproduction Kinyxis homeana copulates during and for a short time after the rainy season. Nevertheless, they can mate, especially when kept together in groups, throughout the whole year in captivity. At the start of the rainy season in March I start to spray the terrariums intensively and the activity of the tortoises increases. Males stop females and try to copulate with them in the same way as other members of Testudinidae. Males of Kinyxis homeana are calmer during copulation than Kinixys erosa. They emit wheezy sounds during copulation and keep their neck outstretched with their mouth open. Gravid females walk around the terrarium in search of a suitable site for egg laying. They usually lay during the late afternoon or evening. Using their hind feet they dig a hole in which they deposit 2-4 white, hard-shelled eggs. The eggs measure 36-43 31-37 mm and are 0.45-0.50 mm thick. There are several clutches per year. To incubate the eggs, I place them in a bed of moist vermiculite, leaving each egg about one third exposed. I then covered the clutch with sphagnum moss. I incubate the eggs at 27-31 °C for 123 to 130 days. Incubation can be as short as 110 days when the temperature is 30 °C. After breaking through their egg, the neonates may rest in the shell for several more hours or days, until the yolk sack is fully absorbed. I recommend leaving the hatchlings inside the incubator during this period. The young are 45-48 41-43,5 20-23 mm (length, width and shell height). There may be an opening in the abdominal scutes if the tortoise hatches with a. retained yolk sack. In this case, the young should be rinsed and allowed to drink. Later they should be placed in a sterile terrarium with no substrate, just a sheet of moist linen inside, until the abdominal opening is fully closed. Hatchlings should be allowed to soak in shallow tepid water daily. Hatchlings and small tortoises need a lot of water to grow without deformities. Also, temperature should be kept higher than with adults at 24-30 °C and a relative humidity of 85-90 %. Fig. 7. Females of Kinixys homeana. 24 RADIATA 16 (4), 2007
The genus Kinixys Fig. 8. Mating of Kinixys homeana. Hatchlings should be fed daily the same food as adults are fed. I only add more calcium into their diet, in the form of shaved cuttlebone. Conclusion Forest dwelling Kinyxis homeana are interesting to keep. They are calm in terrariums. Captive bred animals are not so shy as imported adults. This Kinixys species should be kept separately from other Kinixys species. Kinixys erosa This biggest Kinixys species has no subspecies and live a similar life style to Kinixys homeana. Distribution It ranges through most of western Africa from Gambia to Gabon, the Congo, and Zaire. It always occurs in tropical rainforest, sometimes in association with riverbanks. Description The shell (to 315 mm) of this distinctive tortoise is more oval than elongated. It is yellow-brown in color with every scute bordered with dark brown. Rays of pale cream color are visible in growing animals between the marginal and pleural scutes. Adults are totally dark. The nuchal scute is never present. The first three marginal scutes on both sides are distinctively long and flare up. Also, the posterior marginals beginning with the ninth are serrated and flare up; the shell is widest and the most monumental in this point. The keel is visible at the center of the vertebral scutes. The costal scutes are slightly concave. The plastron is dominated by two long, divided gular scutes. Dark brown to black blotches cover every tan plastral scute. Only the gular scutes are pale on the underside. The hind feet are more brightly colored than the front feet. Three large scales forming a triangle dominate the front feet. These scales may be dark brown to brightly colored like the head. The tail is massive and cream-yellow colored. It may terminate with a spur, as is the case in other Kinixys species. The head is distinctly elongated, narrowing in the snout. It is dark yellow to orange in color. This tortoise has big dark eyes, as are characteristic for rainforest tortoises. The shape of the plastron, tail characteristics, length of the gular scutes and body size varies by gender. Males are bigger and may grow up to 315 mm, whereas females only to 250 mm. The plastron of males over 200 mm is concave, but not in smaller males. The tail of males is thick and very long compared to the tail on females. Also, males have longer gular scutes than do females. Climatic Note Temperature, humidity and lighting are similar to Kinixys homeana, because they occur in the same environment and latitude band. They like to stay close to water. Diet Their diet is similar to that of Kinixys homeana. RADIATA 16 (4), 2007 25
