Gunter Christoph periods
Gunter Christoph periods of drought, but may also sometimes make an animal look fatter than it actually is. Field studies in northern Madagascar (seven female specimens) have demonstrated how flexible the diet of Kinixys belliana can be: 70 % leafy greens and herbs, 20 % fruit, and about 10% invertebrates (roaches and snails) (Broadley 1981). Literature information on a so-called optimum diet is fairly inconsistent. The tortoises, and wild-caught specimens in particular, are commonly described as very choosy; their expressed need for drinking and bathing is pointed out time and again (Egretzberger 1997, Highfield 2000). Regarding dietary aspects, the keepers of Kinixys belliana in the “Arbeitskreis Tropische Landschildkröten” concur with regard to the following details: - a high content of plant matter, - adjuvant calcium (products) in large amounts. These keepers made available plant matter in the shape of chicory, dandelion, clover, lettuces, common mushrooms, but also oyster mushroom, apple, herbs, and, every now and then, banana. The fibre content should be altogether rather high! Disagreement continues to prevail as to the proportional content and type of animal protein that is to be offered: - Three members of the workgroup recommended that snails, earthworms, beef heart, mealworms and others be offered once every week. - Two keepers of Kinixys belliana nogueyi reported that animal protein would not normally be accepted. - Four keepers pointed out that cat food and pellets would in general be unnatural constituents of the diet of Kinixys belliana nogueyi. The animals in my care are given earthworms and beetles only sporadically (twice a month), and they are never offered cat food. By far the greatest part of their diet consists of dandelion, chicory, common mushrooms, and herbs. Reproduction With the onset of a rainy season, which can vary in intensity in individual regions, the males engage in fights over mating rights and, in the following, copulate with their females. In captivity, changes in moisture levels and temperatures, but also the temporary separation of the sexes must be seen as triggers for mating activities (Marschall & Marschall 1993, van Pelt 2001). The males often first pursue their females for some time, butt them, and wedge themselves very effectively during copulation. Mating then takes about 10-15 minutes, during which period the male, but to a lesser extent also the female, will produce loud sounds. Females ready to mate will lift themselves high on their hindlegs, display their heads, and often appear visibly exhausted after copulation. By far most keepers keep these animals in groups. The composition of temporary breeding pairs by means of borrowing an adult specimen from another keeper is a very risky undertaking, with stress, infections etc. having the potential of causing the death of one of the animals involved. This was experienced by one member of the “Arbeitskreis Tropische Landschildkröten”, who, in the quest of composing an “optimum” breeding pair, borrowed a male to mate with his female. A week after the male had been returned his female perished for no apparent reason. This breeding practice must therefore, in my eyes, be considered only with a great amount of careful deliberation. In captivity, oviposition takes place between early December and mid-February. The female will excavate a relatively deep (10-14 cm) nest pit in the warm, slightly moist bottom substrate during the evening hours. The quality of food is determined by its mineral contents, the quantitative spread of these 6 RADIATA 16 (4), 2007
On the Husbandry and Breeding of the West African Hinge-backed Tortoise minerals in proportion to each other, and the contents of trace elements and vitamins. For the quality of the eggshell, the ratio between bone-stabilizing calcium and vital phosphate (which is essential for the functioning of liver and kidneys) – commonly known as the Ca/P quotient – is of utmost importance. I am not aware of any publication dealing with egg sizes in Kinixys belliana belliana, but for Kinixys belliana nogueyi (which is the subspecies most commonly kept by members of the “Arbeitskreis Tropische Landschildkröten”) eggs measuring 32-43 28-32 mm, and for Kinixys belliana zombensis those of 40 29 mm have been described. Workgroup members applied incubation temperatures ranging from 28.0 to 30.5 °C. Taking into account daily fluctuations, this would correspond to my observations. Depending on individual incubation conditions, the resultant incubation periods varied from 130 to 146 days (mean 140.6 days) according to records kept by the members of the Workgroup. van Pelt (2001) gave a range of 120-170 days in this respect. Several instances of egg-binding in captive West African hinge-backed tortoises could be successfully resolved with weight-dependent injections of Oxytocin. One female in the collection maintained by Marschall & Marschall (1993) received, for example, 15 IU (International Units) Oxytocin subcutaneously into the ventral skin of the left thigh. One of my animals also experienced a similar problem in January of 2004. Owing to the problems associated with the volume (3 IU/ml) of Oxytocin, only 10 IU were injected subcutaneously into the left thigh. The animal subsequently produced two “giant eggs” 130 minutes later. In spite of numerous breeding successes, regular hatching and successful raising of Kinixys belliana is still associated with many unanswered questions. This applies in particular to the sometimes very poor hatching ratio (with babies perishing fully developed in their eggs), for which plausible explanations cannot always be found. Even at Rotterdam Zoo, four out of twentyseven captive-bred Kinixys belliana nogueyi perished during the period from October 1983 to the end of June 1995, and one out of six hatchling Kinixys belliana belliana was lost (number of eggs unknown, Zwartepoorte pers. comm.). Hatchlings are very active during their first four weeks of life, bathing often, and climbing on objects. Their bottom substrate should consist of fine gravel, and there should be a Breeder of WG „Tropical Tortoises“ (enumerated) Tab. 1. Overview. Number of eggs deposited Number of hatchlings Survived for longer than six months 1 31 3 1 2 12 0 0 3 12 0 0 4 30 5 4 5 8 1 1 6 4 0 0 7 28 3 2 RADIATA 16 (4), 2007 7
