Mario Herz kitchen
Mario Herz kitchen towels while they were medically treated for their worm load. The only objects in their tank were a water and a food bowl. After the treatment was successfully completed, I added coconut humus as a bottom substrate to their terrarium, followed by a water bowl that was large enough for bathing as well, and two potted agava plants. I also made available a shelter spot by generously piling up Sphagnum moss in one corner. As the tortoises grew, so did their terraria, first to inner dimensions of 120 × 75 × 55 cm, then to 140 × 70 × 50 cm, then to 150 × 200 × 60 cm, and finally they had a whole room of 12 m² to themselves. The original bottom substrate has since been replaced with hemp bedding, and plants are now only placed where the tortoises cannot reach them. Food is made available in adequately sized bowls or offered on a bed of hay (if hay is not the only ration of food for this day; see below). During the first two years of keeping, the young giant tortoises were fed daily, and it should be noted here that they would consume everything I placed in front of them. Because they truly eat everything, they also ingested parts of a sponge that I had intended to use for lining a cave that I was busy setting up for them. This had no adverse effects, fortunately, but it made me think better of it and remove both the sponge material and the cave. Ebersbach (2001) also emphasized that these tortoises were very voracious and would even ingest substrate. It is therefore recommendable to use a substrate that can pass through their digestive tract without posing a risk (as is the case, e.g., with hemp bedding, hay or straw pellets). After two years of keeping, one day per week without food was introduced, but hay was available all the time. At present (January of 2013), food is given about four times a week, with hay being available for consumption on all other days. Gerlach (2004a) offered his captive-bred specimens 25 % of their own body weight as food during their first Fig. 15. A young giant tortoise in the outdoor enclosure. 10 RADIATA 22 (4), 2013
Aldabra Giant Tortoise, Aldabrachelys gigantea gigantea Figs. 16-18. Weighing some 20 kg by now, the tortoises very obviously enjoy their being outdoors. RADIATA 22 (4), 2013 11
