Calling All Kinixys Experts!

HairyRevolver

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Hi, I have a female kinixys homeana and I need to know what conditions a kinixys is supposed to be kept in. I have a UVB light, a heat emitter, and I keep the humidity around 70%-90%. I let her roam around outside for 20 min everyday, and I give her baths around every 2 weeks. I also feed her red leaf lettuce and leaf lettuce about 1-2 times a week. Am I doing everything right??
 

Jacqui

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How strong is the UV? How long do you have it on and how does she react to it? How hot are you keeping her? Is her enclosure planted and/or have several hides?

Does she seen to enjoy going outside? Trying to find the baseline for your individual animal, is why all the questions. For example with some, going outsude daily would be a stress .

What else are you feeding her and how often?
 

MichaelaW

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Homeana eat fruit, mushrooms, and insects as well as greens. Red and green leaf lettuce is not the best choice. Dandelions, collards, turnip greens, and other weeds are better items. They also prefer subdued lighting and lots of hiding areas.
 

Jacqui

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Anyfoot

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Hi, I have a female kinixys homeana and I need to know what conditions a kinixys is supposed to be kept in. I have a UVB light, a heat emitter, and I keep the humidity around 70%-90%. I let her roam around outside for 20 min everyday, and I give her baths around every 2 weeks. I also feed her red leaf lettuce and leaf lettuce about 1-2 times a week. Am I doing everything right??
Hi hairyrevolver and welcome.

Uvb wants to be 2.5 to 5.0. Any more is too bright. They are a tropical forest dwelling species. My heat is at 80F maximum under the CHE's down to 70F at the cool end. They seem to favor the cooler end, occasionally they will sit at the warm end then return to the cooler end.
I feed worms,slugs or snails every 2nd or 3rd day. Fruit and mushrooms every day with greens mixed in. I have always struggled to get them to eat greens(tried starvation to). The only things I can get them to eat occasionally are, dandilions, grass, rocket and spinach. I feed spinach sparingly as too much is not good for calcium absorption. So greens get mixed in every day, sometimes they eat it and sometimes they don't.
Fruit is usually plum,papaya,mango,melon,strawberries, banana and once or twice a month I give them a Mandarin(small orange), this is between 5 adults. So in a month they probably eat half a Mandarin each at the most.
Humidity is really off the scale, they like it wet. They live in the rain forest and marsh lands. So you need to spray them regularly, if I stand there for 5 minutes spraying them they come alive. Feeding, licking stones and leaves of water, males usually get frisky too.
You must have a bath big enough for her to self soak all the time. I use cat litter trays for this. If it's too deep put some flat rocks in the bottom.
Substrate wants to look like a forest floor, full of debris. So a thick layer of coir or soil then dried leaves, twigs, orchid bark, few stones.
If you don't put a layer of debris in they will be sat on wet soil for too long. (Shell rot)
At one point I was using cyprus mulch and bayleafs as part of the debris, these go mouldy when constantly wet. So you need to keep an eye on what goes mouldy and what does not. If it moulds don't use it again.
I give mine a good spray about 3 times a week.
You need hides too so she feels safe. Plant pots, plants, piled up leaves, even a pile of small branches out of the garden will do.

Hope that helps.
 

Kapidolo Farms

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Anyfoot said everything. I use cucumber and both winter (hard) and summer (soft) squashes in the diet. Butternut seems to be a favorite. Strawberries, albeit very rarely can prompt eating. Flowers are good roses, dandelion, hibiscus, the color provokes eating. Hardboiled egg broken up can also be used if snails or worms etc are not easy access for you.

These are not extrovert tortoises like a sulcata or many Testudo. They are pretty much sit out of sight kind of guys until they feel secure in their surroundings. So that 20 minutes everyday outside can be made once a week. Access to bath like water 24/7. they will poop in their water so make the dish one that is shallow and easy to clean.. Clay saucers for plants work well.
 

juli11

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Hi hairyrevolver and welcome.

Uvb wants to be 2.5 to 5.0. Any more is too bright. They are a tropical forest dwelling species. My heat is at 80F maximum under the CHE's down to 70F at the cool end. They seem to favor the cooler end, occasionally they will sit at the warm end then return to the cooler end.
I feed worms,slugs or snails every 2nd or 3rd day. Fruit and mushrooms every day with greens mixed in. I have always struggled to get them to eat greens(tried starvation to). The only things I can get them to eat occasionally are, dandilions, grass, rocket and spinach. I feed spinach sparingly as too much is not good for calcium absorption. So greens get mixed in every day, sometimes they eat it and sometimes they don't.
Fruit is usually plum,papaya,mango,melon,strawberries, banana and once or twice a month I give them a Mandarin(small orange), this is between 5 adults. So in a month they probably eat half a Mandarin each at the most.
Humidity is really off the scale, they like it wet. They live in the rain forest and marsh lands. So you need to spray them regularly, if I stand there for 5 minutes spraying them they come alive. Feeding, licking stones and leaves of water, males usually get frisky too.
You must have a bath big enough for her to self soak all the time. I use cat litter trays for this. If it's too deep put some flat rocks in the bottom.
Substrate wants to look like a forest floor, full of debris. So a thick layer of coir or soil then dried leaves, twigs, orchid bark, few stones.
If you don't put a layer of debris in they will be sat on wet soil for too long. (Shell rot)
At one point I was using cyprus mulch and bayleafs as part of the debris, these go mouldy when constantly wet. So you need to keep an eye on what goes mouldy and what does not. If it moulds don't use it again.
I give mine a good spray about 3 times a week.
You need hides too so she feels safe. Plant pots, plants, piled up leaves, even a pile of small branches out of the garden will do.

Hope that helps.

Yep perfect! I can't add something!
Homeana need a wet (70-100%) warm (25-30C degrees) enclosure and love proteins (snails, worms etc).
:D
 

HairyRevolver

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How strong is the UV? How long do you have it on and how does she react to it? How hot are you keeping her? Is her enclosure planted and/or have several hides?

Does she seen to enjoy going outside? Trying to find the baseline for your individual animal, is why all the questions. For example with some, going outsude daily would be a stress .

What else are you feeding her and how often?


Hi Jacqui, thanks for responding. My UV is 5.0 and I don't know when to turn it on/off, so I usually turn it on about every hour or so (when I'm home. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to keep it on while I'm away). It seems as if she likes it, if not she at least tolerates it. I try to keep the temperature around 90°F/32°C. I have also tried to grow plantation several times in her tank but all attempts have failed, and I do not have any hides in her tank (I'm building a new one soon.)
As for going outside, I'm not too sure how to tell what a tortoise likes. What I can tell you though is she spends 3/4 of her time sitting around, and the rest of it walking around.
For food, I'm trying to find something healthy and something she likes. At the moment though, the only other meals I have for her are Fluker's Tortoise Diet: Land Turtle Formula and Zoo-Med Gourmet Tortoise Food, but I'm quickly trying to find a healthier and tastier alternative.
Please excuse me for any mistakes I have made, as this is my first post.
 

juli11

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Hi Jacqui, thanks for responding. My UV is 5.0 and I don't know when to turn it on/off, so I usually turn it on about every hour or so (when I'm home. Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to keep it on while I'm away). It seems as if she likes it, if not she at least tolerates it. I try to keep the temperature around 90°F/32°C. I have also tried to grow plantation several times in her tank but all attempts have failed, and I do not have any hides in her tank (I'm building a new one soon.)
As for going outside, I'm not too sure how to tell what a tortoise likes. What I can tell you though is she spends 3/4 of her time sitting around, and the rest of it walking around.
For food, I'm trying to find something healthy and something she likes. At the moment though, the only other meals I have for her are Fluker's Tortoise Diet: Land Turtle Formula and Zoo-Med Gourmet Tortoise Food, but I'm quickly trying to find a healthier and tastier alternative.
Please excuse me for any mistakes I have made, as this is my first post.

Do you have any pictures of the enclosure? It's much easier if we can see what you have and not only your description... Homeana is actually not tortoise for outdoor. Expect you live in a really warm and wet area. Where do you live? I'm also not a fan of this indoor/outdoor keeping. So you put it in the outside and after 4 hours you put it back in the enclosure indoor. That's more stress than fun for the tortoise. So either indoor or outdoor.
For feeding please read anyfoots answer he actually says everything. I don't know this kind of food you're talking about but it sounds like packet food. Fresh food is better all the time!
 

HairyRevolver

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Do you have any pictures of the enclosure? It's much easier if we can see what you have and not only your description... Homeana is actually not tortoise for outdoor. Expect you live in a really warm and wet area. Where do you live? I'm also not a fan of this indoor/outdoor keeping. So you put it in the outside and after 4 hours you put it back in the enclosure indoor. That's more stress than fun for the tortoise. So either indoor or outdoor.
For feeding please read anyfoots answer he actually says everything. I don't know this kind of food you're talking about but it sounds like packet food. Fresh food is better all the time!

I have a few pictures of the enclosure from a while ago, but none from right now. I just discovered that my lamp is broken and I'll need to buy a new one so I can't take a picture. I will also consult your advice about going outside. I also live in a rather warm and humid part of IL.

(The tank is temporary)
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/attach...9/?temp_hash=0c93903f87c464ac9cbfd9465412061a
 

Jacqui

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For the diet, what have you tried? Talking fresh fruits, worms/bugs in addition to the greens.
 

HairyRevolver

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For the diet, what have you tried? Talking fresh fruits, worms/bugs in addition to the greens.


I've been trying to find more fruit to give her, but different kinds of fruit around her are very limited. So far, I've only been able to give her tomatoes, oranges, watermelon, and banana (she likes them all). As for worms/bugs, I have not been able to get any live meat yet. I have only been able to find mealworms for live food so far. I also plan to take her to a reptile vet soon.
 

Jacqui

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How about mushrooms? Where are you located?
 

Jacqui

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Try all types of mushroons. most every grocery store offers atleast the basic white mushrooms, cantaloupe/muskmelons, squashes and mango. Even often plantain and papaya. Pineapple, pears and plums, too. Can even go for canned pumpkin, baby food squashes and carrots. Try giving a little boiled egg or poultry.

How about earthworms?
 

HairyRevolver

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Try all types of mushroons. most every grocery store offers atleast the basic white mushrooms, cantaloupe/muskmelons, squashes and mango. Even often plantain and papaya. Pineapple, pears and plums, too. Can even go for canned pumpkin, baby food squashes and carrots. Try giving a little boiled egg or poultry.

How about earthworms?


Hmm, I never realized how many options there are for food. I will definitely buy some mushrooms and some fruits next time I find myself at a store. I'll also try to find some earthworms, hopefully packaged. Thanks for the advice!
 

16rash

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You can buy live earthworms online.I usually order European night crawler at insectssale.com.
 

William Lee Kohler

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Many tortoises like some protein and the smellier the better. However smelly's not really necessary as they have pretty good smellers:p. My Bells get a little canned cat food a couple times a week and it's a big hit. No need to worry about live food. Too much protein and the enclosure(and house)can get smelly from their excrement:eek:.
 
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