Some basic questions about Homeana and Erosa care

Scincoides

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Hi everyone. I have 7 Homes, and 1 Erosa (sold to me as a homes). Ive had a pair for about a year now and absolutely love them, so i recently decided to add to the group. The original pair has lived outside all summer and was recently moved indoors into a melamine enclosure. I keep 3 inches of coconut coir/Topsoil mix with 1-2 inches of leaf litter on top. A 5.0 UVB bulb, and a ceramic heat emitter. It seems to be working very well. They are fed a varied diet of Mazuri, fresh fruits, boiled eggs, mushrooms, worms, and whatever greens and veggies i can convince them to eat mixed in with the other stuff. Both are large, outgoing animals. The newer ones are obviously imports, and did not come in in the best shape. One actually looks like its been chewed on by something large. I have them setup in 36 inch plastic tubs (2 each) with the same bedding mix, same UVB and heat setup. Im curious as to whether theres anything else that i should be doing to help acclimate them? They were all treated for parasites before arrival and are being quarantined for 90 days prior to being allowed anywhere near my existing animals. Although i cant really put them together till spring anyways, so the qt process will likely be much longer. These ones seem to be far more shy than my original pair were when i got them, dont eat as much, dont wander around or dig as much either. Supposedly the gender ratio is 2.5 homes and 0.1 Erosa, but they look to be mostly male, or at least i think they do. Im really not good at sexing Kinixys. Ive browsed a few posts here on Homeana care and ive seen it advised a few times that the UVB bulbs should be turned off for a while so that they can settle in. Is this a good idea? wouldnt living in darkness be even more stressful? Ive also read that male Kinixys dont do well together. Once i get these sexed, and established, im assuming that ill have to move at least a few males. What would you more experienced folks suggest as the ideal gender ratio for a group? Thanks in advance for the help. I truly appreciate it. 14492340_1190424794336608_2253259277762903696_n.jpg 14520580_1190424701003284_8243345932139222909_n.jpg
 

Scincoides

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I forgot to mention that they do have water bowls large enough to soak in, and are misted regularly. I have been soaking the new ones everyday since i got them, and my original pair get soaked about 3-5x per week.
 

Anyfoot

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I'm assuming these are adult imports, if so I would imagine 2 torts in one 36" tub is going to be very stressful for them, especially if they are all males.
For the UVB I would use a 2.5 fluorescent strip light, a small one set to one end of the enclosure or a 5.0 but try and dapple the light with a plant or something. They don't like it bright.
Can you load photos of there plastron and tail area so we can try and sex them.
 

Anyfoot

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It sounds like you could have a very good group there, assuming sex ratio is good, I would keep the erosa seperate if it was me.
 

Scincoides

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I'm assuming these are adult imports, if so I would imagine 2 torts in one 36" tub is going to be very stressful for them, especially if they are all males.
For the UVB I would use a 2.5 fluorescent strip light, a small one set to one end of the enclosure or a 5.0 but try and dapple the light with a plant or something. They don't like it bright.
Can you load photos of there plastron and tail area so we can try and sex them.

Thanks for the reply. I have a stack of 4ft vision cages in the reptile room set up for them, im just keeping them in the QT room in tubs until i can be certain that they arent harboring mites or anything else that can be spread to my other reptiles. The Erosa lives in a tub by herself. Im not big of mixing species. I have a pair of Spekes as well that live away from the Homeana.
Ill definitely take pics of the plastron and tail, i really appreciate the help. I should have time to get those taken this afternoon.
 

Scincoides

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Thanks for the reply. I have a stack of 4ft vision cages in the reptile room set up for them, im just keeping them in the QT room in tubs until i can be certain that they arent harboring mites or anything else that can be spread to my other reptiles. The Erosa lives in a tub by herself. Im not big of mixing species. I have a pair of Spekes as well that live away from the Homeana.
Ill definitely take pics of the plastron and tail, i really appreciate the help. I should have time to get those taken this afternoon.


I forgot to mention, that while a few are adult size, most are in the 4-6 inch range.
 

Scincoides

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#3
3-1.jpg 3-2.jpg 3-3.jpg
#4, couldn't get this one to open up. This is one of the only animals that im certain is female
4-1.jpg 4-2.jpg
#5
5-1.jpg 5-2.jpg 5-3.jpg
 

Anyfoot

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#1,2,3&5 look male to me, can't tell what #4 is.
Let's see what @tortadise thinks.

Kelly are there any other ways of distinguishing males from females other than tail size, concavity and females being bigger when fully grown.
 

Scincoides

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#1,2,3&5 look male to me, can't tell what #4 is.
Let's see what @tortadise thinks.

Kelly are there any other ways of distinguishing males from females other than tail size, concavity and females being bigger when fully grown.

Yeah, 4-6-7 are the 3 that i had guessed were female. All the rest male. Even though 2 of those males were sold to me as females.
 

Anyfoot

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Yeah, 4-6-7 are the 3 that i had guessed were female. All the rest male. Even though 2 of those males were sold to me as females.
6 and 7 look female at the moment. How big are these two, they look small.
 

Scincoides

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Heres the Erosa. I dont have others to compare her to, but doing a side by side with the homes, im guessing this one is female.
Erosa 1.jpg Erosa 2.jpg
 

Anyfoot

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Yeah I would have said female too.
Where in the world do you live? I can't believe you got males and an erosa sold to you as female homeana. That erosa would be worth more than a homeana over here in the uk, way more, maybe you could sell it to a good home and get some more guaranteed female homeana so you can set 2 groups up with 2 males in each group. Just a thought.
 

Scincoides

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Yeah I would have said female too.
Where in the world do you live? I can't believe you got males and an erosa sold to you as female homeana. That erosa would be worth more than a homeana over here in the uk, way more, maybe you could sell it to a good home and get some more guaranteed female homeana so you can set 2 groups up with 2 males in each group. Just a thought.

I live in Arizona. I was pretty pleased with the Erosa. I spent less on her than i did on most of the homes in fact, and shes been in captivity for over a year. Super outgoing, great appetite, almost never hides. I plan to just keep her as a pet until i stumble across the perfect male.
 

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