Speke enclosure

TheLastGreen · Aug 6, 2021

Hallo, it's official, I am getting a Speke hingeback. But I'm not sure on the enclosure (i.e. Heating, substrate etc.)

I do live in Gauteng, South Africa, so I am rather close to their native range, but I know it's still a big diffrence from the more northern regions, where they are found.

The size of the enclosure would be around 3m² or 32ft²

Any help would be appreciated!

Yvonne G · Aug 6, 2021

The only thing I know about Speke Hingeback tortoises is that they have four legs and a shell, but I asked my friend Google, and he told me this:

K. spekii inhabits savannahs and dry bush with rocky areas. It tends to inhabit more wooded areas during the dry season, and to move out into the savannahs when the summer rains come.

TheLastGreen · Aug 6, 2021

Thanks, I was unsure because I couldn't find anything on them, like the correct type of mulch, humidity or lighting. I know they like shade and to hide. They are omnivores and delve the surface for worms. They can eat leavy greens and not too much fruit.
Hingebacks like water and love to soak in pools.

The reason I posted this, is because I know those regions and that they vary -greatly. Even as you move North from South Africa, those biomes change slightly and consistently, making it feel impossible to find out what is best.
Ofcourse I want everything to be perfect, but that leads to a whole lot of questions...

So I wanted to know if I should use bark, coir or cypress mulch or is it fine without?
Does it need lighting and lamps, or will it be sufficient without, because I live in the High Field (hoë veld)
Warm summer (Days:Hot ±30°C, Nights:Cool ±15°C)
Cool Winter (Days:Cold ±15°C Nights:-2 at worst but on average ±4 degrees.)
Does it need native plants and what?

This species is notoriously difficult to find any information about, so I am hoping that I could get advice about anything about this amazing creature. Thanks for reading!

Jan A · Aug 6, 2021

TheLastGreen said:
Thanks, I was unsure because I couldn't find anything on them, like the correct type of mulch, humidity or lighting. I know they like shade and to hide. They are omnivores and delve the surface for worms. They can eat leavy greens and not too much fruit.
Hingebacks like water and love to soak in pools.

The reason I posted this, is because I know those regions and that they vary -greatly. Even as you move North from South Africa, those biomes change slightly and consistently, making it feel impossible to find out what is best.
Ofcourse I want everything to be perfect, but that leads to a whole lot of questions...

So I wanted to know if I should use bark, coir or cypress mulch or is it fine without?
Does it need lighting and lamps, or will it be sufficient without, because I live in the High Field (hoë veld)
Warm summer (Days:Hot ±30°C, Nights:Cool ±15°C)
Cool Winter (Days:Cold ±15°C Nights:-2 at worst but on average ±4 degrees.)
Does it need native plants and what?

This species is notoriously difficult to find any information about, so I am hoping that I could get advice about anything about this amazing creature. Thanks for reading!

Welcome to the forum. I hope you will share photos when you get your tort. And keep us up to speed on what you find. And we love photos of beautiful scenery!!

TheLastGreen · Aug 6, 2021

Thanks! @2turtletom helped me and said:
Hello! There's a great document called the Kinixys Conservation Blueprint which can be downloaded by clicking a link at the bottom of this page: https://www.thekinixyscooperative.com/post/kinixys-conservation-blueprint-mifsud

There is really good husbandry information starting on page document page 118, which is appendix D. If I had speke's, I'd keep them like my Western Hingebacks, Kinixys nogueyi. You can see how I keep them by watching some of my videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMkL5log3H9fyqWOUD7NAqw/videos
For anyone with kinixys, I'm sure this will help!

Speke enclosure

TheLastGreen

Well-Known Member

Yvonne G

Old Timer

TheLastGreen

Well-Known Member

Jan A

Well-Known Member

TheLastGreen

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