New project for Kapidolo Farms, erosa.

MichaelaW

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Testing for what?

As I can bring more housing on-line I will break them out into ever smaller groups and eventually house them all individually. Then they will have dates. In the intervening time they are all eating and defecating well. If they have something treatable, it can be treated at any time, if they have something not treatable then they are doomed either way.

If they have a worm load it is in equilibrium with there day to day, no feces has produced visible worms. I have no doubt they have amoebas, they are wild caught tropical tortoises.

The previous owner ran them through a course of both Metronidazole and fenbendazole.

I am focused on weight gain and establishment right now.

@Anyfoot they have eaten those big white beetle larvae and snails.
Ah, ok. I didn't realize they had already been given the Metronidazole and Fenbendazole. Of interest would have been hexamita, coccidia, etc.
 

Kapidolo Farms

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Hi, what is there diet now?

Daily,
1) five medium size Portabella mushrooms/white mushrooms chopped in very thin slices and then cross chopped.
2) 1/2 cup of moistened grass pellets, it all seems to just go through, I had been using a larger cube type pellet, but those bits of fiber kept blocking the drain in their water trays.
3) 1/2 cup Layer mash for chickens. At least once a week they get cat food, so on those days no layer mash.
4) about a cup of winter squash, frozen thawed, it comes in pieces about the size of sugar cubes already.
5) one or two bananas, peal and all, chopped to a similar size as the squash. End removed though.
6) two or three summer squash that has been processed with the hand crank food grinder.
7) Green beans or shell and all peas, frozen thawed or fresh, cut into bits about 1/2 to 1/4 inch long.

On rotation
8) about once a week an apple chopped into very little bits, but not mashed.
9) about once a week Okra cross cut at 1/4 to 1/2 inch
10) orange or purple sweet potato, processed with hand crank food grinder. At least every other day.
11) opuntia (not on okra days, to much slimyness) chopped into cubes with a cut down the middle of the pad, so only one side with skin per piece, all about 1/4 inch cubes.
12) Once or twice a month a microwaved cooked hard-boiled egg, mashed so it can't be picked out.

Also every day when I chop greens that really tough part of kale, collards, bok choy, and romaine 'butts' get cubed to match other particle sizes and mixed in, this is a total of about two cups.

When all this is combined it fills a small regular dish pan to the brim. I put it in a bigger tub to mix. I mix 'gently' so that everything is touched by everything else, but not a giant tub of mush. I put about an ounce of vionate in as the mixing happens, at least five days a week. One day a week I use calcium powder with no D3, and once a week with D3, usually not on the vionate days. I have used cuttle bone on non D3 days. Sometimes the foam like part of the cuttle bone flakes off of the harder shell like part. I chopped that up and mixed it in, both ways to use cuttle bone seem to be not well liked.

They have eaten fig beetle larvae, snails, and tomato horn-worms, but those things are as I find them, so not too often.

I try to source all organic things, it's not so difficult. The biggest change is I had been using about 20-30 mushrooms daily and have cut them way back. All the other things proportion has changed some on a weekly basis and based on what may be less expensive or available at all.

Sometimes when there is leafy greens mix left over I throw that in too. In that case radicchio is picked out. So when I buy radicchio I make sure to get that in the mix as well.

They are the last guys fed in the morning, and they 'hear' me or feel my foot fall on the floor and by the time I feed them, they are all very eager to eat.
 

Anyfoot

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Hi, what is there diet now?

Daily,
1) five medium size Portabella mushrooms/white mushrooms chopped in very thin slices and then cross chopped.
2) 1/2 cup of moistened grass pellets, it all seems to just go through, I had been using a larger cube type pellet, but those bits of fiber kept blocking the drain in their water trays.
3) 1/2 cup Layer mash for chickens. At least once a week they get cat food, so on those days no layer mash.
4) about a cup of winter squash, frozen thawed, it comes in pieces about the size of sugar cubes already.
5) one or two bananas, peal and all, chopped to a similar size as the squash. End removed though.
6) two or three summer squash that has been processed with the hand crank food grinder.
7) Green beans or shell and all peas, frozen thawed or fresh, cut into bits about 1/2 to 1/4 inch long.

On rotation
8) about once a week an apple chopped into very little bits, but not mashed.
9) about once a week Okra cross cut at 1/4 to 1/2 inch
10) orange or purple sweet potato, processed with hand crank food grinder. At least every other day.
11) opuntia (not on okra days, to much slimyness) chopped into cubes with a cut down the middle of the pad, so only one side with skin per piece, all about 1/4 inch cubes.
12) Once or twice a month a microwaved cooked hard-boiled egg, mashed so it can't be picked out.

Also every day when I chop greens that really tough part of kale, collards, bok choy, and romaine 'butts' get cubed to match other particle sizes and mixed in, this is a total of about two cups.

When all this is combined it fills a small regular dish pan to the brim. I put it in a bigger tub to mix. I mix 'gently' so that everything is touched by everything else, but not a giant tub of mush. I put about an ounce of vionate in as the mixing happens, at least five days a week. One day a week I use calcium powder with no D3, and once a week with D3, usually not on the vionate days. I have used cuttle bone on non D3 days. Sometimes the foam like part of the cuttle bone flakes off of the harder shell like part. I chopped that up and mixed it in, both ways to use cuttle bone seem to be not well liked.

They have eaten fig beetle larvae, snails, and tomato horn-worms, but those things are as I find them, so not too often.

I try to source all organic things, it's not so difficult. The biggest change is I had been using about 20-30 mushrooms daily and have cut them way back. All the other things proportion has changed some on a weekly basis and based on what may be less expensive or available at all.

Sometimes when there is leafy greens mix left over I throw that in too. In that case radicchio is picked out. So when I buy radicchio I make sure to get that in the mix as well.

They are the last guys fed in the morning, and they 'hear' me or feel my foot fall on the floor and by the time I feed them, they are all very eager to eat.
That was very detailed. I learnt something new. Thank you.
 

Kapidolo Farms

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Not that it about erosa, but about half the feeding of the K. spekii get some of this. If I over made or underfed, the extra erosa food is mixed in with greens that the adult Forsten's get. I feed these guys on heavy non-bleached paper plates. When I feed the cat food I will make chunks that sit ontop of the mix. I tried mixing it in so the cat food was like a 'gravy' on everything, they did not much care for that, but as stand alone bits ontop of the other mixed food they like it well enough that it encourages eating the whole plate clean. That is a mixed signal for me - did I not feed enough OR was it especially good?
 

ColaCarbonaria

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I’m taking before and after pics of their plates to try and see if I can figure out what they are liking, bc of ‘mixed signal days’ Idk how much I’m learning from staring at pics of finely chopped items[emoji15]ha. Th things we do...
 

Kapidolo Farms

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The cat food I use. And presentation to tortoises. Today we had three green zucchini, the shell with some 'meat' and seeds of a spaghetti squash, 5 portabella mushrooms, an apple, about 40 green beans, 1/4 carrot, 1/2 sweet potato, four romaine butts, and an ounce of vionate. There was about two cups left over from yesterday mixed in. That had about the same but included wetted grass pellets. Short video to follow.20180110_065309.jpg20180110_065300.jpg20180110_065558.jpg
 

2turtletom

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The holes that are drilled in their shells? Can you tell me more about that?
I'm going through old Hingeback posts and it looks like your question was never answered- These are tether holes. They're used when collectors gather them in Africa- They place a hole in the shells and then put a string through the hole- They do this either to literally string them over their back, or just to keep them captive after they've collected them- sort of like tying up a dog to a stake. I've also seen photos of the strings just being tied to one of their rear legs, which is even worse....Read the Kinixys blueprint written by Mifsud to learn more about the trade in this species.... In particular, check out the photos on page 14 and 15. http://www.asianturtleprogram.org/pages/resources/Kinixys_Conservation_Blueprint_2014/Kinixys Conservation Blueprint HRM 2014.pdf

The tortoises are collected either for the pet trade or consumption in Africa or Asia. It's hard to see them taken from the wild, but at least here if we get them into the right hands, we can establish captive bred populations.
 

2turtletom

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Eating a meal from another day. The seeds from the squash seem to provide food bolus traction that the grasses do not provide. The harder bits of winter squash 'shell' help with this too.

Any luck with this group @Will ? I'd love to raise captive bred erosa some day....
 

Kapidolo Farms

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Any luck with this group @Will ? I'd love to raise captive bred erosa some day....
I have some eggs incubating. They were all laid in water, which for this species may not be too big an issue. No knowing how many hours they were in water though. Less than 20. I did not have what the female needed for egg laying.

Of this original group I lost one, all the others have an active growth seam. I like them.
 

2turtletom

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Hmmm..interesting. Hopefully they hatch! Good luck, I'm very intrigued with this species. I've seen various people have homeana hatchlings advertised, but never erosa...
 

jsheffield

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Any updates on this group?

I'm interested in learning more about hingebacks and love the idea ooof helping keep a species viable with a population island in NH.

Jamie
 

2turtletom

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jsheffield

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2turtletom

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That was a fantastic paper!

I'd love sometime to acquire some at some point, and work to reestablish a functioning assurance colony.

Jamie
There are several of us that are doing just that Jamie. I have 3.4 Homeana in my care and 2.2 Nogueyi. If you aren’t on the Kinixys Keepers group on Facebook, you should definitely join. Have you ever owned Kinixys? What is your experience with them? My advice would be to start with captive bred animals. The most readily available species CB is Homeana, then followed by Spekii. We’re just getting started with a Erosa but I’m hoping for great things on that front as far as CB!
 

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