Kinixys belliana nogueyi

[Charlottealotoftorts]

Hi everyone I've recently acquired an adult trio and wondered if anyone has any advice or tips on keeping hinge-backs. They have settled in really well (if the x-rated action is anything to go by) but there is very little info out there.
I will post pics soon!
Many thanks

[FLINTUS]

There are a few keepers on here including Daisydoodles and Mick.Ire, so ask them. From what I understand, high ambient temp, some will like a basking spot depending on what locality they are. UV I wouldn't go for more than 5%. Humidity should be around 70% or so. Diet should be a mix of soft fruit, weeds, leafy greens and protein.

[Daisydoodles]

I have 3 females, they're pretty outgoing and friendly compared to what I've heard from other keepers - I'm also just trying out having a bulb for heat rather than a ceramic and they're responding to the extra light pretty well in as much as they're out and active more than normal during the daytime but they also go out into the garden whenever the weather permits.

They prefer to eat early morning and evening.. To the point where one of them crashes about and generally trashes the viv from about 5.30am if I've dared to lie in and not get their breakfast! :roll. Mine eat pretty much anything as long as its not green I have to chop their weeds up so that it sticks to the fruit and veg or else they will simply ignore it and eat around it - the only exception to this is endive which they seem to love! I also feed worms and home bred GALS, they have never touched the cuttlefish or limestone blocks so I sprinkle all of their feeds with limestone flour and twice weekly add nutrabol.

Mick has been an invaluable source of information for me!

[esiotrot]

There is not much info out there but one publication comes to mind a particular edition of the English version of Radiata(German publication-Journel of German Chelonia Group) dedicated the whole issue to hinge backs in general its re3ally good and you can order back copies too.
Its volume 16 number 4 2007 November.

Hope that helps its worth buying a copy for sure

[esiotrot]

Oh yeah MIck is a super resource and very helpful-assuming you mean Mick In Ireland?

[Mick.Ire]

Hey Hermpop, and thanks guys for the boost.

Tried replying sooner but the forum was down or my laptop was acting up.

Anyway I wrote a caresheet a while ago from my experiences keeping Nogueyi.

I'll paste it here.



Western Hingeback Tortoise. (Kinyxs Belliana Nogueyi).

This species of tortoise make for a brilliant and fascinating pet.
The advice here is based on my own experience of keeping a group of 5 females and 1 male for over ten years and we have recently hatched 5 hatchlings from 6 eggs.

These are an African species which live in scrub and grasslands.

Size and description:


Medium to small tortoise.
Males are normally smaller than females with few exceeding 8-9 inches.
Females are larger and can reach sizes of 10-11 inches.
Shell color can vary greatly with this species with some dark brown and bland to others with a sandy base color with speckled and dappled markings and some almost black with subtle radiating patterns.
Typically males are less marked than females.




Housing:

This species of hingeback does not require high humidity 24 hours a day like some other species of Kinyxs but does benefit from periods of high humidity throughout the day. They can be housed in both vivariums and tortoise tables with viv's being easier to control humidity.
Plenty of hides should be provided in both the cool and hot end of the enclosure. Cork bark or plastic flower pots cut in half will work fine.
A large water source should be available at all times. It should be big enough that the entire tortoise can fit in to wallow. Be sure to keep it shallow enough so the tortoise can lift it's head out and breath. 2-3cms should do.
The substrate should be deep enough for the tortoise to dig down so 5-6 inches deep min. We use a horticultural grit/soil mix with a top layer of forest floor substrate. A sand/soil mix is fine. This type of substrate will help with humidity along with areas of sphagnum moss.

Lighting and heat:

A low spectrum UV tube should be provided with plenty of cover for the tortoise to retreat to. Like the exoterra forest tubes.
We use ceramic bulbs for heat and the temperature should range from low 20's cool end to 27c-28c hot end with a hot spot of 28c-30c. They will occasionally use this hot spot.

Diet:

Unlike most land tortoises Hingebacks are omnivorous. While their staple diet should be mainly greens occasional protein is needed. We feed ours dandoline greens, sow thistle and a clover mix along with banana, strawberries and other fruits but never acidic fruits. They relish wild fungi and mushrooms too. The ratio of greens to fruit should be 70:30 per feed to provide enough fiber and solid poops. Shop bought greens such as rocket is ok once in a while or in winter when weeds are scarcely available. Feel free to mix grass in with the food mix.
For protein we feed worms and snails once/twice a week. Some will take slugs too. Provide as much as they can eat in one sitting or alternatively little and often is a method which works fine too. When doing the gardening a juicy worm found never goes to waste. This is the only protein we provide but it is ok to feed very small pinkies and mealworms but make sure to gutload the latter. Calcium supplement should be provided at every feeding. We also provide mazuri/nutrazu pellets on occasion which always goes down a treat and is a great supplement.

Breeding:

If attempting to breed when the female is gravid and getting ready to lay she will become restless. We describe this behavior as "climbing the walls" because that is literally what they do. If you see this behavior a nesting area should be provided for her to dig in. They can dig down deep so I'd say a minimum depth of 1 foot (12 inches) is a must. Luckily the mother of our babies dug out in the garden. We provided a heat lamp for her and left her to it. From starting to dig to laying and then filling in the nest it took 6 hours. They are perfectionists when it comes to nesting and we have had females dig for hours and then walk away from a nest.
Temporary nest boxes don't normally work so it's best to provide and area deep enough from the start so she knows it's there.

We incubated our clutch at 27.5c with a constant humidity of 80+%. It took 128 days for the first to hatch to
148 days for the last. Sex is unknown as at the time of writing they are only 7 months.

After the eggs hatch hatchlings should be kept in the incubator for 24-48 hours but separated from the other eggs to prevent any damage. At this stage the yolk sack should be absorbed and the housing requirements and diet is identical to that of the adults only on a smaller scale. They can be housed together up to 3-4 months but have to be separated after that. They will try to establish a pecking order with the most dominant biting the rear limbs of the less dominant. At the first sign of this they should be housed separately.

Tips:

1. Spray down the enclosure min twice a day with a fine plant sprayer or purchase a ultrasonic humidifier and run it a few times a day.

2. Never house males together as they will fight and can injure each other quite significantly sometimes resulting in a fatality due to injury or stress.

3. Change water daily as they often defecate in the water bowl.

4. Western Hingbacks can be aggressive to each other so a weekly check of limbs and heads for cuts is advisable.

5. Providing a humid hide is a good idea in the enclosure.

Personal experience:

Here's a few interesting things we have observed over the years. Females can be aggressive towards one another. They seldom bite each other but we have seen ramming and chasing within our group.

Our male has five females to mate with but actively only mates with the same two. We believe these to be the most dominant females in the group. He has mated with the others in the past but only when the "top two" are out of sight.

In the past ours have been exposed to short dry periods. We find that during this they can go into a aestivation mode, digging down for a few days. They always come out themselves and return to normal instantly.

Sexing:

Sexing with adults is pretty straight forward with males having a much larger thicker tail and they have a obvious concave plastron. Females tails will be short and their plastrons will be flat.

[Charlottealotoftorts]

Thanks everyone that's great info. All mine seem to do is eat and get 'jiggy' at the moment. Is this normal behaviour? There are plenty of hiding places for the females but Sherlock is pretty relentless in pursuit of the ladies. I don't want them to get stressed out!
(Mick you were mentioned as being a font of knowledge by the lady that I got the hinges from so I think you deserve the boosts!)

[Mick.Ire]

Ah thanks, my head is getting so big I'll float away one of these days.

Yeah males can be pretty persistent alright but normally go through cycles. Our guy will mate with the girls for a couple of weeks and then calm down for a few months. We have seen females get agitated with him and the odd bite on his leg. If he's young and very eager it might be worth separating him if the females appear to have had enough.
A boost in Humidity really gets our guy going.
Hopefully you'll get eggs soon.

[Jovski]

I have 2 of these and they're super friendly. Regarding lighting, i recently experimented a little found my two actively prefered basking under the reflector bulb rather than the ceramic bulb (same temperatures).
My male is young and very persistent but my female got quite aggressive towards him and they do not live together. They seem most active when i spray down the enclosures.
Everyone told me that they're shy and like to hide, but my two are the total opposite! They seem to like being stroked and when they're out of their enclosures they often like to come and sit by me.

[Catwoman63]

Originally Posted by Jovski

I have 2 of these and they're super friendly. Regarding lighting, i recently experimented a little found my two actively prefered basking under the reflector bulb rather than the ceramic bulb (same temperatures).
My male is young and very persistent but my female got quite aggressive towards him and they do not live together. They seem most active when i spray down the enclosures.
Everyone told me that they're shy and like to hide, but my two are the total opposite! They seem to like being stroked and when they're out of their enclosures they often like to come and sit by me.

Aww I think that's really lovely x