Hi to you all.
I was recently made a new Father to what i have identified as a Home`s Hingeback (Kinixys Homeana). After the initial suprise it was off to the pet shop to enquire as to what i would need to keep Victor. £150 later i emerged from the shop with just two lights some substrate a feeding bowl/bath and a pot of Nutrobal. I have since been trawling the Internet for as much information as i can on this breed. I have however found a lot of conflicting information on diet. I have successfully fed him on cherry tomatoes, mushrooms,cucumber(so-so),plums, strawberries and pineapple and a few dried mealworm. I have also now introduced a small rammakin sized bowl for drinking. He is now defeacating daily although he passed nothing for the first two weeks. He is currently kept in a 4ftx2ftx2ft glass aquarium as i alredy had it in the garden as i upgraded to a larger tank for my fish. Any further information would be greatly appreciated. Dave Dawn & Victor
Congratulations on the new addition! How about posting a few pics of him?
Im not going to offer any advice as Im about as novice as a novice thing when it comes it comes to my tort but Im sure some cleverer peeps will be along to help soon. As a novice I can totally feel your pain over the conflicting advice that is available on the internet. Im sure you are not stupid enough to believe everything that is out there on this wonderful world of information is gospel but for us novices the question is what to believe? The best piece of advice Ive had yet is to find one reputable source of information, learn what they have to offer (im doing the tortoise trust online course as my starting point and listening to folk on here) and then start working through what you have learnt to see if you still agree once you have some experience of the whole thing.
Good luck!
(04-05-2010 06:08 PM)clare Wrote: [ -> ]Congratulations on the new addition! How about posting a few pics of him?
Im not going to offer any advice as Im about as novice as a novice thing when it comes it comes to my tort but Im sure some cleverer peeps will be along to help soon. As a novice I can totally feel your pain over the conflicting advice that is available on the internet. Im sure you are not stupid enough to believe everything that is out there on this wonderful world of information is gospel but for us novices the question is what to believe? The best piece of advice Ive had yet is to find one reputable source of information, learn what they have to offer (im doing the tortoise trust online course as my starting point and listening to folk on here) and then start working through what you have learnt to see if you still agree once you have some experience of the whole thing.
Good luck!
Hi Clare,
I have been spending many nights burning the candle from both ends for his welfare, and tend to make notes of feeds mentioned n cross referencing to see the most common. I have yet to find a really decent place locally to provide information. Thanks for the encouraging words.. lol. And i thought having children was time consuming. Anybods know of anywhere in South East London/ Welling Kent area?
again I feel your pain - my search for suitable foods for my Leopard tort resulted in brain strain! I started with a list of things I found on the net that were suitable then cross referenced them every where I could find - googling each one individually. It was amazing, a couple of things came up as suitable on some sites and complete no no's on others. The vast majority came up as ok in moderation - which to a complete novice felt like sitting on the fence advice - what is moderation, how often and how much? arggghhhh!
Im trying to take a less anxious approach than I first did - if i feed him a nibble of something that isnt brilliant for him, just the once and assuming its not actually poisonous then Im not going to sweat it. One tiny bit of something once in his 100 yr life surely cant be the end of the world? I have serious over anxious mum syndrome Im afraid!
Seriously though the folk on here have been nothing but patient with me, have offered advice and been really nice about it too. Hold fire and one of the good peeps will be along soon Im sure!
I think there is a group that meet up nearish to your area. Im sure Ive seen it mentioned sometime in my tinternet trawling - Ill see if I can find it again for you.
Thanks that would be appreciated, i can see me having a full head of grey hair by the end of the month. And probably bald by May....lol. Im still unsure on how many times to feed him. He is currently eating 1 cherry tomato 1 button mushroom and a strawberry daily with his supplement sprinkled over it. I am not sure if they just eat as its there or if i am not feeding enough? I have seen it posted somewhere that they only feed 3 times a week....:rolleye:
Hi Dave and :welcome: to the nutty world of Tortoise keeping
(04-05-2010 07:07 PM)davedawnnvictor Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks that would be appreciated, i can see me having a full head of grey hair by the end of the month. And probably bald by May....lol. Im still unsure on how many times to feed him. He is currently eating 1 cherry tomato 1 button mushroom and a strawberry daily with his supplement sprinkled over it. I am not sure if they just eat as its there or if i am not feeding enough? I have seen it posted somewhere that they only feed 3 times a week....:rolleye:
Hi there
Well, you've not exactly started with the easiest of species, so I would recommend finding out about their natural habitat and try as best you can to mimic that. Take note of whether they come from humid or dry areas etc and what sort of temps they live at, food they would normally eat etc.
Have a look here britishcheloniagroup.org.uk/caresheets/hinges.htm
it would seem to be a good starting point. There are various subspecies of hingebacks so it might be worth finding out what yours is.
Hope this helps
(04-05-2010 07:24 PM)sky Wrote: [ -> ]Hi Dave and :welcome: to the nutty world of Tortoise keeping
Thanks ur not wrong there..lol Dave
(04-05-2010 09:14 PM)wizzasmum Wrote: [ -> ] (04-05-2010 07:07 PM)davedawnnvictor Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks that would be appreciated, i can see me having a full head of grey hair by the end of the month. And probably bald by May....lol. Im still unsure on how many times to feed him. He is currently eating 1 cherry tomato 1 button mushroom and a strawberry daily with his supplement sprinkled over it. I am not sure if they just eat as its there or if i am not feeding enough? I have seen it posted somewhere that they only feed 3 times a week....:rolleye:
Hi there
Well, you've not exactly started with the easiest of species, so I would recommend finding out about their natural habitat and try as best you can to mimic that. Take note of whether they come from humid or dry areas etc and what sort of temps they live at, food they would normally eat etc.
Have a look here britishcheloniagroup.org.uk/caresheets/hinges.htm
it would seem to be a good starting point. There are various subspecies of hingebacks so it might be worth finding out what yours is.
Hope this helps
Thanks Sue all info is greatly appreciated.. Dave
Will post up some pics as soon as. Dave
No problem Dave. I don't kee hingebacks myself so will not attempt to tell anyone how to keep them lol
Thanks Sue all info is greatly appreciated.. Dave
Will post up some pics as soon as. Dave
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