Captive Care Of Bell’s Hingeback Tortoise

Introduntion

Bell ’s hingeback tortoise, Kinixys bellina, is one of the most common tortoise species seen in the pet trade. Unfortunately, the vast majority of specimens offered for sale are imported, wild-caught animals that have proven difficult to establish in captivity. It is a moderately large African tortoise, with adults measuring up to 22 cm and weighing up to 2 kg. Adult males specimens have a much longer tail than females. The preferred habitat of Bell ’s hingeback is savanna and grassland. As these areas may exhibit strong seasonal changes in precipitation and temperatures, the activity of the tortoises may be restricted to particular times of the year. In South Africa , for example, Bell ’s hingeback may become inactive during the cool winter months of May through September. Such seasonal patterns are likely important for successful captive breeding of the species.

Selecting a Specimen

A healthy hingeback should feel heavy and solid, roughly the same as an equivalent volume of water. A tortoise that feels light or hollow is likely dehydrated and malnourished. Hingebacks may be very shy so patience and gentle handling is necessary to allow inspection of the head and limbs. The eyes should be open and clear, or should open within several seconds of initial handling. Eyes that are swollen or sealed shut may indicate dehydration or conjunctivitis. The nostrils should also be clear. Any nasal discharge should raise suspicion of a possible respiratory infection. The skin should be thoroughly inspected for ticks, mites, swellings or lacerations. The shell may have a variety of injuries, some of which may be old and healed, and others that may be active areas of infection. If possible the mouth of the tortoise should be opened and the tongue and palate should be evaluated for signs of infection. If the tortoise passes feces during examination, evaluate the stool for blood, mucous, worms, or diarrhea. Finally, if circumstances permit, offer the tortoise some preferred food items (see below) to assess its appetite.

Permanent Housing

Once established on a good diet, and free of parasites, Bell ’s hingebacks may be set up in a more natural environment. If kept in groups, sufficient area and multiple hid boxes must be provided for individual tortoises to retreat from each other. Bark mulch may provide a visually appealing substrate, and the tortoises seem to enjoy burrowing. It must be changed weekly. Take care that feeding stations are designed to prevent accidental ingestion of mulch.

Alternatively, and preferentially, outdoor enclosures may be used if climate permits. They must be designed appropriately as Bell ’s hingebacks can be excellent climbers and burrowers. When kept outdoors, this author has observed that Bell ’s hingebacks are most active at dawn and dusk, retreating to shady areas during most of the day. The only mid-day activity observed has been during and after rain showers.

Preventive Healthcare and Diseases

Bell ’s hingebacks are often heavily parasitized. As such, thorough evaluation of feces by a veterinarian is essential. A deparasitizing program should be established, and hingebacks often need prolonged and repeated treatments to completely eradicate parasites. For very ill animals, more extensive testing and treatment may be recommended. Animals that have stopped eating, have nasal discharge, weight loss, diarrhea, vomiting, or swollen eyes or limbs should be brought to the veterinarian.

Finding A Two-Headed Tortoise

These tortoise pictures prove it. Two-headed creatures are no longer the stuff of legend and myth but a startling reality.

This angulate tortoise was discovered in Wellington, Western Cape South Africa and it has two heads that are joined separately to a shared body. But it seems quite normal otherwise and both heads feed on grass, leaves, and softened rabbit pellets.
This species seldom grows bigger than 22 centimetres (eight or nine inches), and has a lengthened straw-colored shell with somewhat raised shields that are black in the middle and on the sides.

Male angulates grow larger than the females and they are shy and reserved, usually retreating into their shell at the first disturbance. They drink rather more infrequently than other species but take in a large amount of water at one time. They submerge their heads when drinking which can be rather alarming when first encountered.

This is only the second reported case of its kind in South Africa in over 20 years. The other one was discovered in the early 1980s.

There are a total of 43 species of these reptiles worldwide and 13 of them can be found in South Africa including the highly endangered geometric tortoise.

Quincy Marine center care "zombie" the tortoise back to life

　　During this past weekend's snowstorm, a walker along Martha's Vineyards' Edgartown beach came across a near dead Kemp's Ridley Turtle, in a "zombie-like state" and suffering from hypothermic shock from the below freezing temperatures.
The endangered sea turtle was rescued just in time, as it was immediately taken to a wildlife sanctuary and is now safely recovering inside New England Aquarium’s Marine Animal Care Center in Quincy.
Massachusetts typically sees hundreds of these endangered turtles popping up along the coastline throughout the winter season. Beyond life threatening hypothermia, nearly all of the effected sea turtles also suffer from dehydration, malnutrition, metabolic problems and possibly even pneumonia.

　　Last year, more than 120 endangered and threatened sea turtles were brought to the Quincy Marine Care Center, for treatment and recovery until the weather permitted their return to the Ocean.
The rescued turtle, found early Sunday afternoon, will be slowly re-warmed, at a few degrees warmer each day, until it's body temperature returns to it's normal state in the low 70's.

Terrible turtles

　　
　　Let's start with the basics. There are two types of snapping turtle: the Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) and the Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii). A common snapper has a smoother shell than an alligator snapper's, which has three distinct spiky ridges. Don't be fooled by common snapper hatchlings, however. They have ridged shells at birth that even out over time. The alligator snapper has a more triangular head with little bumps that look like eyelashes around the eye. Generally, the alligator snapper looks more prehistoric than the common snapper. Can you tell these two apart? (Source)
2. Common Snapping Turtles are an Ancient Species

　　People say turtles are slow, but snapping turtles might say that humans are slow! The modern snapping turtle evolved over 40 million years ago, while anatomically modern humans emerged only 200,000 years ago. Snapping turtles hung out with dinosaurs, but they're not closely related at all. Birds have more in common with dinosaurs than snapping turtles do. Source.

India's festival to slaughter the turtle to celebrate

　　A Hindu festival that celebrates light has been shrouded in darkness following the sacrificial slaughter of up to 100,000 turtles.
Shown in these horrifying images, critically endangered species including the northern river terrapin and the black soft-shell turtle, are sacrificed in the name of religion.
The ancient ritual takes place during the celebration of Kali Puja, which started in Bengal yesterday.

　　Slaughtered for tradition: A Bangladeshi trader kills a turtle with a knife and stick in the early morning hours in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Held once a year, and corresponding with the festival Diwali, sacrifices are made to Kali, the Hindu goddess of power.
During Kali Puja, market streets are teeming with devotees who purchase and consume thousands of turtles.
One of the species found on Dhaka's markets is the northern river terrapin.
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Around 25 individuals are known to exist, making it one of the rarest animals on earth.
On paper it is offered the same level of protection as a tiger.
Another targeted species is the black soft-shell, which has only recently been officially been found in the wild and it has a single population in a pond in the region of Chittagong.
Even though many of the turtles are critically endangered and feature on Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, the slaughter is often overlooked by authorities.
The act has enraged conservation groups in India and abroad.

　　Laid on the table: 100,000 turtles were butchered and their meat, limbs and organs were sold to customers to eat, it is sole for between £6 to £37 per kilo
"Since the killing of turtles was made illegal, this mass slaughter has been carried out in the name of 'religion'," said Dr Rashid of Centre for Advanced Research in Natural Resources & Management (CARINAM) in Bangladesh.
'It's because of this that the authorities turn a blind eye - they are too scared of causing social unrest."
At Dhaka's Tanti Market, the turtles are butchered and their meat, limbs and organs are then sold to customers.
The meat sells for between $10 - $60 per kilo (£6-£37), depending on the species.
Followers believe that by eating the turtle, they will take on its strength and longevity.
During festival, the majority of Bangladesh's Hindu population consume turtle meat.
Businessman Sunil Kumar Bala commented: "We have been eating turtles during Kali Puja for a long time. It is a tradition that we will maintain even if the government tries to stop us."
The turtle trade offers a source of income to up to 30,000 people.

Sea turtles and pearl

　　
　　Will, found at The Pearl-Qatar
The United Development Company (UDC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, have jointly agreed to establish the country’s first urban turtle sanctuary at The Pearl-Qatar.
The sanctuary, the Turtle Rehab Project, already has its first beneficiary - “Will”, an endangered green sea turtle that was found injured near The Pearl-Qatar in October 2010. The project was announced by Mohamed al-Jaidah, an environment expert at the Ministry of Environment, and one of the team members who accompanied “Will” on her journey to the United Arab Emirates.
Jaidah explained to delegates at the ecoQ conference: “The Pearl-Qatar’s Environmental Affairs team contacted us to assist in Will’s rehabilitation. After treatment in Doha and later at a specialised facility in Dubai, it was decided by the Ministry of Environment and UDC to establish a turtle sanctuary encompassing education and research at The Pearl-Qatar to care for turtles with conditions like Will.
“Facilities at The Pearl-Qatar’s state-of-the-art sanctuary will include an aquarium, touch pools for marine life, turtle hatchery, rearing pools and wet and dry treatment labs,” Jaidah added.
“This project primarily embraces programmes of injured turtle treatment and rehabilitation, nest protection, research and education while providing a visitor attraction. Education is a key component and emphasis will be placed on learning, whether it’s a child understanding of the life cycle of a sea turtle or a PhD student researching marine conservation in the Middle East.”

Released the turtle

　　
　　The 75-pound Kemp's Ridley sea turtle named Talulla returned to the water on Friday. She was rescued June 28 on a beach on Eglin Air Force Base property. The emaciated turtle was found on its back just out of the water.
The Northwest Florida Daily News reports staff at the Gulfarium nursed the turtle back to health.
Kemp's Ridley turtles are listed as endangered species.
Next week, the Gulfarium will release its last two rehabilitated turtles -- one in Pensacola and the other near Gulf Shores, Ala. Four other Kemp's Ridley turtles live at the marine park.

The tortoise is not allowed to trade

　　Nguyen Ba Toan, a Hanoi man who has caught and sold a 22-kg Asiatic soft shell turtle, can be fined up to $24,000 for trading threatened species, said lawyer Nguyen Viet Trieu, head of Viet Trieu law firm in Hanoi.
Giant turtle sold to Chinese man

　　Trieu said Vietnamese laws state that any attempt to hunt, capture, raise or kill wild animals listed in appendix IIB of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) can receive a fine of VND400-500 million (US$19,200-24,000).
Toan discovered the giant turtle on October 12 when he went fishing under Chuong Duong Bridge and caught it by himself.
After bringing it home, he invited many people to his house to see the turtle and offered to sell it.
After hearing that the turtle is in the Red List of Threatened Species, Toan tried to raise it while waiting for authorities to solve the case.
But as no government official turned up and the turtle started to become weak, he sold it to a person in the northern province of Bac Giang for VND100 million (US$4,800) on October 14.
Many wonder why officials didn’t take any action and let Toan sell the creature.
Nguyen Van Quan, head of the wild animal preservation at Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV) said that after hearing about the case, he immediately called the Department of Captured Fisheries and Resources Protection under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
However, he was told to contact Hanoi’s Forest Protection Department, which later said turtles are a marine creature and thus fall within the responsibility of the former department.
But according to a government decree issued on June 20 2008, the Forest Protection Department is in charge of cases related to Asiatic soft shell turtles.

This newborn Galapagos tortoise

　　This newborn Galapagos tortoise looks tiny as it stands next to its massive mum - who is a staggering 3,000 times bigger.
The hatchling weighed just 87 grams when it was born and will take 30 years to get to the same size as its mother, who is a massive 256 kilos.
Keepers will not know if it is male or female for several years so have given it the unisex name NJ.
The tortoise - who is barely the size of its mum's foot - can expect to live to 150 years.

　　Hello titch: This newborn Galapagos hatchling weighed just 87 grams when it was born and will take 30 years to get to the same size as its mother
Its mum has become a first-time mother at the age of 90 but will play no role in its up-bringing.
As soon as a Galapagos tortoise is born they are left to fend for themselves.
The youngster is now roaming around its pen and nibbling on fruit and flowers at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in New South Wales, Australia.
Keeper Jennifer Conaghan said: 'A Galapagos tortoise can live between 100 and 150 years so we expect NJ to be around long after we have all gone.
'It loves exploring the outside environment and is especially active on warm sunny days.

　　Hungry fella: Keepers will not know if the Galapagos addition is male or female for several years so have given it the unisex name NJ
'We are very careful with NJ's diet and it currently gets fed three to four times per week.
'The diet is as varied as possible and includes a variety of edible plant species, lucerne hay, herbs and finely chopped fruit and vegetables.
'Our Galapagos tortoise are responsive to bright coloured, edible flowers and fruit, such as roses, hibiscus, grapes and watermelon. But just like any youngster we ensure the hatchling eats all the veggies first.'
The zoo has been attempting to breed the Galapagos Tortoise for the last ten years.
Jennifer added: 'It involves manipulating and fine-tuning our husbandry techniques to achieve this fantastic result.
'At the end of the day however, regardless of what we do, it is up to the individual animals compatibility.
'There has only been a handful of zoos around the world that have had success with breeding this species and we currently have more eggs in the incubator.
'The incubation process is very temperature dependant and once the female lays the eggs the incubation time may take three to five months.
'NJ weighed in at about 87gms at hatching, which is about 0.00034 per cent of the size of its mum. It therefore has lots of growing to do over the next 30 years or so until it catches up.
'Although the size difference is huge, NJ is an exact replica of the adults.
'It's amazing to think of how much growing it has to do and the challenges any young hatchling would struggle with in the wild.
'Galapagos Tortoise are very responsive to getting a rub under the chin from their keepers and will stand up and extend themselves up for as long as you want to scratch them.
'They do have loads of personality but like everything to do with them - nothing happens quickly so you just have to be a little more patient to see it.'

Africa, south of the Sahara Tortoise

　　Range: Africa, south of the Sahara
Habitat: Savannahs, Grasslands. Human Farming areas.

　　Natural Diet: Vegetarian diet, heavy in grasses.
Diet at Rain Forest: Fresh diet prepared daily of various types of greens.
Size: Females 20-25 Pounds--Males 25-60 Pounds. (record size is over 150 pounds)
Rain Forest Facts: The African Spur thigh tortoise lays a surprisingly large clutch of eggs, most tortoises lay a small number of eggs, usually 2-4, the African Spur thigh tortoise can lay as many as 20 eggs per clutch, with several clutches possible in a breeding season. The largest main-land dwelling tortoise, the African Spur Thigh Tortoise is only eclipsed in size by the island dwelling species of the Galapagos and Aldabra Islands.
Many types of animals utilize the burrows created by the digging of the African Spur Thigh tortoise. This powerful animal excavates long burrows into the soil to escape the mid-day heat of the African sun. Both vertebrates and invertebrates utilize the long burrows as shelter, the loss of such an important animal as the Spur Thigh would result in a domino effect on many other species that depend on the tortoise for shelter.