Reptile & Amphibian Forums

well where to start my mom bought my 3 yr old a new b day present as his b day was yesterday--a turtle so now I have a sulcata coming and this home's hingeback tort..2 in a 2 week period.anyhoo my question is I can only find 1 or 2 sites on this kind of tort and those sites say they are horrible pets does anyone know what to feed these???or how to care for them??? I have fed it dandilion greens romaine greens and squash as this is what the site says to feed it, I have coconut bedding down as substrate heat is 85 on warm side w 75% humidity and 77 degrees on coolside w 55% humidity so now what? lol i have hide boxes on both cool and warm sides and a water bowl( deep lid off a tupperware container)any info on these kinds of torts would be great the site states they are very timid which is a bad thing in a house with 5 children ages 3-10 for now it is in a 45 gallon rubbermaid tub in my bedroom help!!!!

I had a captive-bred bell's hingeback for awhile and it was a great little tortoise.

All hingebacks are omnivores. They need fruit, veggies and animal protein. Worms, crickets, maybe some turtle pellets.

If your hingeback is wild-caught, and it sounds like it is, you need to be very careful about handling it and your new sulcata. Wild-caught torts can carry a lot of parasites and diseases, and these could wipe out your little sulcata. Treat them as two patients with highly contagious diseases. Wash your hands after handling each one, don't soak them together, don't let them be together at all, and don't share utensils, bowls etc without washing everything.

This may sound a little drastic, but it will help protect your baby sulcata. If the hingeback were captive-bred, you would probably be safer.

Below is a link to general care of hingeback torts. Just keep looking for info on Kinixys species.

And with time and patience, the hingeback might relax and be OK. A trip to the vet is probably a good idea. Feed him, keep him at the right temps and humidity, and don't smother him with attention for now.

www.tortoisetrust.org/care/ckinixys.html

thank you -I did call the store where my mom said she bought it they were no help said all they know is that it is captive born and that it is eating they told me it ws a belliana but it cant be -looks nothing like it- it looks exactly like a home's(only way i know this is that I looked it up) the only herp vet in my area is on vacation for a month and her "sub" doesnt know much about turtles so lets hope it wont get sick before she gets back ...I know my mom meant well my son loves turtles just like his mommy!anyhoo thanks for the advice I will def be careful how will I know how old it is? its small maybe 5-6 inches eyes clear nose clear eating not great but eating some...

at 5-6 inches that doesn't sound captive-bred. but you've got the tortoise now, so where it came from doesn't matter so much. Except a vet visit would still be a good idea.

Eating: try earthworms. The tortoise will get stimulated by something wiggling. They also like melon - a picture of my bell's eating watermelon showed up in a European reptile magazine. Don't expect it to be a standard, herbivorous tortoise. Fruits and protein are part of the diet. But like any other tortoise, it needs variety. A little banana, a little dog food, a little melon, a few greens, a slug, etc etc.

As for identification: Bell's has a lot of variation. I've seen some that looked almost like leopard tortoises with spots. Mine was a very dull, brown tort with a domed shell. Some of the other Kinixys species are flatter and more rugged looking. As the link I posted said, Bell's like it a little drier and more brightly lit than the other types.

Here's a good website with photos of different Kinixys species:

www.chelonia.org/kinixys_gallery.htm

There's also a caresheet there. That caresheet really pushes the idea of feeding native foods. I wouldn't worry about that too much, unless you can get things shipped from South Africa.

ok its def a Home's hingeback I wasnt happy about this tort at first I have to admit not being able to reasearch it before I got it was not fun but its here so I better get to it .I do like the idea of being able to feed it a variety of things a sulcata diet can be boring lol..so now I get to "play" with diets a little the idea of worms and bugs in my house is icky but my kids will love that part I will have to measure it to see how big it actully is if I can figure out how to post a pic I will thanks for the help guys

You need to find out what kind of Hingedback you have. One group like a moist environment the other group likes a much dryer environment.

Try looking for care sheets at the following sites.

http://www.turtletimes.com/index/default2.asp?tree=44

http://www.chelonia.org/care.htm

now I am really lost It doesnt look like any of them those are a ll adults and mine is tiny and its scutes are lumpy they are all smooth on the sites the shell looks Exactly like the home's hinged back so should I assume its one of those? I have no clue how to post a pic or I would I can email one though