Just thought I'd share some pictures of my tortoises. They are Kinixys homeana, also known and Home's hingeback tortoises. I first learned about the species as a teenager while reading a paper copy of Reptiles Magazine. They (Kinixys) are the only species of tortoise with a hinge in their shell, allowing them to close the rear half of their shells. (All other tortoises rely on armored scales on their legs to protect their bodies while retracted in their shells.)
I acquired my first one around 2002, possibly early 2003. I made a couple mistakes raising him (it was hard to find information on caring for them back then) but he's still with me today. I got my second tortoise about 6 months after my first. That tortoise, a fresh import, like 99% of homeana available in the hobby, refused to eat for 6 months. I had to keep him alive on daily soaks in water mixed with liquid bird vitamins. He's also still with me and is the sire of my CBB homeana.
I just updated my outdoor enclosures, 3'x8' pens, one pen per adult tortoise (I currently have 3 adults, 2 male, 1 female). I chose 3' as the width because my arm can reach the entire width of the cage without having to climb in...
Group shot:
Inside the enclosure:
I also have two 300 gallon stock tanks containing my remaining CBB hatchlings:
I think I may have maxed out the images I can put in a single post, so pics of the tortoises to follow.
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