Well friends, let's talk about hingeback tortoises and their presence as pets in the U.S., both imported and captive bred. These are my thoughts, observations and opinions. Please do chime in to amplify my thoughts or perhaps provide an alternate take.
Kinixys homeana has become the most commonly bred species, and CB babies readily available on the market now. They sell for approximately $250-300. I know of at least eight U.S. breeders that are producing them regularly. I myself hatched 12 in 2024. Wild caught homeana are still offerered for sale, but after being listed as critically endangered by the IUCN, the yearly imports have been on the decline. Reptile Pets Direct seems to be a reliable source of WC animals each summer.
Kinixys erosa remains one of the more rare hingebacks in the U.S. In 2023 and 2024, small groups were imported, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. American Reptile Distributors and Turtles and Tortoises Inc. offered these animals for sale in this time period. I know of about five people that have groups of Erosa, but I only saw one ad for CB hatchlings in 2024. I myself do not work with this species.
Kinixys belliana - Beginning in 2020, Underground Reptiles started importing two species of tortoises from Kenya - what they called Speke's hingebacks and what they called "Northern Zombensis Hingebacks". While a few animals of that initial import were in fact Speke's, every animal they have sold since are actually Kinixys belliana. These animals are typically just over four inches, leading me to believe they are raised on a farm in Kenya. The Northern Zombensis hingebacks are also Kinixys belliana. They're just bigger animals who have an adult shell pattern. Why the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allows the continued import of these animals, in violation of federal USDA regulations banning their import, I do not know. And why Underground Reptiles continues to sell the. same. species. as two different species, I do not know. I have a lone female that I acquired in April, 2022. Here's my video comparing the REAL Speke's hingeback with what underground reptiles is selling:
There are two people that have successfully hatched Kinixys belliana in the U.S. One no longer has the adults, while Aaron Johnson has found success with them hatching two in early 2024. You can learn more about those successes by listenting this episode of the Let's Talk Turtles Podcast: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/sh...ohnson-and-Kinixys-belliana-e2kpkcs/a-abbob3h
Kinixys nogueyi - The Western Bell's hingeback, the Bell's hingeback tortoise from the savannas of West Africa that we all knew and loved in the 1990's, hasn't been legally (or illegally imported, from what I can tell) since the year 2000. There are three of us the regularly reproduce this species; I've produced as many as 21 in a year and as few as three. I currently keep 4.4 adults and 3.2 subadults that are not yet breeding. In 2024, two of my collaborators that I had provided 2020 CB males to successfully paired them with their founder females and got fertile eggs; one collaborator was sucessful. I have many videos on my YouTube channel, linked above, where I detail my work with this species. I offer hatchilngs directly, or sell surplus through turtlesandtortoises.com
Kinixys spekii - There are a few people working with the true Speke's, which are readily identifable by their flattened shells. These animals had been imported from Mozambique, but this trade was shut down in 2018. There are surprisingly few adults making the rounds. There are a few people producing them each year, but I am less connected with the world of Speke's. I put together a pair in 2024 and I'm hoping for eggs in 2025.
Kinixys zombensis: The Kinixys co-op has the only current Kinixys zombensis project happening right now. The only animal that I know of outside of the Kinixys co-op was being offered for sale by Fred Kick (Kick's Balls) from Buffalo New York in the summer of 2022, if memory serves. It was a huge pyramided female whose shell was in rough, rough shape but seemed otherwise healthy. If you happen to have purchased that animal from Fred, please let us know how it is doing by contacting me.
Kinixys lobatsiana - There is one animal in the U.S.
Kinixys natalensis - There are no known animals in the U.S.
Do you keep hingebacks? Let me know.
-Tom
Kinixys homeana has become the most commonly bred species, and CB babies readily available on the market now. They sell for approximately $250-300. I know of at least eight U.S. breeders that are producing them regularly. I myself hatched 12 in 2024. Wild caught homeana are still offerered for sale, but after being listed as critically endangered by the IUCN, the yearly imports have been on the decline. Reptile Pets Direct seems to be a reliable source of WC animals each summer.
Kinixys erosa remains one of the more rare hingebacks in the U.S. In 2023 and 2024, small groups were imported, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. American Reptile Distributors and Turtles and Tortoises Inc. offered these animals for sale in this time period. I know of about five people that have groups of Erosa, but I only saw one ad for CB hatchlings in 2024. I myself do not work with this species.
Kinixys belliana - Beginning in 2020, Underground Reptiles started importing two species of tortoises from Kenya - what they called Speke's hingebacks and what they called "Northern Zombensis Hingebacks". While a few animals of that initial import were in fact Speke's, every animal they have sold since are actually Kinixys belliana. These animals are typically just over four inches, leading me to believe they are raised on a farm in Kenya. The Northern Zombensis hingebacks are also Kinixys belliana. They're just bigger animals who have an adult shell pattern. Why the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allows the continued import of these animals, in violation of federal USDA regulations banning their import, I do not know. And why Underground Reptiles continues to sell the. same. species. as two different species, I do not know. I have a lone female that I acquired in April, 2022. Here's my video comparing the REAL Speke's hingeback with what underground reptiles is selling:
There are two people that have successfully hatched Kinixys belliana in the U.S. One no longer has the adults, while Aaron Johnson has found success with them hatching two in early 2024. You can learn more about those successes by listenting this episode of the Let's Talk Turtles Podcast: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/sh...ohnson-and-Kinixys-belliana-e2kpkcs/a-abbob3h
Kinixys nogueyi - The Western Bell's hingeback, the Bell's hingeback tortoise from the savannas of West Africa that we all knew and loved in the 1990's, hasn't been legally (or illegally imported, from what I can tell) since the year 2000. There are three of us the regularly reproduce this species; I've produced as many as 21 in a year and as few as three. I currently keep 4.4 adults and 3.2 subadults that are not yet breeding. In 2024, two of my collaborators that I had provided 2020 CB males to successfully paired them with their founder females and got fertile eggs; one collaborator was sucessful. I have many videos on my YouTube channel, linked above, where I detail my work with this species. I offer hatchilngs directly, or sell surplus through turtlesandtortoises.com
Kinixys spekii - There are a few people working with the true Speke's, which are readily identifable by their flattened shells. These animals had been imported from Mozambique, but this trade was shut down in 2018. There are surprisingly few adults making the rounds. There are a few people producing them each year, but I am less connected with the world of Speke's. I put together a pair in 2024 and I'm hoping for eggs in 2025.
Kinixys zombensis: The Kinixys co-op has the only current Kinixys zombensis project happening right now. The only animal that I know of outside of the Kinixys co-op was being offered for sale by Fred Kick (Kick's Balls) from Buffalo New York in the summer of 2022, if memory serves. It was a huge pyramided female whose shell was in rough, rough shape but seemed otherwise healthy. If you happen to have purchased that animal from Fred, please let us know how it is doing by contacting me.
Kinixys lobatsiana - There is one animal in the U.S.
Kinixys natalensis - There are no known animals in the U.S.
Do you keep hingebacks? Let me know.
-Tom
). The others struggled for a while. Not sure if it was due to shipment stress or things they came over with. For a while, they did not want to eat, tried everything. Now they are pigs and eat eat eat. Keep separate, so no observed breeding activity. Wanted strong animals before attempting.
