Making a Pancake Care Sheet

CourtneyG

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Working on a Pancake Tortoise care sheet. Anyone want to contribute their own commentary on their personal experience as well?
 

Kapidolo Farms

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Sure.

For adults lets look at some simple quantitative stuff.

1.1 tortoises should have at least 4 square feet of cage foot print. This is multiplied for floor space by having multiple hides made of flat stones or tile. So one 2 x 2 enclosure (4 square feet) with a 1 x 2 (two more square feet of walk-able space) tile would effectively have six square feet of floor space.

There should be hides times the number of tortoises plus one. So two tortoises should have three hides. Six tortoises should have seven hides.

Each additional tortoise to a colony should have an additional square foot of foot print and square foot of walk-able space.

I have colonies of 1.2 and 1.3. All of the enclosures are 2 x 4 with one or two tiles that are 1 x 1 or 1 x 2, and sweater boxes that sit on the enclosure floor or the tile.

They will drink and sit in the water and poop. Multiple water dishes do not mean longer periods with a dish that does not get pooped in. I don't have a dish solution. Sometimes I have used chicken water dishes that have a circle filled with a gravity fill screwed into the center. They still find a way to hang their south end over the ring and poop in it. I just make sure to change the water every other day or so. They seem to like pooping in their water or as they eat.

They seem to be broad-leaf eaters more so than grass.

Colonies with one male and multiple females consistently work without aggression. But males seem to need to get their testosterone hooped up with some combat. Place two males together in an enclosure with no females. While supervised let them have some combat. Put each males back in it's home enclosure, they both think they won (the other males is not around) and they have a party with the females.


I eagerly await others' contributions. If you just agree with me you aren't permitted to contribute at all (LOL). " And that's the truth" RuthAnn.
 

CourtneyG

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Sure.

For adults lets look at some simple quantitative stuff.

1.1 tortoises should have at least 4 square feet of cage foot print. This is multiplied for floor space by having multiple hides made of flat stones or tile. So one 2 x 2 enclosure (4 square feet) with a 1 x 2 (two more square feet of walk-able space) tile would effectively have six square feet of floor space.

There should be hides times the number of tortoises plus one. So two tortoises should have three hides. Six tortoises should have seven hides.

Each additional tortoise to a colony should have an additional square foot of foot print and square foot of walk-able space.

I have colonies of 1.2 and 1.3. All of the enclosures are 2 x 4 with one or two tiles that are 1 x 1 or 1 x 2, and sweater boxes that sit on the enclosure floor or the tile.

They will drink and sit in the water and poop. Multiple water dishes do not mean longer periods with a dish that does not get pooped in. I don't have a dish solution. Sometimes I have used chicken water dishes that have a circle filled with a gravity fill screwed into the center. They still find a way to hang their south end over the ring and poop in it. I just make sure to change the water every other day or so. They seem to like pooping in their water or as they eat.

They seem to be broad-leaf eaters more so than grass.

Colonies with one male and multiple females consistently work without aggression. But males seem to need to get their testosterone hooped up with some combat. Place two males together in an enclosure with no females. While supervised let them have some combat. Put each males back in it's home enclosure, they both think they won (the other males is not around) and they have a party with the females.


I eagerly await others' contributions. If you just agree with me you aren't permitted to contribute at all (LOL). " And that's the truth" RuthAnn.
For the pooping in their water thing I just moved my water bowl a bit farther away and turned it (mine is rectangle shaped, not round) so that there is a nice sized gap in between the food and water bowls. This has greatly fixed the daily poop in the water. Now it's just when they want to soak that I find poop.
 

CourtneyG

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Can I get pictures of your indoor/outdoor enclosures to help put in the guide as well.
 

CourtneyG

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I am probably going to work on this over the weekened. I would like to know if you guys who keep pancakes like what I have typed up. I also would like some pictures of other enclosures.
 

Gabriel Mattei

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@CourtneyG

I have already been in Kenya numerous times and have seen pancake tortoises twice, pretty hard to find these tortoises in the wild. I try to keep mine in a naturalistic enclosure, for these tortoises outdoor is the way to go as they need to forage. I keep my pancake tortoises in a group of 2:4 in a 27 foot by 10 foot enclosure. I try to imitate the kopje landscapes in which these tortoises thrive meaning lots of different sized rocks safely stacked on each other.

I asked a few guides in Kenya what they would normally feed on and they told me that they prefer new sprouts and lots of weeds they will also occasionally feed on buffalo grasses. I have myself ordered a lot of different African seed mixes and planted them in the enclosure for them to forage on. I do see my pancake tortoises foraging often, as they are given the choice to forage whenever they please to. I never feed my pancake tortoises store bought vegetables as it is not natural for them to feed on such nutrient packed greens. I do see mine feeding a lot on bermuda grass and crab grass. Now a common mistake with these tortoises is people love to keep them way to warm, we have to remember that there is a winter in Kenya and also pancake tortoises live in high altitudes, I have attached a photo of the locations pancake tortoises are most likely to be found according to a Cites research. I have also attached a photo of the climate they face from one of the national parks where they are found.

I also recommend that you download the hinge back conservation blueprint as the spekes hinge back are always found where the pancake tortoise live, you will see information on their activity level per season and this is the relatively the same for the pancake tortoise.

As for incubation what I do which has worked is look at the climate chart and play with a few degrees as we have to remember that the temperature in the soil doesn't change much but the amount of water does. You can simply search up "Kenya dry season and wet season" and compare it as to when your tortoise has laid its eggs.

Note that the photos I took where in the dry season so normally their is much for foliage.

Hope this helps feel free to ask more questions.

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CourtneyG

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Update on the care sheet. I started it and then it fell by the way side as we found out my dad has a gleoblastoma. Which is a terminal type of cancer, so life is not in the best place right now, but hopefully I can finish it in two weeks time.
 

CourtneyG

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Okay I finally started with the care sheet, hopefully I can have it done within a week's time and if any of you other pancake keeps want to read it just shoot me a message before I post it to be made into a sticky.
 

Gabriel Mattei

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If you need any pictures of pancake tortoises for your care sheet please ask, such as enclosure pictures, good hides...
 

CourtneyG

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I'll take some more enclosure pictures. I have a really nice one at home for indoor and outdoor, but more pictures is great.
 

CourtneyG

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If you need any pictures of pancake tortoises for your care sheet please ask, such as enclosure pictures, good hides...
I'll take some more enclosure pictures. I have a really nice one at home for indoor and outdoor, but more pictures is great.
 

CourtneyG

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Okay just have pictures to add and a little editing to do but I am for the most part done, expect the rough draft to be posted soon.
 

CourtneyG

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Found some new research and I need to edit the paper. For those who breed these guys can you send me info on what you keep your hatchlings on and the humidity range in a 24hr cycle please.
 
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