New to caring for Kinixys Erosa

Michaelton

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Hey I'm a new owner of the Erosa, his name is Michaelton =D He's been with me over a week and has been eating well but his eyes are watery, is that normal?
Whats the ideal temperature and humidity? This setup is currently running at 84-89F & humidity around 75-85%? Am i doing this right?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 

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Michaelton

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Well that's going to be difficult as i am from Malaysia, the temperature here is at 90F and higher during daytime(Outdoor).
Was thinking of a makeshift air-conditioner with a fan blowing at a frozen water bottle to lower temp, do you think it will work?
 

FLINTUS

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A fan might help.
What are the temperatures outside? If you have a garden, being outside would likely be better for him.
 

Michaelton

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Yeah i have a garden, temps outside are 90F and higher. And there's quite a few neighborhood cats around which i think would have a go at him.
 

Michaelton

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Managed to bring the temperature down to 78F and his eyes is normal now but he is fairly lethargic though. Is he just lazy?
 

Jacqui

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Hard to say. He may still be lethargic due to heat. Is he soaking and eating?
 

Jacqui

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What are you using for lights? The fan doesn't blow directly on him correct?
 

Michaelton

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Yeah he's soaking and eating well. Portobello seems to be his favorite.
I'm using sunglo bulb from exoterra and no I'm didn't use a fan directly on him.
 

Michaelton

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I'm using a coil type bulb as the UVB source. Been doing some reading around the forum and most are saying to change to incandescent? Would it be better if i used mercury vapor bulb?

Need some advice on his diet. Been feeding him portobello, carrots, baby spinach, mustard green, bok choy, kai lan, choy sum. are any of these bad for him? What else can i feed him?
 

FLINTUS

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I would switch bulbs, yes.
Substrate sounds great, I'm a firm believer in dried leaves. I would add moss as well if you can get it.
Diet wise, most are good, but I would be careful with the choi family (http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plants_19.asp?st=true&mode=main&catID=231). I would be tempted to add a bit of fruit, maybe papaya, fig, mango if you can get them.
You also need a little bit of animal protein in the diet. I use high quality dried dog food pellets(it needs to be v.high quality though), and mazuri mainly, though I doubt that is available in Malaysia. Boiled chicken is also a good bet.
 

Michaelton

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I bought a 160w mercury vapor bulb. He seems more active after the switch.
Which type of moss though? Spagnum moss?
I've added banana, grapes, mango, hibicus flower and earthworms to his diet as well as some finely chopped timothy hay as his stool was loose, just thought it would help.
Was tempted to feed him chicken but the chicken here are all injected with growth accelerant.

I've had him for a month now, when i got him, his weight was 67gm and now he's 83gm. Is he gaining weight too quickly?
 

FLINTUS

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That does sound rapid growth, but if he was a new import he might have been dehydrated so I wouldn't worry. What's his SCL(straight carapace length) please? He must be very small for that weight, still a juvenile, probably 2-4 years old.
Any moss is fine. Sphagnum is commonly used, and works well.
Be careful on the grapes and bananas, the latter in particular are high in phosphates. I would feed both of those sparingly, once a routine diet is established.
And yes, avoid the chicken if it has growth drugs, without a doubt.
 

Michaelton

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His SCL is 8cm give or take. 6cm side to side.
He doesn't seem to eat greens much. He'd rather go for carrots, mushrooms and fruits. Any suggestions on how to get him to eat greens?
Appreciate the advice, been a great help!
 

FLINTUS

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His SCL is 8cm give or take. 6cm side to side.
He doesn't seem to eat greens much. He'd rather go for carrots, mushrooms and fruits. Any suggestions on how to get him to eat greens?
Appreciate the advice, been a great help!
Ok, he's still v.young. Try putting mashed up fruit on the greens
 

Michaelton

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Tried mashing up fruits with the greens, it worked!
I've been trying to get him to eat mealworms but he doesn't seem at all interested. I wanna get some protein in him, you think broccoli would be okay as a substitute?
 

hingeback

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Tried mashing up fruits with the greens, it worked!
I've been trying to get him to eat mealworms but he doesn't seem at all interested. I wanna get some protein in him, you think broccoli would be okay as a substitute?
Mine is also not interested in mealworms but she loves the baby snails:D
 
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