Where have the Erosa gone?

Bambam1989

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I have been reading alot about kinixys Erosa lately especially some of the older posts here on the forum.
There hasn't been much discussion about them in a while though. Some of the posts were from members attempting to successfully hatch eggs. But I never read about anyone being successful.
Some of these members were @tortadise and @Redfoot NERD and @Jacqui did anyone succeed? Does anyone on the forum still breed them?
Other than some of the physical aspects, what are some differences between the Erosa and the Homeana? Like with care, diet, temperament, and breeding requirements?
I feel like a sponge that needs to soak up more info!
 

zovick

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I have been reading alot about kinixys Erosa lately especially some of the older posts here on the forum.
There hasn't been much discussion about them in a while though. Some of the posts were from members attempting to successfully hatch eggs. But I never read about anyone being successful.
Some of these members were @tortadise and @Redfoot NERD and @Jacqui did anyone succeed? Does anyone on the forum still breed them?
Other than some of the physical aspects, what are some differences between the Erosa and the Homeana? Like with care, diet, temperament, and breeding requirements?
I feel like a sponge that needs to soak up more info!

The two species are virtually the same as far as their needs, their habits, feeding, and activity. Briefly, they like it humid and like damp substrate. Somewhere on here there was a thread in which I posted photos of both species a while ago. Both are most active at dawn and dusk. Mine were even active well into the nights. They are not fans of bright light.

I believe @Will had some and so does @Anyfoot as I recall. Maybe they will chime in here.
 

Bambam1989

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The two species are virtually the same as far as their needs, their habits, feeding, and activity. Briefly, they like it humid and like damp substrate. Somewhere on here there was a thread in which I posted photos of both species a while ago. Both are most active at dawn and dusk. Mine were even active well into the nights. They are not fans of bright light.

I believe @Will had some and so does @Anyfoot as I recall. Maybe they will chime in here.
I came across many of the older posts, sadly most of the images are no longer available.[emoji20]
From my reading the two sounded very similar but wanted to verify. Would you consider one to be more aggressive than the other in a group setting?
I've also heard their care needs compared to that of redfoot torts. Would this include temperatures? Are they prone to any health issues?
Were you able to successfully hatch eggs from the Erosa?
 

zovick

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I came across many of the older posts, sadly most of the images are no longer available.[emoji20]
From my reading the two sounded very similar but wanted to verify. Would you consider one to be more aggressive than the other in a group setting?
I've also heard their care needs compared to that of redfoot torts. Would this include temperatures? Are they prone to any health issues?
Were you able to successfully hatch eggs from the Erosa?

I had adult groups of 3.5 animals of both species and didn't notice any overly aggressive behavior in either of the species. It should be noted that I kept them in very large enclosures so they were not crowded together in any way. Both groups were fresh imports when I got them. I only kept them for about a year or so. I was convinced to trade them for some Spider Tortoises before any eggs were laid, although I did have breeding activity take place several times (usually during or right after it had rained).

K. erosa male 2.jpg K. erosa Breeding 10 July 06.jpg K. erosa male 2.jpg K. erosa Breeding 10 July 06.jpg
 

Anyfoot

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I have homeana. Wet and humid, no bright lights. Temps are are around 80f.
Diet consists of mushrooms, fruit and bugs. Occasionally they eat rocket,dandelion and dried leaves.
I bred 14 babies. I’ve got a few eggs cooking at the moment.
I incubated at 28/29c with night lows of 24/25. They were sat in coir and moist spagnhum layed over the top of them. Sprayed moss 2 or 3 times a day. No diapause.
I’ve got a friend in Europe who used this technique with his Erosa and succeeded for the first time.
 

Bambam1989

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I had adult groups of 3.5 animals of both species and didn't notice any overly aggressive behavior in either of the species. It should be noted that I kept them in very large enclosures so they were not crowded together in any way. Both groups were fresh imports when I got them. I only kept them for about a year or so. I was convinced to trade them for some Spider Tortoises before any eggs were laid, although I did have breeding activity take place several times (usually during or right after it had rained).

View attachment 236016 View attachment 236017 View attachment 236016 View attachment 236017
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. They were lovely torts.
This brings me to another question, what size enclosure do you recommend and how much additional space should be provided per additional tort. One resource stated a minimum of 4x8 with an additional 4' sq per additional tort. But to me this actually sounds small for a species that spends a good amount of its time hunting/scavenging for bugs.
 

Bambam1989

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I have homeana. Wet and humid, no bright lights. Temps are are around 80f.
Diet consists of mushrooms, fruit and bugs. Occasionally they eat rocket,dandelion and dried leaves.
I bred 14 babies. I’ve got a few eggs cooking at the moment.
I incubated at 28/29c with night lows of 24/25. They were sat in coir and moist spagnhum layed over the top of them. Sprayed moss 2 or 3 times a day. No diapause.
I’ve got a friend in Europe who used this technique with his Erosa and succeeded for the first time.
Thank you! It's been very frustrating not being able to find very many references on incubation and hatching methods for these species.
Do you know of anyone else that has had success hatching Erosa? Or even other Homeana breeders that may be able to compare incubation methods?
 

Anyfoot

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Thank you! It's been very frustrating not being able to find very many references on incubation and hatching methods for these species.
Do you know of anyone else that has had success hatching Erosa? Or even other Homeana breeders that may be able to compare incubation methods?
No. Many fail. There are a few in Germany and Lithuania collecting to create breeding groups that I know of.
I’m sure there are some in America.
 

Bambam1989

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They are a very underrated species. My babies used to run down insects, and dig for worms. Very interesting to watch.
Yes, the Homeana and Erosa sound like the type of torts that are amazing to watch and observe.
I have been doing quite a bit of research on different tortoise species, especially the ones from Africa. So far, the hingebacks have been the most fascinating to me (Homeana and Erosa in particular!)
If everything goes as expected, in about 2 years I hope to begin breeding one or two types of tortoises. During this time I plan on researching and learning as much as i possible can.
So ANY and ALL info on these guys is greatly appreciated including good reference materials that I can read[emoji1]
 

Anyfoot

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In this video one of the hatchlings appears to be purposely eating bits of wood. Interesting..
Well observed, I’ve seen them eat wood on a few occasions. I’ve observed them eating dried leaves quite a lot too. If I put fresh greens in they don’t touch it for about 3 days.
 
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