The
Kleinmanni Project (Testudo Kleinmanni - Egyptian
Tortoise)
Objectives
We
always consider ourselves privileged to have worked with so many wonderful
animals and T.kleinmanni are no exception, A
few years back we set out to record accounts and observations whilst working with this shy and often
reported delicate species - Testudo kleinmanni the Egyptian
Tortoise.
Its never a good idea to Interpret
/ Quantify nature so we're not going to try, this document
is set to report just some
of our findings.
Legal Status
The
Egyptian tortoise is protected and classified as endangered - 'CITES
Appendix 1' in regards to the wildlife trade this represents a ban on specimens
alive, dead or any product of them being taken from the wild, with documentation
being required for captive bred
specimens.
Unfortunately
a number of wild caught animals are encountered for sale along the native
land and reported sightings
at various stalls and shops are still not as rare as one would hope, This is without doubt a
negative burden on an already minimal wild populations, Although this is not the place
to start a debate on poverty, and world ethics that's for the politicians,
right?
Safe to say do not attempt to buy one.
Note: It is an offence to carry out a
transaction for the fore mentioned illegal wildlife dead, alive or
product of, this can carry very serious consequences, the authorities do not tolerate ignorance. Eliminate the market - eliminate the trade.
Testudo Kleinmanni - Natural
History
Testudo
kleinmanni are native around the northern coastline of Egypt a land of very little rain fall, consistently high temperatures and mild winters, contributed
by the large amounts of sunlight hours, far exceeding twice the yearly average
in the UK.
This shows that T.kleinmanni are
accustomed to bright sunlit dry warm days with a drop in
temperature at night and also over winter by ~ 10°C, We can see they do not experience
cold enough conditions for traditional hibernation but are active in
varying amounts throughout the year which we will look at more closely later in this
Article.
Climatic Summary, Egypt in Comparison to the UK..
Rain fall:
~
96% Less Rain
Temperature:
~ 11°C
Higher Average Temperatures
Humidity:
~ 40%
Lower Relative Humidity
Sunlight Hours:
~
2.3X Sunlight Hours
Below are 4
graphs of monthly
climatic data (Egypt)
Temperatures
Precipitation
Humidity
Sunlight
Each can be viewed by simply pressing one of the 4 icons beneath
the graph.
For more
information on "Climatic Requirements of Mediterranean
Tortoises"
please visit the 'Articles' page, alternatively click [here]
Meet the Kleinmanni's
Images
and stats of participants.
Name:
k1
D.O.B: 06 / 2003
Generation: F1
Lineage: A-A
Key
Name:
k2
D.O.B: 06 / 2003
Generation: F1
Lineage: A-A
Key
Name:
k3
D.O.B: 01 / 2003
Generation: F1
Lineage: A-A
Key
Name:
k4
D.O.B: 06 / 2003
Generation: F1
Lineage: B-B
Key
Name:
k5
D.O.B: 05 / 2003
Generation: F1
Lineage: B-B
Key
Below are graphs that show
...
Growth Rate Measured
Mean and Standard
Deviations
Statistical
data and images for this section were recorded with the
"Tortoise Dairy" for more information and download, please
visit the 'Articles' page, alternatively click [here]
Captive Husbandry
In regards to
their captive maintenance we try to mimic the natural conditions as close as
reasonably practicable, Temperatures and day light cycles are some of the
easiest to replicate which can be viewed in more detail from the graphs in the next
section. [below]
Temperature
- We maintain ~40°C basking spot all year round and control the cooler
months by dropping the ambient temperature. See the table below.
Sunlight
Cycle - The sunlight is provided artificially via UVB tubes which are
set for winter and summer cycles. See the table below.
Season
Ambient
Day
Time High
Night
Time Low
Sunlight
Hours
Winter
~
16°C
~
14°C
9
Summer
~
30°C
~
24°C
13
Food -
Not the most straight forward as many of the native plants can simply not
be collected and offered all year round in captivity. As with most Mediterranean
tortoises lots of weeds, herbs, greens.
To reduce the
effects of over eating and becoming spoilt on our lush food we
feed every third day to encourage foraging of the left over dried
weeds.
Supplements
- The food items are dusted once a month with a good quality multivitamin
and additional calcium every other feed.
For more
information on "Dietary Requirements of Mediterranean
Tortoises"
please visit the 'Articles' page, alternatively click [here]
Water -
Although the combination of the food offered tends to be of a higher water content
we still offer drinking water.
Air -
The air is continually circulated and filtered to prevent stale spots,
Additionally a flow of fresh air is supplied via a combination of forced
new induction and old extraction.
This also helps prevent over heating as the hot air rises up out the
extraction a flow of new air is drawn in at ground level. Air currents
are directed away to prevent drafts / chills.
Housing
- The group was established at hatching and have lived communally ever
since, although they are more nomadic in the wild this study was based on
their captive care and in this way it enables us to closely monitor the
interaction with one another 24/7.
The set-up consists of a heated basking area ~40°C and a cooler ambient
temperature at the other end where feeding takes place, Sleeping quarters
are provided via hides of half cut plant pots - readily accepted when snug
fitting. A dry non-dusty substrate is used to allow the T.kleinmanni
to dig in.
Captives
- One of the most important points we find when working with T.kleinmanni
is their timid / shy nature, They do seem to benefit from just being left
alone! - [More] on this subject later.
Temperature Measurement
Amongst
our environmental monitoring equipment we have several temperature sensors
remotely sited and routed to a data acquisition board which
snapshots 32 temperature readings from each sensor in less than a second,
generating a stable value, accurate to + - 0.07°C.
The electronics are all controlled by our software in which we define when
and how often to take readings, the gathered data is then logged into our
database, in turn this database can be queried to produce plotted graphs like the ones below
enabling a visual representation of fluctuations, Including Mean, Standard
Deviation, Regression etc.
Flow Chart Diagram
(Temperature Data Logging)
Place the mouse cursor over the items in the Flow Chart to view info.
Enclosure Temperature Data Week 1
- End of our winter, gradually fluctuating with background heat
and air currents. Week 2
- Start of our summer, Heat sources on at 11am and off at 11pm.
Temperature data is Ambient
does not include basking spot ~40°C.
Human Interaction & Shyness
One
thing we found very early on was just how timid T.kleinmanni were,
this could account for their reputation as being a delicate animal (a
stressed tortoise can become an illness tortoise).
To quantify this "Shy
/ Timid " nature We conducted a few simple tests with various groups of Testudo, none of
the animals were accustomed to human intervention with minimal keeper contact.
The simple tests consisted
of ones such as ...
1. With a
keeper approaching and in view would the species more often ...
1 =
Approach
2 = Stay still
3 = flee
2. Would the
species more often ...
1 =
Approach for food and eat
2 = Eat but with causation
3 = Wait for the keeper to go
3.
Are hides used ...
1 = Hardly
ever
2 = Sometimes
3 = Nearly Always
4.
When
handled would the species retract extremities ...
1 = No
2 = Yes, but only momentarily
3 = Yes, for long periods or until released
5.
With the
keeper in view and confronted with a hide or food ...
1 = Food
is preferred
2 = Mixture of both at times
3 = Hide is preferred
To make a comparison on
this type of study a points system was devised to judge each category in
turn, the more timid the species appeared the more points were awarded, on
a scale of 1 to 3.
Note: Although these are simple
tests, They do however show how timid T.kleinmanni can be in regards to other Testudo species, We find that in captivity T.kleinmanni
fair better when left alone making them far from being a suitable pet.
Activity Observations
With T.kleinmanni
being relatively shy every time they would hear the keeper approach
they would run and hide!, We needed a plan a way of observing them
which would allow them to continue in their daily activities.
So we started on a project to build in a video monitoring system as we
could see via the CCTV cameras the tortoises were active until the keeper
entered.
We built a
prototype and wrote what would later become ... software phase 1, a flow
chart of the system can be seen below, this now allowed us to monitor the T.kleinmanni
activity without any intervention.
Flow Chart Diagram
(Activity Data Logging)
Place the mouse cursor over the items in the Flow Chart to view info.
We initially set our
software to capture an image periodically, then we could scan through these images
in more detail at a latter time and record our findings, Where were the tortoises at what time were they
sleeping, eating, basking, and for how long etc.
This could then be conducted on a regular / daily basis, inputting the
data into the 'Tortoise
Diary' we were able to spot patterns and trends.
Examples of
Activity Report, Temperature Log, Activity Log
and Images...
Scroll through the notes by dragging the text up or down, select a
document using the icons below.
Example: Captured Images
Although we still continue to
gather information in this way, We required a more accurate way of
obtaining activity rates and so we started work on phase 2, The software
need automation something that would not require
sitting with a stop watch timing the activity by - Hours, Days, Weeks,
Months, even Years ...
Phase 2 could now not only record photographic evidence of what was happening
and when, it could also determine how active the tortoises were and when
- down to the individual second.
Temperature Activity Correlation
One of the first things we witnessed was the temperature
/ activity correlation.
Knowing environmental temperature plays an important role to the
activity rate in reptiles,
It was still very exciting to see the real data unfolding for the first time
based on captive T.kleinmanni.
Below are the
first 3
graphs to show, Winter, Summer, and Comparison activity...
Daily Routines
Also from this data are the clearly defined daily
routines, Within the first hour the tortoises need to warm up with a
morning basking, Over the next 2 hours the activity rate increases to peak
around the 4th hour when its time to forage for food, this lasts for 2 - 3 hours
until the activity rate declines steadily over the
next 3 hours to night time and retiring to the hides by the 10th hour.
Conclusion
Not
likely! with such a large topic, the idea of getting any kind of
conclusion would be ambiguous at best.
Help! - If you have
any Information, Images, Ideas - Regarding T.kleinmanni you would
like to share with us please contact us, info@pettortoise.co.uk
T.kleinmanni are
wonderful animals and a pleasure to work with, and we hope that they will
be around for further generations to enjoy.
ADDED - [here] - Frequently Asked
Questions... its a start!
ADDED - [here] - Story of "lonesome George" - G.elephantopus abingdoni
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permitting).
All documentation either on site or awaiting publication is subject to
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