Literaturdatenbank |
Bykova, E. V., Sorochinskiy, V. G., Sorochinskiy, G. Y., Sorochinskaya, I. N., & Peregontsev, E. A. , On the practical experience of the hatching and rearing of agrionemys (testudo) horsfieldii gray at the zoocomplex in uzbekistan. Unpublished paper presented at 6th World Congress of Herpetology.
Added by: Admin (21 Nov 2009 11:59:50 UTC) |
Resource type: Conference Paper BibTeX citation key: Bykova2008 View all bibliographic details |
Categories: General Keywords: Asien = Asia, Habitat = habitat, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Testudinidae, Testudo, Testudo horsfieldii Creators: Bykova, Peregontsev, Sorochinskaya, Sorochinskiy, Sorochinskiy Collection: 6th World Congress of Herpetology |
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Abstract |
Testudinidae Testudo horsfieldii Tssociates of Zoocomplex (Tashkent) have conducted studies on development of conditions for hatching and rearing of tortoises in captivity for more than ten years resulting in the development of a tortoise ranching program in Uzbekistan. Experience of mass incubation of eggs obtained from the broodstock and wild individuals was amassed. At 28-32°C and 80-90% humidity, the incubation of eggs continued 70-80 days. The survival rate of embryos constituted 75%. After hatching, young individuals were placed into growing cages made from wooden shelves 0.75 by 1.5 m, which were divided into two parts with covers and incandescent lamps. The temperature in the daytime was 30-32°С; at night, 24-26°С. We used crushed and carefully prepared mixed feeds consisting of plant fodder, 76%, with protein, 21%, and vitamins and minerals, 3%. The tortoises were fed once a day, for five days a week. To stimulate the feeding activity, the tortoises were washed in warm water from the very first days of their life. This procedure was combined with sunbaths (air temperature should be over 32°С). The rearing of tortoises in these conditions provides an average monthly growth by 3-4 mm and weight gain by 5 g. The individual growth varied from 1 to 6 mm. At an all-the-year-round activity (the tortoises did not hibernate), most of these tortoises reached the size of 3-4-year-old wild individuals in eight months. They grew from 33-53 mm (ca. 44.3 mm) and 20 g in weight to more than 65 mm and 65 g in this period. The mortality during the rearing was below 5%. In 2007, 17.738 tortoises hatched; 0.3% of these were symmetrical and asymmetrical twins; 0.4% had defects of the carapace and 0.03% were teratic showing varying levels of terato-duplications from teratodimy to teratopagy. Owing to the development of the ranching program, the number of tortoises withdrawn from the wild for the export decreases resulting from an increase in those reared on the farm. In 2002, more than 30.000 wild tortoises were collected in the wild. In 2007, this number was only 8600. The number of tortoises ranched in captivity will grow in the near future, thus enabling us to stop the withdrawal tortoises from the wild.
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