Home's Hingeback, Kinixys Homeana

A male and female Kinixys homeana working to create more Kinixys homeana. 

As of 2019, Kinixys homeana are the most readily available hingebacks in the U.S. pet trade.  Ironically, they are the most endangered in the wild, having a proposed IUCN critically threatened status.  Their range is small, their habitats are being lost, and they are collected from the wild for both the international pet trade and for food for local people in West Africa. These tortoises are commonly called Home's or Forest Hingebacks.

If you are in the care of a struggling Home's hingeback, please contact me, I can help!  This is the species that typically is owned by novice keepers who can only afford the lowest priced tortoises.  This species has given even the most experienced tortoises keepers frustration. The are just really, really difficult to establish in captivity.

Captive bred animals are now being produced by a few individuals, and if you'd like to keep Home's hingebacks, I strongly recommend starting with a captive bred animal.

As far as their care, the first thing to do for any imported hingeback is to make sure they are hydrated.  Soaking them daily for an hour in warm water hydration solution is an absolute necessity, as they are often extremely dehydrated. 

Two sub-adult Kinixys homeana.  These two animals demonstrate the variability in the species.  The animal on the lef is light in coloration and has a narrow nuchal scute (look at narrow above and behind the head.  However, the animal on the right is extremely dark, and has a wide, triangular shaped nuchal scute. It's yet to be determine if these represent regional differences in morphology and coloration across its range, or perhaps, just represents the variability of this species. 

This sub-adult Kinixys homeana came to me at 4 inches and 238 grams, and was in dire shape. Over a year later, she's just beginning to show shell growth.  Hydration and persistence helped me get her back to health.