Ranching as a Method of Conservation of the wild population of Horsfield’s Tortoise, Agrionemys horsfieldii

E. V. Bykova, V. G. Sorochinsky, A. V. Golenkevich, Evgeniy A. Peregontsev, I. N. Sorochinskaya, G. Ya. Sorochinsky

Abstract


Since 1997, associates of Zoocomplex (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) implemented studies on hatching the Horsfield’s tortoise on farms at commercial levels. The technology of collection and incubation of eggs, and the ranching of young tortoises, was mastered. Several methods were applied to obtain eggs from tortoises constantly kept in captivity, those temporarily kept in the nursery, and incubated eggs collected in the wild (R). According to CITES, R (ranching) is a method based on the collection of eggs, incubation and artificial hatching. Totally, 20,000 eggs were obtained. Some eggs from various ranges were measured and weighed. Differences in sizes and weight of eggs collected from areas with different natural conditions were recorded. Egg length varied from 36.1 to 56.5 mm. The survival rate of eggs constituted 75%. A positive correlation between body sizes of hatched tortoises with egg sizes was recorded. The size of hatched tortoises reached 25.2 to 48.6 mm; the weight was about 20 g. During seven months of rearing, 5% of hatched tortoises died (against 70 – 90% in the wild). Of 15,000 hatched tortoises, recorded were 29 twin pairs, of which 13 pairs were normal and 16 pairs were asymmetrical twins; four terato-twin abnormalities with varying levels of terato-duplication were recorded.

Keywords


Agrionemys horsfieldii; tortoise; ranching; hatching; egg; oviposition

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2007-14-3-232-236

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