The following
photos were taken in March 2000 in Tobago's enclosure.
Click
on the images to see them enlarged.
![Tobago eats a mouse pink.](images/tobagoeats.jpg)
Copyright
© 2000 by Melissa Kaplan
|
After running
around the enclosure or dragging the mouse from his "pond"
to dry land, Tobago sets to work eating. Using his front feet
to hold the mouse and push, while biting down on it, he is able
to tear it into bite-sized pieces. He eats snails the same way,
using his feet to push at the shell, removing the snail from its
shell. Worms and slugs are similarly treated, with the feet used
to hold them down while he pulls his head away.
|
![Tobago tried to hide himself - and his mouse, gripped in his beak - from me, apparently thinking I am going to take it away from him. Little does he realize that I have lots of mousies to share and won't have to steal his.](images/tobagohides.jpg)
Copyright © 2000 by Melissa Kaplan
|
Every so often,
Tobago becomes a bit paranoid when it comes to his food...with
his mice, to be precise. At these times, if I hover around the
enclosure to watch him, or do a bit of maintenance (picking up
dead leaves, crushed snail shells, etc.), he runs away, dragging
the mouse under this plastron, trying to keep it away from me.
What makes this most interesting is that he totally ignores me
if it is snails. My omnivorous lizards don't worry that I will
steal their food from them...I wonder if Tobago will eventually
realize that I give, I do not take away.
|
![Here is Tobago getting a worm. He doesn't seem to be able to zero in on them very well any more, so the worm is held for him allowing him to see it, track it, and grab it.](images/tobagoeats2.jpg)
Copyright © 2000 by Melissa Kaplan
|
Here Tobago
gets a worm. Because it has become so difficult to track a "free
roaming" worm, he would get discouraged and not eat. By holding
it for him, he has the time to focus on it and grab it - unless,
of course, he is holding out for a mouse.
When you click
on this photo to see the enlarged version, you will see how clear
and bright this, his good eye, is compared to his right eye.
|
![A predator's-eye-view of Tobago's enclosure.](images/tobagohome.jpg)
Copyright © 2000 by Melissa Kaplan
|
This photo
of his Rubbermaid tub (21.5 x 15 x 5.5 in. / 54.6 x 38 x 14 cm
inside dimension; US 7.6 gallons) was taken in late Spring 1999.
Since then, the creeping fig got very straggly, the hibiscus got
uprooted several times when Tobago tried burrowing under it, and
in general things were looking rather dilapidated. I have since
ripped it all out, replanted the hibiscus, added a couple of miniature
rose bushes, and some thyme. The orange plastic flower pot is
one of his favorite sleeping and hanging-out places. It is actually
half-buried in the soil so it forms a cave snug enough to feel
secure but large enough for him to comfortably turn around in.
The piece of wood at the bottom of this view is a half-log, with
space underneath to burrow into. He will use the long wood piece
at the top of this photo to burrow under or parch on when eating.
|
![This photo of Tobago's two eyes clearly shows the difference in color, overall size, and size of the pupil. Copyright © 2000 by Melissa Kaplan](images/tobagoeyes.gif)
Copyright
© 2000 by Melissa Kaplan
|
This photo
of Tobago's two eyes clearly shows the difference in color, overall
size, and size of the pupil. Photo taken 09/00.
|
Related
Articles
Captive
Propagation and Husbandry of the Vietnamese Leaf Turtle (Geoemyda spengleri)
Tobago:
A Visually-Impaired Vietnamese Leaf Turtle
Translations
of these G. spengleri articles into other languages
Join
the G. spengleri Email List
|