C. e. popei housing

[freves]

I have a couple of morphs that I have had for about eight months now. So far I have been keeping them in a plastic "critter keeper" with a mulch and soil mix substrate, a few hides, and a shallow water container. From the various articles that I have read it seems that in the wild this species is terrestrial outside of the breeding season. A quick scan of the old posts however seems to indicate that most people keep the adults in a mostly, if not fully, aquatic ensclosure. Seeing as how the number of weekly partial water changes that I do seem to be increasing I would like to keep these individuals in a more terrestrial enclosure. I was thinking of basically a larger version of what I have now with a more substantial water feature - but still using a large shallow container. Would this be adequate?
Chip

 

[Ed]

Yes its possible but the growth rate is often less than when they are aquatic.

Ed

 

[freves]

Hmm. So is the growth rate slower in the wild as opposed to captive animals kept in an aquatic environment? I of course want what is best for the animals but if I could get away with a terrestrial enclosure design then that would be a little easier on me. Also, if kept this way would there be any hinderance to breeding (say with a water depth of about 5 to 6 cm) or would it still be better to transfer them to an aquatic enclosure?
Chip

 

[Jennewt]

How large are they at this point? I think that breeding is probably at least a year or two in the future, and there's certainly no harm in keeping them terrestrial until they reach something close to full size. As long as they are getting a good diet and eating, I don't think there's any harm in the slower growth rate either. If you find them often in the water dish, then you might rethink their setup, but I doubt that you will find them in the water.

 

[freves]

The largest is probably around 4 or 5 cm, the other individual is just slightly smaller. Although they were initially somewhat skitish at feeding time, they have since settled down and both are eating well from a variety of foods offered on the end of a toothpick. At some time in the future I would like to add a few more but I want to do a little research on the bloodlines available in the US first. I got these individuals fom Michael S. and according to him they are from your stock Jen. I will plan on keeping them in a terrestrial enclosure for now. Thanks for the replies.
Chip

 

[Jennewt]

Yeah, they are still small. I think you could keep them terrestrial for at least another year, maybe longer.