With its pre-historic looks, the Jabuti may live more than a century and breed relatively easy.
The
volumous shell and the slow and rickety pace to carry it, have become a myth.
Taking life easy, it lives over a century. It is, therefore, one of the rare
inhabitants of this planet able to enchant someone's childhood, and decades
later, be alive to give his or her grandchildren the same emotion.
About 200 million years ago, its ancestors emerged in pre-history. The formula nature found to make these reptile survive was envolving their bodies with a powerful shell. An outstanding characteristic which enables anyone to indentify imediately any of the members of the exotic chelonion family.
Part of this family developed in land. They are the Jabutis. The shell they carry is large, and paws seem miniature elephant legs: they resemble columns, and have 5 fingers.
Only a minority of the Jabutis live in Brazil (the scientific name is Geochelone). One is the Carbonaria, with red scales on the legs and head (the size is about 40cm). It is found in forests and savannahs of Panama and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The other is the Denticulata, aproximately ten centimeters larger, and with orange scales on the legs and head. It is found in the Amazon region.
With representatives around the world, the Jabutis are divided in 36 species, distributed around Africa, Asisa, South and North America. Some are immense like the Gigantea, whose length surpasses 1 meter. It is also known as Aldabra, the name of the African island which it inhabits. In each species there are different patterns in the shells: small dots, stars, stripes, big spots, and numerous other patterns. The color, though, is usually yellow or orange.
Tame and docile, the Jabuti accepts caressing. It gets scared, though, with sudden movements, or with the closeness of a predator or anything it might consider dangerous. In these cases, it quickly tucks legs, head and tail inside the shell, and doesn't get them out until danger disappears; it lays innert, as if dead.
Assimilates routine habits. In the zoos, for instance, it usually comes out of hideouts at feeding time, waiting for the person in charge. Instead of teeth, it has a bone plaque which works as a blade. The Jabuti loves fruit, and vegetables in general, with a special taste for red and yellow vegetables. It also eats meat, but the lack of speed does not allow it to capture live preys. So, it eats meat from the person who treats it, or in nature, when it finds a dead animal during one of its walks.
It likes to walk. At home, it must be in a place where it cannot go through, or else he will walk away, sometimes pushing things that are on his way with its incredible strength. Even the smaller ones can carry a lot of weight on their shells. It can walk on land, sand, grass, but never cement floors; it hurts the inferior part of the shell, and legs become crooked.
Mating would be impossible for the male if his shell wasn't equipped with a cavity under the body, making it easy to fit his body over her shell. In fact, this is a detail taht identifies males. Before they are 4 years old, though, age in which they reach sexual maturity, and cavity appears, it is difficult to tell who's who. To make things worse, there is no way of knowing a Jabuti's age by its appearance.
In the dispute for the female, males tuck their heads in and beat one another repeatedly with their shells, but they don't get hurt. The female doesn't always accept the male, so breeders put several Jabutis together to enhance chances of reproduction. When mating, the male sounds a typical squeak. Reproduction happens mainly in the spring and summer, and the male frequently takes the initiative. Females of the national species lay 5 to 10 eggs, about 2 months after mating. They bury them in a place that seems appropriate, usually a place that gets lots of sun shine, and where ground has the right consistency for digging. They do not camouflage the place, which makes it easy to identify them. Eggs should be picked, for the ideal temperature and humity hardly occurs. Once they are found, it is important not to change their position when moving them. Mark the top with an "x" so you can put them down elsewhere, in the same position.
Beautiful little Jabutis will be born if the adequate conditions are provided. Incubation takes a long time: from six to nine months. Eggs should go on a box with a lid, and 4 25 watt lamps, controlled by a thermostat, with temperature regulated for 38 to 30°C. Put a mixture of soil and sand, in equal parts in the box. Then set the eggs in the same position they were foun (with the "x" up). Cover them with a 2cm layer of the same soil and sand mixture. Box should remain closed. Open only once a day to check temperature. Sprinkle water every ten days, to provide necessary humidity, but do not soak.
As soon as the baby Jabutis are born, take them out of there. Put them inside a basin. On top of it, put 25 to 65 watt lamps. It is not necessary to feed them. They only start eating after they're one month old. Before that, they feed from the yolk reserve they maintain in the abdomen when they leave the egg. All they need is a bowl with water to drink use a small plate so they reach it, but with borders so they don't walk on it. After they reach a month of age, they may be placed with parents.
The Jabuti's metabolism diminishes when temperature is lower than 15 degrees (Celsius). Its movements are slower, and it has no appetite. It may even hibernate. In these circumstances, it gets weak and more sensitive to diseases. The problem may be aggravated if environment is humid. Babies and developing individuals are the most affected, and so are adults with a weak health. Therefore, when it is cold, it is recommended to place them in a protected environment.
It loves to sun bathe, as much as all the other reptiles. But there should be shady areas available. The sun rays work as important body temperature regulators. The lack of sun is lethal: allied to excessive cold and humidity, it may lead to pneumonia, which, if not treated, may lead to death. Symptoms are lack of appetite, discharge in the nose and eyes, a noisy breathing. Treatment is done with vitamines, antibiotics, a lot of sun, and avoiding cold weather. There are problems which appear due to inadequate feeding, such as soft or malformed shells. They are frequently caused by lack of calcium or vitamine D. Treatment is done with calcium supplement, with vitamine D and sun bathing. To prevent this disease, some people add crushed egg shells to the food, daily.
Lack of vitamine A causes another problem common to Jabutis: swollen eyes, with discharge, called conjuntivitis. It is cured with vitamine A and carrots. The eyes have to be cleaned daily with borated water, and a special ointment, indicated by veterinarian, must be spread on them with a cotton swab.
Some males have a penis prolapse, leaving them exposed all the time, and dragging and scratchin the penis when walking. The owner should put ice on it, but if that doesn't work, a veterinarian surgery may be needed.
The habit of hiding makes Jabutis getting into holes, under wood, under garbage and other places. The shell, made of live tissue is sensitive to pain. Though hard and resistent, it may be perfurated or crack in an accident. In that case, a veterinarian should immediately dress the wound with resine, to avoid an infection. The Jabuti's shell should never be pierced, for instance, so a rope can be tied to it.
The Jabuti likes water, and even swims if there is a pond, tank or any other place where this is possible. An environment with water, however, is not mandatory for its good breeding.
Be careful with dogs and cats. Many of them bite the Jabuti's legs, even if it tucks them in. In case of accidents or sickness, look for a veterinarian who is specialized in wild animals.
There are professional Jabuti breeders in several countries. These places are called breeding farms. They can be found in the USA, Europe and Africa, and suply part of the world commerce. The price of an individual varies from 250 to 5,000 dollars, depending on how rare it is, its weight, etc. Several foreign species are in danger of extinction. The national ones aren't, so far. Like all other wild animals, it is necessary to have a special authorization from IBAMA, to breed them in captivity. The importation of reptiles is temporarily prohibited. But there are no prohibitions as for breeding them. There are currently no registered Jabuti breeder in Brazil. There is one in the state of Bahia, who is now waiting for the registration. People who are interested in obtaining authorization to start breeding, should, according to lesgislation, look for an IBAMA office, and there several things will be evaluated, such as if the person has the adequate structure for this activity. If it is approved, IBAMA itself will help the person to obtain the first reproducing individuals.
Feeding: Feed the Jabuti once a day, offering
fruit, vegetables and greens (including lettuce), plus raw or boiled egg (one
per Jabuti). Give them ground raw meat or raw sardines every other day, all in
equal parts, except for the egg. Test the amount, regulating it by the remains.
In case of babies, chop everything in small pieces. A lot of water.
Reading Material: Las Tortugas, by Jo Cobb, Editorial Hispano
Europea S.A., Barcelona, Spain; and Encyclopedia of Turtles, by Dr. Peter C. H.
Pritchard, T.F.H. Publications Inc., Neptune, NY, 07753, USA.
We would like to thank for the assistance of Luiz Antonio
Bezerra de Mello Lula, from the reptile department of the São Paulo Zoo.
Research and text: Carmen Olivieri. Text editor: Marcos Pennacchi
Picture: Fernando Torres de Andrade
Owner: Parque Zoológico de São Paulo/SP
