Calling on indian star owners residing in INDIA

[arotester]

Is feeding Hibiscus flower and leaf as regular diet is fine or not????
And also all parts of hibiscus flower is fine to eat as per its nutritional contents point of view(excessive proteins and oxides) or not???

i do feed the hibiscus regularly as a part of varied diet and they grew up great.Also flowers can be fed as they are but if the tort is small then you should cut it in small parts,they love the flower and they always find a way to eat it.

 

[vaibhavballi]

some time it excretes white waste but in very less quantity...he eats fine...most of his food contains hibiscus leaves and flower, coriander, grass, cucumber...and also it walks and bath daily...does not seem to be sick...just little less sunlight now a days...do i need to be afraid???


Also one of my friend come to know from some research guys who also were studying about tortoise that feeding rice to them is good....i don't feel it safe...what u people think about it???

 

[arotester]

some time it excretes white waste but in very less quantity...he eats fine...most of his food contains hibiscus leaves and flower, coriander, grass, cucumber...and also it walks and bath daily...does not seem to be sick...just little less sunlight now a days...do i need to be afraid???


Also one of my friend come to know from some research guys who also were studying about tortoise that feeding rice to them is good....i don't feel it safe...what u people think about it???

Actually that white waste is urates and it's fine for a tort to do that.About rice i agree with you .
We just need to give tort a lot of space ,sunshine and food (with water) that's it

 

[seanang168]

Hi how do you manage its poo if you allow it to walk everywhere? My stars would poo anywhere they like if I let them roam about.

I have had Slider for a week and I bought him for 10$ in India. His plastron is about 6 cm. The pet store guy told me he is a year old. He was kept in pathetic conditions in the pet store. I also do not know if he is a male or a female. but i would be happy if it turns out to be a male.

For the first three days i had kept him in an empty shoe box as my niece was scared of my tortoise, but now she is away and I allow him to move about freely in my apartment. Also, initially I handled him a lot. Now I have left him to himself and observe him from far.

I stay in an environment which is in the habitat of the Indian star tortoise so the temperature is never less than 28 degree celcius. I have provided no temperature control and I have no enclosure for him, he can freely roam around my entire 1500 sq ft apartment, and he basks in my balcony which faces the east which is where he spends most of his day. His bedding is shredded newspapers located in a shady corner of the balcony. He eats okra, cucumber, hibiscus leaves and flowers and grass(in order of his preference) and egg shells as a source of calcium, his stools are brown and very slightly runny and he makes no peculiar sound when held close to the ears. Initially he used to drag his hind legs but now he has started lifting himself up, though not completely. his head seems slightly slimmer than a regular star tortoise which makes me feel he is weak. and I am slightly paranoid that he is pyramiding. One of the scutes has a slight bump. He has a very huge shell almost semi circular. He hates being soaked in warm water. He sleeps for about 15 hours a day which makes me feel he is ill.

I have attached a few of his pictures. Please let me know how shall I take care of him. He is my first tortoise and I am really attached to him. I want him to grow big and healthy. I would be really glad for all the advice and suggestions


http://postimg.org/image/a6t8re8gn/
http://postimg.org/image/xhcyla68z/
http://postimg.org/image/yxoh3f95v/
http://postimg.org/image/t6yapp15v/
http://postimg.org/image/6efa9vear/
http://postimg.org/image/3vozvg36r/
http://postimg.org/image/wk1xyo5cz/

 

[anmol]

Mine seems litter trained..lol, i poos once or twice a day in the soak tray. I guess the water assists it with its bowel movements

 

[Suru]

Hi how do you manage its poo if you allow it to walk everywhere? My stars would poo anywhere they like if I let them roam about.

I think mine tort too is well trained himself . I have build a small home for him but he never make his home dirty. He poos whenever we take him out of the tub and keep him on his seperate cloth and only on that he does his poo and unrinates. after that he moves in my apartment freely. but he dont make it dirty. one more thing special about him is he wakes up exactly on particular timing daily. But till we take him out he sits still but dont make his sleeping place dirty...i am really suprised about that.
It is said that tortoise have good sence and memory. whatever they does once or twice they remember it and makes it their routine.

 

[star-tortoise]

Eating a 'farasbee', earlier i had to break it n give it to her/him, but thats not the case now, for more than a year he/she was very shy and used to sleep in a corner a lot but lately he/she has become very active and smart!...appetite has increased, i think it has started recognizing me n my family members.

1. Please help me in finding a UV lamp or bulb in Mumbai.
2. How do i know the gender?..i know it is by the length of its tail, but im confused. (posting a pic, c if u can identify)
3. Where can v get dandelions over here?
4. how do i know the age?

 

[Suru]

Eating a 'farasbee', earlier i had to break it n give it to her/him, but thats not the case now, for more than a year he/she was very shy and used to sleep in a corner a lot but lately he/she has become very active and smart!...appetite has increased, i think it has started recognizing me n my family members.

1. Please help me in finding a UV lamp or bulb in Mumbai.
2. How do i know the gender?..i know it is by the length of its tail, but im confused. (posting a pic, c if u can identify)
3. Where can v get dandelions over here?
4. how do i know the age?

View attachment 97156 View attachment 97157

The Tail
Your tortoise's tail is actually one of the most telling signs of the animal's gender. In most species of tortoise, females will have significantly smaller tails than male tortoises do. If your tortoise has a long tail, he is most likely a boy. If your tortoise has a short, or even nubby-looking tail, then she's probably a girl.
Stomach Shape
Mature male tortoises often have a concave-shaped stomach when you turn them over onto their shells. This means that their stomach is curved more like a bowl than a flat plate. Females have flatter stomachs. So you may need to wait until your tortoise matures before you can use the shape of the stomach to tell gender. In captivity, tortoises typically reach maturity when they are between 4 and 8 years old.

 

[shanu303]

@star-tortoise , your star is still very young.... you simply can't determine that sex at this size and age.... you've gotta be patient and wait till your star is old enough to be sexed....

 

[A.Nair]

Hi friends..... i also have a star... small one... around 1.5 or 2 inches... her name is pichkoo.... she is very shy... she like lady finger... cucumber.... dhaniya.... tomato...etc... she is with me from the last 3 to 4 months... iam also attaching her pics...

 

[arotester]

Hi friends..... i also have a star... small one... around 1.5 or 2 inches... her name is pichkoo.... she is very shy... she like lady finger... cucumber.... dhaniya.... tomato...etc... she is with me from the last 3 to 4 months... iam also attaching her pics...

Hi,
How do you know it's a female tort? because in India you get wild caught torts and there is no way of telling the gender until tort becomes of a sufficient size.
Also, i would like to tell you that the food that "she" likes is not good for "her".Try some grasses and weeds .
tc

 

[Hari8689]

My Flinstone nd Velma

 

[shanu303]

Hello everyone
I am new to this forum.....i am from Mumbai .i bought an star tortoise two days ago((don't know its age as well as gender but the person who gave me told that its female and it's shell measures 3 inch what will be it's age ))...In this two days i gave her cucumber and tomato pieces but she only ate cucumber...what more can i try ??? I don't know more about tortoises so can anyone give me a complete schedule or timetable about what to do.... For eg
from 7to11 keep her under sunlight
Then keep her in water tub for some time ......etc......if anyone have any other imp points pls share it and thank you in advance..........

your tort is really cute Welcome to TFO

 

[shanu303]

My Flinstone nd Velma

really nice names and really cute star torts...... just a suggestion : please don't keep them in metal containers... plastic will do.. and substrate should be there...

 

[Hari8689]

really nice names and really cute star torts...... just a suggestion : please don't keep them in metal containers... plastic will do.. and substrate should be there...

I have created an enclosure from acrylic. Will send you pics very soon

 

[seema]

hi .....seema from mumbai...i have a star tortoise since last one year named motu....sorry dont know motu's sex and age....motu came in to my life unexpectedly my sons friend bought him and was with him for 1 and half year and one fine day he wanted to go out for four days out of town...and his family members were not ready to take care of him...knowing i m animal lover he requested if i can take care of him and i readily agreed ....i hadno idea anything about any type of tortoise but he was with me for four days and he used to eat only cucumber ....after four days my sons freind came and took him .....i and my son was very sad and were thinking of buying one for our family but after 3 days we got a call from his friend and he said motu is not eating any thing just roaming in full house as if he was searching for someone hence his family member said that he is not eating because he was with me for four days and he got attached to me and told him to give motu to me...hence motu came in my life...and ya the as soon as he came at my place he was very happy and ate 2 full cucumber from my hand..any way after going thru u r forum will try to change his diet....

 

[shanu303]

hi .....seema from mumbai...i have a star tortoise since last one year named motu....sorry dont know motu's sex and age....motu came in to my life unexpectedly my sons friend bought him and was with him for 1 and half year and one fine day he wanted to go out for four days out of town...and his family members were not ready to take care of him...knowing i m animal lover he requested if i can take care of him and i readily agreed ....i hadno idea anything about any type of tortoise but he was with me for four days and he used to eat only cucumber ....after four days my sons freind came and took him .....i and my son was very sad and were thinking of buying one for our family but after 3 days we got a call from his friend and he said motu is not eating any thing just roaming in full house as if he was searching for someone hence his family member said that he is not eating because he was with me for four days and he got attached to me and told him to give motu to me...hence motu came in my life...and ya the as soon as he came at my place he was very happy and ate 2 full cucumber from my hand..any way after going thru u r forum will try to change his diet....

you are one lucky person... and its good that family took this decision now motu is in caring hands.... i wonder why he/she's named motu? anyway welcome to TFO and motu is looking good

 

[seema]

@alicia040782 yes we are still very much active
and Welcome to TFO

 

[Hari8689]

House of Mr. Flinston & Ms. Velma

 

[seema]

ya ofcourse i m lucky....regarding motus name we used to call him tutlee first than our neighbour bought a baby tortoise and called him chotu.....so my son started calling him motu...uploading a picture of both and u will know y..