Help for Indian Resident

[kinglollypop]

I am a student living with parents in India. As a country which is just developing an interest in exotic pet keeping (dogs and cats being the majority), I find it very difficult to understand exactly what to do with my tortoise. Given as a gift, we had no prior setup or the time to research a bit. I have kept dogs since childhood, so I have no issues with meal prep, routine, etc.
My problem lies with the informative videos of youtube, the blogs written on the net about care for tortoise. As someone who lives in Mumbai, the humidity is usually above 60%. And sun is not a problem with us Indians. The breed of tortoise I have is Indian Star Tortoise(x3).
The videos, usually by people in the UK/USA talk about humidity, Lighting, and some exotic grasses. I need someone to tell me exactly what I can feed my tortoise in India.
Lots of grass, things which people get in UK/US are not commonly found in my country.
Someone from India tell me what items I can feed my tortoise.

Tortoise Size and Weight -- 40g/5.3cm | 28g/4.1cm | 31g/5cm
Days Owned -- 2 days
Status -- Not Eating, minimal coriander consumption. 30 min soak in morning. misting with spray every 2 hr.
Housing -- Photo Attached. 2-4 hr sun.

 

[kinglollypop]

Anyone?

 

[wellington]

You have three if them?
That container is not big enough for 3. Not even big enough for 1.
They need to be in a closed chamber enclosure so there is minimum or no pyramiding, humidity is held steady and so are temps. Keeping them outside in a small box won't do it
@Tom can help you further and with food.

 

[kinglollypop]

I live right next to ocean, the average humidity is 45-56 this week. Yep the enclosure is small, I am searching the forum for guide on wooden tortoise table. As I live in India there is no company that makes enclosures for me to buy, I will hire a carpenter to make the table. ( do give me link for the liner/sealing the wooden table ).

You have three if them?
That container is not big enough for 3. Not even big enough for 1.
They need to be in a closed chamber enclosure so there is minimum or no pyramiding, humidity is held steady and so are temps. Keeping them outside in a small box won't do it
@Tom can help you further and with food

 

[wellington]

I live right next to ocean, the average humidity is 45-56 this week. Yep the enclosure is small, I am searching the forum for guide on wooden tortoise table. As I live in India there is no company that makes enclosures for me to buy, I will hire a carpenter to make the table. ( do give me link for the liner/sealing the wooden table ).

They need 80% humidity and a closed chamber enclosure.
Thread 'Best Tortoise Enclosure Yet!!' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/best-tortoise-enclosure-yet.175661/

 

[wellington]

They also need a clay saucer with water available 24/7

 

[kinglollypop]

They need 80% humidity and a closed chamber enclosure.
Thread 'Best Tortoise Enclosure Yet!!' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/best-tortoise-enclosure-yet.175661/

Thank you sir!
As for the 80% humidity and enclosure, till what age is it required? if for 3-4 months then I can just buy a plastic box. If a year or two, I will need to update my enclosure plans.
Current Wooden Enclosure Plan - 4' x 2' feet
The plastic box (with lid) will be around 3' and 2'. As markets do not have big long plastic tubs.

 

[wellington]

For around 3 years. A 4x2 is only good for one hatchling up to around a year old.
If you can get a greenhouse like in the pic below, it will last until he can live outside 24/7.
It's an old pic, so you might not find that price, but they aren't expensive. Get as large as one as possible. They come usually 3x6,9,12

 

[kinglollypop]

I live in an apartment so this is out of bounds. The largest sq.ft I can go is 9 sqft. 3' x 3'. Should I then segregate the tortoises, as I have 2 balconies with 4 hr sun everyday.

Can I keep all three in the closed chamber till they get 4 inches and then shift to 2 enclosures?

 

[wellington]

I think you need to rehome at least two of them. You don't have the room for one let a lone 3.
Wait for Tom, who I sent an alert too. He can help you more. I really don't think you have the room.

 

[kinglollypop]

I think you need to rehome at least two of them. You don't have the room for one let a lone 3.
Wait for Tom, who I sent an alert too. He can help you more. I really don't think you have the room.

i sent him a pm too. the problem with rehoming is that star tortoises are banned in india. the ones who gifted these bought them from 'crawford market'. almost all of them are smuggled ones that are caught from wild.
people whom i can gift these wont go the extra mile for keeping them. i know it sounds too arrogant to presume it but other people will keep them in bins inside their house and give them 1 hr daily sun and 15 min water soak. ( as confirmed from shop owners )
if i give them to a seller, it will most likely be sold to people who wont care. they are sold at 25 usd a piece.
I know the situation is bad but I want to give them a better life than they can be afforded at this point.

I could surrender them to the authorities, which will put them in zoos as even the authorities dont have enough funds to put them in good habitats.
zoos are already not funded enough. and these tortoises end up being smuggled out by gangs operating with zoos.
sry for the rant but i am also frustrated a bit. (fight with parents)

As I mentioned earlier, India is just getting into having pets and those are big ones like dogs and cats, tortoises are not seen as animals which need space, attitude is they are alive/ living in small space and bad conditions so let us continue that.
If i decide to build a big indoor enclosure, lighting and heating will be issue as there are no bulbs available in the country. the brands which you specify are never on online stores and if so then they are scams.

 

[Tom]

I am a student living with parents in India. As a country which is just developing an interest in exotic pet keeping (dogs and cats being the majority), I find it very difficult to understand exactly what to do with my tortoise. Given as a gift, we had no prior setup or the time to research a bit. I have kept dogs since childhood, so I have no issues with meal prep, routine, etc.
My problem lies with the informative videos of youtube, the blogs written on the net about care for tortoise. As someone who lives in Mumbai, the humidity is usually above 60%. And sun is not a problem with us Indians. The breed of tortoise I have is Indian Star Tortoise(x3).
The videos, usually by people in the UK/USA talk about humidity, Lighting, and some exotic grasses. I need someone to tell me exactly what I can feed my tortoise in India.
Lots of grass, things which people get in UK/US are not commonly found in my country.
Someone from India tell me what items I can feed my tortoise.

Tortoise Size and Weight -- 40g/5.3cm | 28g/4.1cm | 31g/5cm
Days Owned -- 2 days
Status -- Not Eating, minimal coriander consumption. 30 min soak in morning. misting with spray every 2 hr.
Housing -- Photo Attached. 2-4 hr sun.

Almost all of the care info you've been looking at is wrong and very confusing. Its terrible out there on the internet. Forget all that wrong info. Here is the correct care info. This applies to indoor housing anywhere in the world. Climate doesn't matter. This info applies even in a tortoise's native country. Indoor housing is different than living out in the wild. Even a large back yard enclosure is not the same as living in the wild. Start here:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

More info here:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Maggie3fan]

i sent him a pm too. the problem with rehoming is that star tortoises are banned in india. the ones who gifted these bought them from 'crawford market'. almost all of them are smuggled ones that are caught from wild.
people whom i can gift these wont go the extra mile for keeping them. i know it sounds too arrogant to presume it but other people will keep them in bins inside their house and give them 1 hr daily sun and 15 min water soak. ( as confirmed from shop owners )
if i give them to a seller, it will most likely be sold to people who wont care. they are sold at 25 usd a piece.
I know the situation is bad but I want to give them a better life than they can be afforded at this point.

I could surrender them to the authorities, which will put them in zoos as even the authorities dont have enough funds to put them in good habitats.
zoos are already not funded enough. and these tortoises end up being smuggled out by gangs operating with zoos.
sry for the rant but i am also frustrated a bit. (fight with parents)

As I mentioned earlier, India is just getting into having pets and those are big ones like dogs and cats, tortoises are not seen as animals which need space, attitude is they are alive/ living in small space and bad conditions so let us continue that.
If i decide to build a big indoor enclosure, lighting and heating will be issue as there are no bulbs available in the country. the brands which you specify are never on online stores and if so then they are scams.

One of the reasons they need more room is because in the wild they walk for miles everyday taking a bite here and another there...they need exercise of walking to aid in digestion so they can poop...they will wither and die in a habitat too small...

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Welcome to the forum
@kinglollypop

 

[kinglollypop]

Almost all of the care info you've been looking at is wrong and very confusing. Its terrible out there on the internet. Forget all that wrong info. Here is the correct care info. This applies to indoor housing anywhere in the world. Climate doesn't matter. This info applies even in a tortoise's native country. Indoor housing is different than living out in the wild. Even a large back yard enclosure is not the same as living in the wild. Start here:

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

More info here:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Thank you @Tom, I will give a update after 2-3 days about what I have done.
I read through both of the threads prior to posting my thread, and I am keeping those points in mind.

 

[wellington]

i sent him a pm too. the problem with rehoming is that star tortoises are banned in india. the ones who gifted these bought them from 'crawford market'. almost all of them are smuggled ones that are caught from wild.
people whom i can gift these wont go the extra mile for keeping them. i know it sounds too arrogant to presume it but other people will keep them in bins inside their house and give them 1 hr daily sun and 15 min water soak. ( as confirmed from shop owners )
if i give them to a seller, it will most likely be sold to people who wont care. they are sold at 25 usd a piece.
I know the situation is bad but I want to give them a better life than they can be afforded at this point.

I could surrender them to the authorities, which will put them in zoos as even the authorities dont have enough funds to put them in good habitats.
zoos are already not funded enough. and these tortoises end up being smuggled out by gangs operating with zoos.
sry for the rant but i am also frustrated a bit. (fight with parents)

As I mentioned earlier, India is just getting into having pets and those are big ones like dogs and cats, tortoises are not seen as animals which need space, attitude is they are alive/ living in small space and bad conditions so let us continue that.
If i decide to build a big indoor enclosure, lighting and heating will be issue as there are no bulbs available in the country. the brands which you specify are never on online stores and if so then they are scams.

The uvb light you wouldn't need if you can get them outside for about an 1/2 hour to an hour of sunlight 3 times a week.
The basking bulb, any incandescent bulb can work if it gets hot enough at tortoise height. Night temps by a ceramic heat emitter you will need if temps drop too low, if they never do, then you wouldn't need that either.
I guess the only option is to keep them or the zoo.
If you keep them, you have to find a way to do better in room for them.
Good luck, keep us posted. Everyone will try to help the best they can.