Your Views on the following products

seanang168

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I would like to seek your views on the use of the following products as star tortoises substrate.

a) Made from Fir Bark

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b) Cannot find info on the type of the bark

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c) made from Pine Bark
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All three types claimed that product is washable and reuseable. Anyone uses these?
 

Yvonne G

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I wouldn't hesitate to use the first one, but wouldn't use the pine bark, and looks like the second type is too large. The only thing wrong with the fir bark is it's so expensive buying it when sold like that to pet stores. But that's the stuff I use, only I buy a brand manufactured and sold for orchids. It's cheaper, but the same stuff.
 
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tortdad

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Do you have a garden center near you that sells plants? You can usually get much bigger bags for less than the pet store brands.
 

ZEROPILOT

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Yvonne and Kevin are correct. There is a premium price on a bag of substrate with a picture of a tortoise or a snake, etc.
The same stuff can be had for a lot cheaper in the garden department of your neighborhood hardware store.
Look for fir bark, orchid growing bark.
 

Markw84

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@seanang168 I agree with all the above. I use the orchid bark "fine grade" which is the same as you have pictured in your first picture. It is "fir bark".

I believe when you buy it as packaged for reptiles, they mark it up very high. Perhaps you can search your area, or the internet, looking for Orchid bark instead. In the US it is about 1/5 the cost and sold in larger bulk quantities if sold as "orchid bark".

I have also been noticing you responding to several threads on star tortoises. I have looked back and see you have a couple of 20 yr old stars, but never verified if you have indian or Burmese stars. Where you are located, and back when your parents got them, they could be Burmese stars, and that would explain why you have had problems incubating the eggs, as Burmese Star eggs are very different and require special incubation techniques. Perhaps you would be willing to post pictures of your tortoises? I would love to see them.
 

seanang168

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@Markw84 hmm ok. This is first time I am posting this. This is girl girl. She should be 20 this year.

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The smaller one is boy boy. He should also be 20. Both are acquired at the same time. Boy Boy likes to mount girl girl all the time! I think they are Indian Stars, aren't they?

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Markw84

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@Markw84 hmm ok. This is first time I am posting this. This is girl girl. She should be 20 this year.

The smaller one is boy boy. He should also be 20. Both are acquired at the same time. Boy Boy likes to mount girl girl all the time! I think they are Indian Stars, aren't they?

Yes, definitely Indian stars. They do look quite small. How big are they? Females seem to need both size and age (mostly size) to breed successfully. At 20 years, I can't imagine that would be a problem, but maybe? Also, have you ever seen the male successful in his attempts?

Thank you so much for posting the pictures. So admirable to have these for 20 years!

Also extremely valuable to show people that even when living in a tropical, humid area, a captive tortoise will still pyramid as that humidity is not necessarily present in the tortoise's enclosure and under basking conditions.

Nice looking red-ear too. I'm assuming a female since the striping is so well defined for 20 years old. Love to see such long-term, captive chelonians!
 

seanang168

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Hi @Markw84 Thanks. The humidity here generally is averaging 70 to 75 % and temperature is almost like 30 degree celcius most of the time. Night time it may drop a couple of degrees. Do you think it is necessary to keep enclosure humid so as to reduce development of pyramiding? Actually one reason I didnt really share my photos is that I think my tortoise pyramiding is obvious and I am a bit embarrassed to show it.

Following your query about the size, I did a measurement today. The female is about 19.5 cm and weighs about 1.85 kg. I got a feeling she has eggs in the body. The male is about 15 cm and weighs about 900g. They might be about 21 years old. What is your take on this?

I also think that the male has not mated successfully so far. It is a bit hard for me to see though. The female seemed much bigger than the male.

Yes the red ear slider is a female. The joke is that for 15 years I have been calling her ah Boy. Because I thought she is a boy as she is rather aggressive. Only after I stumbled upon videos in Youtube, did I learn that she is actually a female
 

Markw84

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Hi @Markw84 Thanks. The humidity here generally is averaging 70 to 75 % and temperature is almost like 30 degree celcius most of the time. Night time it may drop a couple of degrees. Do you think it is necessary to keep enclosure humid so as to reduce development of pyramiding? Actually one reason I didnt really share my photos is that I think my tortoise pyramiding is obvious and I am a bit embarrassed to show it.

Following your query about the size, I did a measurement today. The female is about 19.5 cm and weighs about 1.85 kg. I got a feeling she has eggs in the body. The male is about 15 cm and weighs about 900g. They might be about 21 years old. What is your take on this?

I also think that the male has not mated successfully so far. It is a bit hard for me to see though. The female seemed much bigger than the male.

Yes the red ear slider is a female. The joke is that for 15 years I have been calling her ah Boy. Because I thought she is a boy as she is rather aggressive. Only after I stumbled upon videos in Youtube, did I learn that she is actually a female

No need to be embarrassed by the pyramiding as most all of us have pyramided tortoises. It really has only been the past 8 years or so that real information became available about how to actually prevent it. Even now, most "experts" aren't still aware.

Your female does sound heavy for 19.5 cm. She probably is carrying eggs. This is kind of late for eggs for an Indian star. When has she normally laid before?

Your male is certainly old and big enough to be fertile. I have heard from Indian star breeders that time away from the female can improve breeding activeiy and also that competition from another male will also greatly improve breeding success.

why don't you start a new thread in the Indian and Burmese Star section. Title it something like "My 20 yr old star lays eggs but no luck hatching" Let's see if we can get some of the members who are raising Indian Stars to contribute. There are several here who are successfully hatching stars every year. We have digressed here In the substrate and product forum and this will not draw the proper attention to this topic.
 

seanang168

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By the way the length I have provided is just the length of the plastron. She laid in my enclosure annually so far since 2011 I believe. This year she laid two eggs. One in May and another one on 7 Jul.

yeah I may go over to Star section there to ask such a question Thanks
 
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