@Khushroo Thanks for your reply. Its great you live in the native range of the Northern variety of Indian Stars. How nice it must be to see then in the wild.
The purpose of this thread is to give best practices to people who live anywhere in the world and wish to keep and Indian star. I am not talking about what they can survive. I am talking about what conditions they will do best in. You will find, that even living where you do in their native land, they will do best if kept in a more humid and warm enclosure, especially when young a growing the most. They certainly can survive below 27°, but if you are also giving them the humidity at lower temperature, you will see them most often develop respiratory infections that will lead to death. Temperatures of 20° in captivity would invite respiratory problems even with lower humdity. Unfortuately, most people simply look at weather data and make assumptions about what a tortoise can then survive. They will usually learn the hard way when their tortoise develops a respiratory infection and dies.
15° is not the normal temperature in the tortosies native range. Tortoises have survived by hiding from tje extremes where they live. If we look at Dhanera in the northern part of Gujarat, the coldest part of the year is January, and the average daily low there is 16°. However, the average daily high in January is 29°. You ask what a tortoise does with a 15° overnight low? It digs in under a bush or under a rock overhang paritally digging into the soil. I have place temperature data loggers in shallow pallets or burrows a tortoise digs, and in just a 3" deep pallet with a tortoise pushed in, the temperature remains at least 6°C warmer. If under thicker brush, or a pile of leaves, their retreat starts staying fairly close to the daily AVERAGE temperature. The daily average in January there is 24°. Most importantly, they can warm up in the sun with temperature quickly rising up above 27° in the sun. Also January is the middle of the dry seaon there is almost no rain from November through June. But January is not when they are growing and thriving in your area. Through the summer is when they grow and thrive. From June through September they receive over 1200 mm of rain. The average humidity is 75% at a weather station, but much higher in the bushes and leaf litter where they tortoises spend much of their time. The average temperature is 32° through that time with lows only reaching 28° and highs averaging 35°. That is the time of year the tortoises thrive. That is when the new babies hatch and can find the best foods and best chance at survival. AND... That is amazingly the temperatures, humidity and conditions I outline above in the post that we find these tortoises will do best in in captivity and not have the problems of respiratory problems, not growing, picky eating, etc, etc.
And natural sunlight is wonderful, but again, I am talking about what can work well anywhere in the world. But even aside from that, the problem is that tortoises, and particularly young tortoises are quite good and staying hidden. Not only from predators, but from the conditions that dry them out. Not only will that drying contribute to them pyramiding, but it also is hard on their developing organs. Young tortoises need that humidity they find in pallets, in burrows, under the roots of plants and leaf litter. In a open enclosure in the sun, it is hard to duplicate those conditions. It is easy to bake our tortoises in the sun and not give them the choices they would have in the wild to protect themselves.
So I am passing on what I know works. You can raise a healthy tortoise that will thrive with these techniques and not have the problems of respiratory infections, kidney problems, picky eating, sleeping too much, slow growth, etc, etc, etc. Try it yourself and see the difference. I certainly tried your way for years with dozens of tortoises before I learned this way.
The purpose of this thread is to give best practices to people who live anywhere in the world and wish to keep and Indian star. I am not talking about what they can survive. I am talking about what conditions they will do best in. You will find, that even living where you do in their native land, they will do best if kept in a more humid and warm enclosure, especially when young a growing the most. They certainly can survive below 27°, but if you are also giving them the humidity at lower temperature, you will see them most often develop respiratory infections that will lead to death. Temperatures of 20° in captivity would invite respiratory problems even with lower humdity. Unfortuately, most people simply look at weather data and make assumptions about what a tortoise can then survive. They will usually learn the hard way when their tortoise develops a respiratory infection and dies.
15° is not the normal temperature in the tortosies native range. Tortoises have survived by hiding from tje extremes where they live. If we look at Dhanera in the northern part of Gujarat, the coldest part of the year is January, and the average daily low there is 16°. However, the average daily high in January is 29°. You ask what a tortoise does with a 15° overnight low? It digs in under a bush or under a rock overhang paritally digging into the soil. I have place temperature data loggers in shallow pallets or burrows a tortoise digs, and in just a 3" deep pallet with a tortoise pushed in, the temperature remains at least 6°C warmer. If under thicker brush, or a pile of leaves, their retreat starts staying fairly close to the daily AVERAGE temperature. The daily average in January there is 24°. Most importantly, they can warm up in the sun with temperature quickly rising up above 27° in the sun. Also January is the middle of the dry seaon there is almost no rain from November through June. But January is not when they are growing and thriving in your area. Through the summer is when they grow and thrive. From June through September they receive over 1200 mm of rain. The average humidity is 75% at a weather station, but much higher in the bushes and leaf litter where they tortoises spend much of their time. The average temperature is 32° through that time with lows only reaching 28° and highs averaging 35°. That is the time of year the tortoises thrive. That is when the new babies hatch and can find the best foods and best chance at survival. AND... That is amazingly the temperatures, humidity and conditions I outline above in the post that we find these tortoises will do best in in captivity and not have the problems of respiratory problems, not growing, picky eating, etc, etc.
And natural sunlight is wonderful, but again, I am talking about what can work well anywhere in the world. But even aside from that, the problem is that tortoises, and particularly young tortoises are quite good and staying hidden. Not only from predators, but from the conditions that dry them out. Not only will that drying contribute to them pyramiding, but it also is hard on their developing organs. Young tortoises need that humidity they find in pallets, in burrows, under the roots of plants and leaf litter. In a open enclosure in the sun, it is hard to duplicate those conditions. It is easy to bake our tortoises in the sun and not give them the choices they would have in the wild to protect themselves.
So I am passing on what I know works. You can raise a healthy tortoise that will thrive with these techniques and not have the problems of respiratory infections, kidney problems, picky eating, sleeping too much, slow growth, etc, etc, etc. Try it yourself and see the difference. I certainly tried your way for years with dozens of tortoises before I learned this way.