Rescued a tortoise . Please help !

Kriti

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Hi mark . Thanks for taking the time to answer . So , as far as I can tell she is an indian star tortoise. She is about 8 inches in length(when her legs are inside the shell ) weighs less than a kg 500 - 800g maybe . Is that too wide a range ? Her enclosure is 27 inches in diameter . Though I am thinking of putting her in a room that is 54 × 38 inches after putting a layer of soil underneath and growing grass , stones and plant pots so that she can play there . It has a net door (metallic) with quite big pores for the sunlight to filter through. I will enclose a picture of both. I want this to serve as her outdoor enclosure because it's not safe for her outside as there are wild cats . I cannot leave her unmonitored and she needs a lot of exercise . My parents wont be able to give that much time once i am gone . Is this space enough for her ? I would then keep her in the current enclosure inside when the weather is not suitable . Additionally I have been thinking of letting her bask and soak simultaneously, for 20 min daily after she has recovered . Not now though . Till she recovers I will give her all the time she needs . But I am worried about the hygiene if I keep her in that room . How frequently will I have to change her substrate then ? This was what I had been thinking . Please give your opinions if I should change my plan and if so , how ?

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Markw84

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You need to make a lot of changes if you want that tortoise to do well. First of all, have you read this?


That will give you a great understanding of what is needed. Please read it and then look at your "enclosure". Your tortoise will not do well at all like you have her now.

Lots of things aren't making sense from your post. You guess 8". An 8" star should weigh between 1200g - 1400g. IF that round tub is 27" in diameter, it then looks like your tortoise is more like 6". You need to know what your tortoise weighs and watch for weight gains/losses. A tortoise is a small tub with dirt will not do well. And, as you had noted before, she was not taken care of properly before and has teh appearance of a stunted, slow-growing tortoise that was not fed right and did not have room for exercise.

Please read the thread I linked and then come back with questions.

You do indeed have an Indian Star.

To give you a comparison, here's how I keep my stars. There are 4" stars in there, but acting naturally and hiding in bushes!:

IMG_0101(1).jpg
 

Kriti

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Okay ...I did read that post before but because we are under a lockdown right now and even Amazon isn't delivering ... I cant get all of that together . That was why I thought of putting her in that room and growing plants like u have ... I thought since she is native to india and right now I am here itself I wont have to do much climate control ... just protect her from extremes and keep her hide humid . And let her bask under Uv while she is soaking under the sun itself. If you say that wont work I will buy all that u suggested but I cant get it at the moment though . Do tell me what u think . Also I measured both her and the enclosure with a tape . Could it be that she is underweight because all she has had was cucumbers . Also how much should she eat in a day because right now her appetite is not very good , is it because she is not used to this much food ? Or should she be eating even more because she is deficient in nutrients ?
 

Kriti

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I do want to change what I said ... today she did eat nicely must be hungry since yesterday... still I really want to know how much is the minimum she should eat .. so that I could try my best she atleast has that much . Thanks !
 

Markw84

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I am getting the feeling we don't know the situation. Your avatar says you are in Ohio. I thought you are talking about an enclosure for keeping the tortoise in Ohio. reading between the lines, I think you are visiting your parents in India, and they have the tortoise there?

The tortoise looks like it was wild-caught at about 5 years old. Then, in captivity, kept very dry and fed improperly it started pyramiding rapidly late in life and growing much more slowly for about another 5 years now.

IF in India - Who will be taking care of this tortoise? Can they/you give it outdoor time in some sunlight a few times a week? Then you don't have to worry about UVB lighting. The most important thing for now is to give it more room and a few secure hides. I feel overhanging plants are by far best. Get the temperatures stable so it is a minimum of 80°F during the day and nice and humid. The tortoise has been living under constant low-grade stress and was able to survive, but not really do well. Give it good broad leaf weeds. can you get some Tortoise pellets - Mazuri, Rep Cal or Zoo Med? That will help supplement and get some better weight on.
 

Kriti

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I am sorry about missing the most important point about this ... we are in india right now and I will be going away again after the lockdown is over . But the tort is going to stay here . Yes it's possible for my parents to let her out in the sunlight but I am afraid of wild cats . They are very sly . That was why I thought if I could put her in that room , the one with the net door with soil and lots of plants like u have in your beautiful enclosure ... will that be fine ? It is 54 × 38 inches . I will make sure to keep it humid ... I mean my parents will .her past owner said he had her for 5 years .. i will ask him if knows her age when he bought her . I will definitely get mazuri as soon as Amazon starts delivering again .I am attaching a screenshot of the choices. Could u please tell me which one to get. Thanks a lot ... your answers have given me a much needed peace of mind . God bless you .
 

Markw84

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I am sorry about missing the most important point about this ... we are in india right now and I will be going away again after the lockdown is over . But the tort is going to stay here . Yes it's possible for my parents to let her out in the sunlight but I am afraid of wild cats . They are very sly . That was why I thought if I could put her in that room , the one with the net door with soil and lots of plants like u have in your beautiful enclosure ... will that be fine ? It is 54 × 38 inches . I will make sure to keep it humid ... I mean my parents will .her past owner said he had her for 5 years .. i will ask him if knows her age when he bought her . I will definitely get mazuri as soon as Amazon starts delivering again .I am attaching a screenshot of the choices. Could u please tell me which one to get. Thanks a lot ... your answers have given me a much needed peace of mind . God bless you .
I did not see your post and reply here since you did not hit reply on my post or did not alert me. IF you do either of those things, I will see that you have responded and can check the post. Alert someone like this - @Kriti type the "@" sign and their forum name.

The first picture is the Mazuri we all seem to prefer and tortoises like much better.
 

Kriti

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Ditto. Thanks a lot Mark .You have been a great help. @ Markw84. Hope I did it correctly.
 

Markw84

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Ditto. Thanks a lot Mark .You have been a great help. @ Markw84. Hope I did it correctly.

Almost! I saw @Yvonne G 's alert, not yours!. As she said, no space between the @ and the name. When you do it correctly, after a few letters, a list will pop up and you can choose the correct name from the drop down list that shows.
 

Kriti

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I am sending the pics to show you the anatomy of her legs , how she stands and her wounds . Is it possible she does not walk because of being weak or cute to mbd ?
 

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haydog_99

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I did not see your post and reply here since you did not hit reply on my post or did not alert me. IF you do either of those things, I will see that you have responded and can check the post. Alert someone like this - @Kriti type the "@" sign and their forum name.

The first picture is the Mazuri we all seem to prefer and tortoises like much better.
Mark, how often should You feed Mazuri to your tortoise. Recommendations are all over the place.
 

Markw84

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Mark, how often should You feed Mazuri to your tortoise. Recommendations are all over the place.
I feed Mazuri to my tortoises 2 or 3 times a week. But even then, the days I feed Mazuri, it is on top of a good mix of greens and only makes up about 33% of the day's food. I always try to add extra fiber on those days too. So Mazuri makes up perhaps 15%-20% of the total diet.
 
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