Indian Star Indoor Enclosure Questions

Hey everyone!

My name is Jon and I am from Indiana, USA, and I am the proud owner of two tortoises: Taiki (5 year old Indian Star) and Franklin (15 year old Sulcata). I have raised them both from hatchlings and I have found that Taiki, my Star, is significantly more high maintenance than Franklin, my Sulcata, ever was, lol.





I am in the planning process of building Taiki a new indoor enclosure and I am wanting to change a number of things from her last one. She is much more sensitive to humidity and temperature than my Sulcata so I want to build something that will make it easier to regulate these factors.

She is currently on an Alfalfa substrate (pellets and hay) which I want to get rid of for MANY reasons not the least of which being that it is so dry and dusty and now people say it has too high of protein for him. I have read that a lot of people are now recommending a top soil/sand mixture but there does seem to be a lot of differing view points. What do those of you who have Indian Stars indoors use?

I am considering a 6'x2' tortoise table set up so I can more easily set up a temperature gradient for her but would welcome input on how to improve humidity. Is spritzing the only real option?

Thanks everyone!

Hi Jon:

I don't keep stars, but I've read a bit here on the forum about them. You can do some research here using the "search" feature. Seems to me I remember some folks use hay as substrate. Hopefully, a star-keeper or two will come on and give you some help.

I use straight top soil with a layer of sphagnum moss on the top. It keeps it nice and humid. I also have plants planted directly in the substrate. I have had absolutely no issues keeping my Stars in a humid environment.

Taiki is cute More pics!

I'm no expert but I use Coconutbark/Coir as a substate.
Works for me as I can keep it humid on one side and dry on the other side.
Many people reccommend top soil - if I'd find it in my country, I would probably give it a try.

What my star loves is a big pile of hay (any "fluffy" Hay works, but I wouldn't use Alfalfa, as its too high in protein) to hide in. She prevers it over the other hides I have given her.

How's your star sensitive to humidity? Does she catch a cold easily? Maybe just provide a humid hide on the warm side and keep the rest of the substrate dry. (Other star keepers feel free to correct me if I'm wrong)
I heard some stars are more sensitive than others.

Mina

Thanks everyone for the ideas! Another question... what level of humidity is best suited for Indian Stars?

Hey can anyone explain how the numbering system in everyone's signatures works? I am new here and am seeing it everywhere but cant figure it out, lol. (Ex. *1.3 Russians*2.5 Homes Hingebacks*1.4 Redfoots) And I have seen people do it with three digits too, i.e. 0.1.4 or something. Thanks!

As requested, here are some more pictures of Taiki!
(Sequential pictures of her life, lol. I haven't had a good photo session with her in a while so they are not super up to date)











(I was working out in the yard and was letting her wander around so I gave her this flag so I could keep better track of her, lol.)

The numbering system is the sex of the animal "male.female.unknown" Example: 1.3.2 Russians would mean 1 male, 3 females and 2 unknowns.

Hope this helps

lordjackel said:

The numbering system is the sex of the animal "male.female.unknown" Example: 1.3.2 Russians would mean 1 male, 3 females and 2 unknowns.

Hope this helps

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It does very much! Thank you sir!

wut i did and this worked for me was mix coco coir with alfalfa or hay or other bark chip products from petstore it seems to hold a lil more moisture in the hay.

Beautiful Pictures! You can also open your own picture-thread in the picture/video section. We all love pictures of Tortoises (pics of Franklin as well ) and I love to see stars from different star owners.
I LOVE the last picture. She looks like she's a kid, going to run away, with her things in a bag on a stick.
like that:


As for humidity... not sure which level is needed. Some say dry, some say humid (my personal opinion is, that they need both, e.g. like the seasons in india also have a humid monsoon season and a hot dry season). If you look in threads like "The End of Pyramiding" you see that humidity can be beneficial and isn't harmless, as long as it's not cold. The Thread is mainly about Sulcatas, but might also apply to Stars.
I'd suggest to provide both - a humid (and warm) side (and/or a humid hide), where you keep the substrate damp and a dry side, so your tort can decide for herself (mine prefers the dry side, but where I live the humidity is already around 70% on average). But by the look of things your tort looks great anyways.
What do you feed her? (So I can learn something here as well )

Oh and welcome to the forum.

Mina

My indoor enclosure is roughly 6 x 2. Two thirds of the enclosure is coconut coir and a layer of cypress mulch on top to which I add water every so often. On the remainder of the enclosure I have shavings. One of my IS prefers to bury in the shavings the other is in the otherside under some plants.

What type of sensitivity does your IS show? I have never seen any issues with my IS whatsoever and I have had them for a while now.

JourneyTort said:

My indoor enclosure is roughly 6 x 2. Two thirds of the enclosure is coconut coir and a layer of cypress mulch on top to which I add water every so often. On the remainder of the enclosure I have shavings. One of my IS prefers to bury in the shavings the other is in the otherside under some plants.

What type of sensitivity does your IS show? I have never seen any issues with my IS whatsoever and I have had them for a while now.

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Well if things are off she just kind of chills in one corner and isn't very active. Franklin was basically oblivious to what was going on around him and was content no matter what. That's all I mean by her being more sensitive. She is my first Indian Star so I really only have my Sulcata to compare her to.

I have been wondering about putting plants directly in her new enclosure. What sort of plants do you use that are safe for her that she would enjoy? Is is really just anything that she can get beneath?

Sky2Mina said:

(any "fluffy" Hay works, but I wouldn't use Alfalfa, as its too high in protein)

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Common misconception, and absolutely untrue. VEGETABLE protein has absolutely no ill effects to herbivorous tortoises. Alfalfa is just fine to use. The likelihood that it would actually be eaten is in fact very small, at any rate.

SILVERSTAR said:

wut i did and this worked for me was mix coco coir with alfalfa or hay or other bark chip products from petstore it seems to hold a lil more moisture in the hay.

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If kept damp, hay MOLDS. Even if you don't see it, the spores are there and are being breathed in by your tortoise. I suggest not doing this anymore, strongly. I would mix new substrate, minus hay, ASAP. Also, ReptiBark molds also. Use only coco chips or cypress.

The flag is cute, we have lost sight of Vegas in our yard and his isn't that small..

dalano73 said:

The flag is cute, we have lost sight of Vegas in our yard and his isn't that small..

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Ha ha ha, thanks. It worked really well. We live on a canal so I was mostly concerned that she might stumble down there. Plus she really is pretty well camouflaged so she is hard to see some times, especially when she tries to hide in bushes or grasses, lol.

Kristina said:

Common misconception, and absolutely untrue. VEGETABLE protein has absolutely no ill effects to herbivorous tortoises. Alfalfa is just fine to use. The likelihood that it would actually be eaten is in fact very small, at any rate.

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Oh, thanks for correcting me there Kristina. I have read everywhere around the forum that Alfalfa hay is "bad". Well, I won't worry about it anymore. But you are right - even if my star would eat it (which he doesn't), it would be tiny amounts.

Jon, that flag works perfect. I'll remember that Idea when I'll have the chance to let my star roam free.

Sky2Mina said:

Kristina said:

Common misconception, and absolutely untrue. VEGETABLE protein has absolutely no ill effects to herbivorous tortoises. Alfalfa is just fine to use. The likelihood that it would actually be eaten is in fact very small, at any rate.

Click to expand...

Oh, thanks for correcting me there Kristina. I have read everywhere around the forum that Alfalfa hay is "bad". Well, I won't worry about it anymore. But you are right - even if my star would eat it (which he doesn't), it would be tiny amounts.

Jon, that flag works perfect. I'll remember that Idea when I'll have the chance to let my star roam free.

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It isn't the hay so much that as bad, as the pellets. The pellets are bad for totally different reasons, such as: they don't hold moisture, they mold, they can cause permanent leg deformities, etc.

Kristina said:

Sky2Mina said:

Kristina said:

Common misconception, and absolutely untrue. VEGETABLE protein has absolutely no ill effects to herbivorous tortoises. Alfalfa is just fine to use. The likelihood that it would actually be eaten is in fact very small, at any rate.

Click to expand...

Oh, thanks for correcting me there Kristina. I have read everywhere around the forum that Alfalfa hay is "bad". Well, I won't worry about it anymore. But you are right - even if my star would eat it (which he doesn't), it would be tiny amounts.

Jon, that flag works perfect. I'll remember that Idea when I'll have the chance to let my star roam free.

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It isn't the hay so much that as bad, as the pellets. The pellets are bad for totally different reasons, such as: they don't hold moisture, they mold, they can cause permanent leg deformities, etc.

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What kind of leg deformities are we talking about here? And how do pellets cause them? From sliding around while they walk or something?

Precisely. Because the pellets roll and don't allow for good traction, the can cause the legs to splay and the joints to fuse that way. It also damages the muscle. Plus, the mold causes respiratory issues, the inability to dig down and feel secure causes mental issues (in my opinion) and the fact that you can't keep them damp means there is no humid microclimate to mimic the conditions they would be in, in the wild, and that in turn promotes pyramiding, kidney, and liver problems.

Pellets are just plain bad news, and I seriously wish that pet stores would knock of selling the stuff as substrate. Worst idea ever, outside of crushed walnut shells.

I have an appointment with one of the vets on the vet list next week. I am going to get a full work up on her to make sure my stupidity hasn't done any serious harm.

Any thoughts on plants I could put in her enclosure for her to hide under? Or even just for future reference for when she ends up outside? I read in another thread that plants in indoor enclosures may not be a goo idea for humidity reasons.

Love the flag, that is hilarious