Calling on indian star owners residing in INDIA

Mishti

Member
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May 5, 2016
Messages
38
what to feed in summers?? we don't get radish green n carrot green this season.... nor fresh fenugreek....
 

PNM

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Joined
Mar 18, 2016
Messages
18
Mishti: I believe you were given a couple of reasons why your tortoise has a clear, watery discharge from the nose:

1. The tortoise needs to be set up in a habitat that simulates the natural countryside where it lives in nature
2. Don't allow the tortoise to roam around the house on the floor

It is stress that causes a runny nose. Your tortoise is stressed.

Get a plastic kiddy pool like this:

View attachment 174968

Put it on your patio or porch where it will get some sun, but a lot of shade all day long. This is where the tortoise is going to live, so put it someplace where it can stay permanently.

Add about 4 or 5 inches of substrate. It would be so much better if tortoise-keepers from India were answering your questions because I don't know what kinds of things you can buy in India. If you can buy coco coir, that's what you should use:

29620PL.jpg


You'll probably need to buy several bricks, not just one. Place them in a bucket of hot water and they will absorb and fall apart. Squeeze out the water and put them into the pool

Add a couple of hiding places:

View attachment 174969

or:

a4aac4bd85ef3645c279156b03819dfc.jpg


You can place some potted plants around the habitat:

View attachment 174970

Push the pots down into the substrate. It gives them more stability.

I'm assuming this will be outside and it is warm enough in your climate. If you need to keep the tortoise in his habitat and indoors, then you will also need lights and heat:

UVB light to simulate the sun:

View attachment 174971

and a ceramic heat emitter for night time if your house gets cooler than 70F degrees:

View attachment 174973

I really wish someone who is experienced with keeping Star tortoises in India would answer your questions. How about @shanu303 ?
Hi

Only Coco coir is enough or can add organic garden soil/ top soil ??
 

Mishti

Member
Joined
May 5, 2016
Messages
38
can someone pls help me knowing that how good is bottle gourds for star tortoise??
 

PNM

New Member
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Mar 18, 2016
Messages
18
can someone pls help me knowing that how good is bottle gourds for star tortoise??
Hi Misthi

I leaves in Gujarat and I have 2 Star Tortoises.. i feed them wheat grass, corn grass, mustard green (all I grow at home), hibiscus leaves, coriander, ladies finger, tomato, cucumber and watermelon (some times)

Poonam
 

Mishti

Member
Joined
May 5, 2016
Messages
38
hey @PNM how do you grow the grass... I mean the wheat n mustard green... the corn grass...??? are there special seeds available for the same or the one we use at home will do??
 

PNM

New Member
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Mar 18, 2016
Messages
18
hey @PNM how do you grow the grass... I mean the wheat n mustard green... the corn grass...??? are there special seeds available for the same or the one we use at home will do??
All organic seeds are available online or u can use which we use at home..
 

Deepali Patil

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Joined
Jul 28, 2016
Messages
6
star shanu??? i'm just shanu.....

and regarding the law....... who's disclosing your identity and address??? this thread is just to HELP people who have already ACQUIRED the star tortoise....... so this is to make the chances of those stars to survive BETTER and live a Better life in captivity...... look many of us have got the stars and most people have got them just because they think that star tortoises are lucky... would bring in more money...profit and so on...... such orthodox people....... i saved Max from such people ....... and he is already tamed i guess and just simply can't survive in the wild as you can see the temperature in their habitat is way above normal and they simply can't survive there simply because the environment is changing rapidly.... and to such drastic levels that the tortoises especially the tamed/pet ones....... so i think the law doesn't really apply here........ what does the government do after confiscating these star torts.... do you really know!
they just dump them in zoos in unhygienic enclosures.... poor diet and they ultimately die..! :( :( i have seen this with my own 2 eyes in the zoo in jaipur..... there were 800 tortoises!!!! can you imagine??? all confiscated from illegal traders and other sources!!! and they were all severely pyramiding and only fed carrots and cucumbers... sometimes the same fruits and veggies that are given to the rabbits and monkeys.... so whats the sense of the law when the torts are gonna die anyway....... the better solution i suggest is that some really caring individuals like the ones in this forum house these creatures and in future if possible start a breeding program to restore these tort's wild population........ this way we can have nice pets as well as help mother nature and the wildlife/STAR of our country.......... i hope you understand........
i've been viewing different posts and threads where one or the other owners living in india are seeking an advise from star owners in INDIA...
and the prime reason for that is most of the advise, help articles, terminology(except for the general ones) don't apply here in india.... it seems to be the irony that the star is native to India and India lacks the most crucial needs, accessories, necessities etc. So i thought instead of posting things in scrambled ways in different threads why not create a new thread that would be centred to help and solve issues of people like us living in india......

so i'm calling on all star owners living in india to give a little bit of intro about you and your tort( its age, weight, size etc) and where you live ( like state or even better .. city) , pictures of your star, enclosure, what diet you feed them etc........ this info would help us asses each other, solve each other's issues and problems and also teach us new better was of keeping our stars.......

So let's see how many Star owners from INDIA!!! :) :) :) :)


I'm Shanu and i live in Jaipur Rajasthan, INDIA :D

i have a 10 year old MALE Indian star tortoise natively belonging to Kutch Gujarat....... i rescued him from a friend of my friend.... and he was previously wild caught and that explains his pyramiding.....but he's still very handsome :)

Here is Max:
View attachment 41321

Photo0723_zps73575bb6.jpg


and this is his outdoor enclosure:
photo0063_zps189f49e0.jpg


His Diet:
hibiscus flower and greens
cilantro(dhaniya)
fenugreek(methi) in winter
cucumber(kheera)
lawn grass( variety)

 

Deepali Patil

New Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2016
Messages
6
Hi Shanu

I am also having two star tortoises which was gifted me by friend nine months back. Names are Leo and frank. Leo is little bit shy but frank is very active. As I dont have outdoor enclosure like garden, I have prepared the wood enclosure for them 4 X 2 feet. Your information will really help the star owners like us to keep our pet healthy. Only wanted to ask you, what type of substrate we should use for their good health?
 

rest7773

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2016
Messages
54
Potting soil is the best. BT without fertilisers or u can Evn take soil which of a garden just be sure it is without fertilisers. And a flat and big basking rock.
 

Deepali Patil

New Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2016
Messages
6
Hi Shanu,

I also have few questions?
Potting soil is the best. BT without fertilisers or u can Evn take soil which of a garden just be sure it is without fertilisers. And a flat and big basking rock.

Hi,

But only one thing I worried whether is it right to use soil when my stars are not used to it means whether they will be stressed or enjoy the change?

And another thing when soil comes as substrate, it may have bugs or earth worms etc so in that case how i can protect my stars from infection or irritation
 

rest7773

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2016
Messages
54
I don't knw Abt bugs BT i asked in the enclosure thread Abt the earthworms thing and they say it won't affect the torts in any way. The soil is way better like soil mixed with coco peat is a good way to stimulate natural environment and it holds the moisture well and keeps the humidity in check.
 

Rahul karva

New Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2016
Messages
4
most of the question on this platform are food related but couldnt find anything related to mating. I have a male star tortoise more than 10 yrs of age, he has been showing his private part more often these days which i guess is maybe a sign of him wanting to mate. For dogs you can go to vets for this but what about torts. Any Idea.? pls reply
 

Deepali Patil

New Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2016
Messages
6
I don't knw Abt bugs BT i asked in the enclosure thread Abt the earthworms thing and they say it won't affect the torts in any way. The soil is way better like soil mixed with coco peat is a good way to stimulate natural environment and it holds the moisture well and keeps the humidity in check.
Thanks rest7773.
 
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