Calling on indian star owners residing in INDIA

Yvonne G

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Doc told me tat his back side part is detached bcoz of blown intestine and tats y he is nt able to move his back legs

M worried bcoz he is able to open his eyes
So want to ask tat is it good to put him in warm water with baby food in it???


If it's really true that the intestine is "blown", I'm interpreting this to mean it is ruptured? This means the tortoise is slowly dying. It won't heal itself. In my opinion, the kindest thing would be to euthanize the animal.
 

Yvonne G

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Hey guys, I got 2 star tortoise 2 days ago, i assume they are around 2-3 months old, dont know their genders yet, my questions were:
What can I feed them?
Best substrate for them and where can i get it in mumbai?
They have not eaten since i bought them :( also sleep alot. Any solutions? Is this normal?

Many of our members in India have written in this thread about what to feed your star tortoise. Please go to the first page of this thread and read all the posts.
 

kapil

New Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2017
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11
hello everyone,exited to see this community,
i have a star tortoise of about less than 1 year age,i have recently started feeding him a mix of grated carrots,gudhal leaves,baby greens of cabbage, little amount of beans and little amount of palak patta, all cut into tiny pieces with a small scissor to help with eating ....and he seems to like it and eats it BUT his feces is Very Smelly and liquid with green stirring in middle,otherwise he is Very active and fast since switched to this diet...is there any problem with diet,pls suggest me....
 

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kapil

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Mar 25, 2017
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hello everyone,i am thinking about making an enclosure for my tortoise and while i was reading about substrate choices for tortoise an Idea came to me,Why Not Use the dried and crushed leaves as a substrate or part of substrate for these guys,i have arranged something like it in Temporary enclosure used only for sleeping at night......Would Love to know what the other members think of it and can it be applied to the new enclosure i m making.The dried leaves are of arabian mogra plant and he like to burrow in them
 

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kapil

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Mar 25, 2017
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hey mrunal,seems like the experts are busy so as a fellow newbie a would like to give a helping hand,the one with respiratory problems may have cold issue so try having a heat source always available,my tortoise also had the same problem but after a little more warm environment and sun bath the illness was gone,try giving carrots in grated form sprinkled on the tiny sized cuttings of main food,and try googling a little about their diet as well...
Hi Brother! Greetings for the day :)

Hope you, your family, and your torts are doing well these days :)

Firstly, I would like to introduce myself as Mrunal Dave and I am based in Ahmedabad. I have checked almost all the pages of your thread and literally it seems that you have immense knowledge for tortoises and this is the first sign of an animal lover. You've almost done P.H.D in tortoises ;-)

Shanu, I have recently joined the forum and you know what, on the first instance (My first log-in) I am glad that I've met such a wonderful person like you. Without any hassle, I've got too much knowledge from your posts/replies.

I have two Indian baby star tortoises (probably 3" to 4" inches) and their names are Alan & Gerby, respectively. It's been a month now I have kept them in captivity. I live in an apartment and I don't have any balcony here. I have kept my tortoises in a plastic tub embedded with a submersible fluorescent tube. I'll share the pics so that you'll get a better idea and can suggest me accordingly.

I was told by some illiterate from whom I've bought my tortoises, that they don't need water to drink because they consume water from the vegetables/fruits itself. So, the biggest mistake I did was that I didn't provided them water at all for a week. He told me that you just keep a silk cloth as a bedding so they will enjoy it a lot (BLOODY ME!!)

Now, I doubt whether it's right or wrong, but I am feeding my tortoises spinach, cabbage, tomatoes, okra.
I have noticed that both of them love to eat cabbage & tomatoes a lot. I have also provided them small pieces of carrot, cucumber, broccoli, coriander as well but they don't tend to eat. Once, during the winters, I've also provided them small pieces of strawberries, grapes but they didn't ate that.

Finally, I searched about some facts about Indian star tortoises from Google where I got an Indian star tortoise care sheet. From where I got to know that if tortoises are kept indoors, we need to provide them basic necessities such as a natural substrate, UVA/B lamp, heat source, places/objects to hide (because they love to hide), plants etc.. Also, as they're babies they should be soaked in water for 15-20 minutes twice in a week. I've started soaking them in luke warm water as soon as I got some info about it.

Today, when I was observing my tortoises, I found that one of them was suffering from some respiratory issue (breathing troubles) sticky fluid & bubbles coming out from his/her nose and mouth. I have also observed that only during bath times they remove white paste like substance & black colored waste otherwise for 2-3 days they don't even excrete/urinate. They tend to sleep a lot from the day 1 and they do the same at present as well. That's normal, right? Their eyes are also crystal clear and their eyes also seems healthy.

The only thing concerning me right now is that their eating habits have been changed and they tend to eat less and sometimes none, at least from a week. Not even their favorite food :'(

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP BROTHER OTHERWISE THEY'LL DIE !!!
PLEASE SHARE YOUR PHONE NO. PLEASE PLEASE...
LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU SOON...
MY PHONE NO. IS +91 9537277739
Hi Brother! Greetings for the day :)

Hope you, your family, and your torts are doing well these days :)

Firstly, I would like to introduce myself as Mrunal Dave and I am based in Ahmedabad. I have checked almost all the pages of your thread and literally it seems that you have immense knowledge for tortoises and this is the first sign of an animal lover. You've almost done P.H.D in tortoises ;-)

Shanu, I have recently joined the forum and you know what, on the first instance (My first log-in) I am glad that I've met such a wonderful person like you. Without any hassle, I've got too much knowledge from your posts/replies.

I have two Indian baby star tortoises (probably 3" to 4" inches) and their names are Alan & Gerby, respectively. It's been a month now I have kept them in captivity. I live in an apartment and I don't have any balcony here. I have kept my tortoises in a plastic tub embedded with a submersible fluorescent tube. I'll share the pics so that you'll get a better idea and can suggest me accordingly.

I was told by some illiterate from whom I've bought my tortoises, that they don't need water to drink because they consume water from the vegetables/fruits itself. So, the biggest mistake I did was that I didn't provided them water at all for a week. He told me that you just keep a silk cloth as a bedding so they will enjoy it a lot (BLOODY ME!!)

Now, I doubt whether it's right or wrong, but I am feeding my tortoises spinach, cabbage, tomatoes, okra.
I have noticed that both of them love to eat cabbage & tomatoes a lot. I have also provided them small pieces of carrot, cucumber, broccoli, coriander as well but they don't tend to eat. Once, during the winters, I've also provided them small pieces of strawberries, grapes but they didn't ate that.

Finally, I searched about some facts about Indian star tortoises from Google where I got an Indian star tortoise care sheet. From where I got to know that if tortoises are kept indoors, we need to provide them basic necessities such as a natural substrate, UVA/B lamp, heat source, places/objects to hide (because they love to hide), plants etc.. Also, as they're babies they should be soaked in water for 15-20 minutes twice in a week. I've started soaking them in luke warm water as soon as I got some info about it.

Today, when I was observing my tortoises, I found that one of them was suffering from some respiratory issue (breathing troubles) sticky fluid & bubbles coming out from his/her nose and mouth. I have also observed that only during bath times they remove white paste like substance & black colored waste otherwise for 2-3 days they don't even excrete/urinate. They tend to sleep a lot from the day 1 and they do the same at present as well. That's normal, right? Their eyes are also crystal clear and their eyes also seems healthy.

The only thing concerning me right now is that their eating habits have been changed and they tend to eat less and sometimes none, at least from a week. Not even their favorite food :'(

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP BROTHER OTHERWISE THEY'LL DIE !!!
PLEASE SHARE YOUR PHONE NO. PLEASE PLEASE...
LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU SOON...
MY PHONE NO. IS +91 9537277739
 

seanang168

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
196
Hi I read in the India sticky thread that lawn grass can be fed moderately to Star Tortoises. In my place in South East Asia, cowgrass is the most common grass around as shown. Can this be fed to the tortoise? Also, can I cut the grass off the ground and then bring them home to feed? Or should the tortoise be allowed to eat them off the ground directly? I do not like the idea of bringing out the tortoise to the public for feeding.

The second question is can I feed my tortoise the cactus shown in the picture? I have a lot of this at home. Of course I will cut off the spines when feeding.

The third question is I got this plant known as water jasmine that is commonly used on Bonsai. Can I feed the flowers and leaves to the tortoise? I read in the thread that jasmine plant is included as possible diet. But I am not sure if my type is covered too. I got water jasmine growing in the house. Please refer to the picture.

Thank you.
 

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sachit wagle

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Mar 13, 2017
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Hello guys, I have just noticed that my tortoise is sneezing! Any solutions?
 

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Khushroo

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Joined
May 19, 2017
Messages
13
Hey tort lovers
I reside in a flat in Mumbai. I have last week bought 2 stars..one male Indian male Rustam and one Sri Lankan lady. Jacqueline.
Both are around 3years old as per Thier old owner. Rustam is shy and sleeps most of the day... Jacqueline is much more active and eats much more than him.
I have made a small pet box for both of them indoors. Due to lesser substrate right now both r kept in one area of the box. The substrate I have used is Coco peat. In the sides I've let hay for Thier resting.
I feed mostly coriander and lettuce. I tried to give Jacqueline radish greens but she started sneezing a lot so I stopped it.
I have ordered tulsi..will try and see how to respond to it.
Rustam is doing well..eats well..shits whenever I put them in a warm water soaks. Jacqueline sneezes while eating which worries me..there's no mucus on her nose when she sneezes but still the sneezing worries me. Other than than she is active..eats and shits wells.
As u can see Rustam is smooth but Jacqueline has had pyramids. I have read in the post previously and started spraying water on Thier shells 2 times a day. I need to soak them for around 30-40mins cause twice I removed them in 20 mins and they shat on the floor.
I'm a little worried about her sneezing..other than that they are doing well.
I keep them in the sun during their soaking.
 
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Khushroo

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May 19, 2017
Messages
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IMG_20170530_095720481.jpg IMG_20170530_095805277_HDR.jpg IMG_20170530_095720481.jpg IMG_20170530_095728506.jpg IMG_20170530_173838481.jpg
here are the pics of the enclosure
there is another like this on the other end but i didnt have enuf substrate so put them both in one right now.
the tort eating is Rustam the indian star male.
 

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Dharam

Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
44
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)




Hey there...
A female star tortoise is over 1200gms and 8.25 inches long almost 8 year old and very active...
Is she ready for breeding and can I introduce a male to get babies...?
 

Dharam

Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
44
Hello guys, I have just noticed that my tortoise is sneezing! Any solutions?
Hey sachit how is your tort doing...?
If he still has the same problem I would recommend you to start give him sun baths as they would help him boost his immunity and keep him away from other torts if you have them and go see a vet if possible..
 

netjerk

New Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2017
Messages
21
Location (City and/or State)
Malaysia
Hi I read in the India sticky thread that lawn grass can be fed moderately to Star Tortoises. In my place in South East Asia, cowgrass is the most common grass around as shown. Can this be fed to the tortoise? Also, can I cut the grass off the ground and then bring them home to feed? Or should the tortoise be allowed to eat them off the ground directly? I do not like the idea of bringing out the tortoise to the public for feeding.

The second question is can I feed my tortoise the cactus shown in the picture? I have a lot of this at home. Of course I will cut off the spines when feeding.

The third question is I got this plant known as water jasmine that is commonly used on Bonsai. Can I feed the flowers and leaves to the tortoise? I read in the thread that jasmine plant is included as possible diet. But I am not sure if my type is covered too. I got water jasmine growing in the house. Please refer to the picture.

Thank you.


Old thread but would like to know if found out the answer?
I am new owner of Star and hoping to learn more how to take care this little fella.
 

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