Hello!

[findingotis]

Hello all,
I've been lurking for a little while and finally plucked up enough courage to post something. I figured i'd start with an introduction

My name is Sarah and my family and I are proud owners of two lovely Indian Star tortoises - Otis and Tofu. We've had them for just over 3 years and got them when they looked like pretty little golf balls. My folks live on the teeny weeny island of Borneo, where the torts are (I'm off in Australia furthering my studies). Although the climate is pretty ideal for the little guys, the buying of equipment and supplements and finding a decent vet for them has been a nightmare - so i bring a box of goodies back with me every time i visit.

Now on to my essay :/

On my last visit home for Chinese New Year, Tofu laid a single egg infront of about 20 people watching through a sliding door during our open house. It was incredibly exciting to watch but I was horrified. I was always under the impression that Stars reached sexual maturity at around 6 - 8 years of age so I was quite willing to pick her up and RUN to the nearest vet cos she looked like she was in so much pain. She didn't dig a hole, she just stretched her back legs and pushed, it took a while and Otis was hiding in his shell infront of her the whole time. After she was done she walked off and munched on some food and then retreated to her hide.

After reading some forums I added extra dampened substrate to her enclosure cos I read that they need at least 8 - 12 inches deep in order to successfully dig a nest and up-ed her calcium and the frequency of her soaks. However, 3 days later she laid another single egg - on the surface and two weeks after that (I had already come back to Australia by then) I got a msg from my dad telling me that she had laid another single egg, again on the surface.

The incubation of the eggs is the least of my worries at the moment (although finding/making an incubator in that part of the world is incredibly time consuming and near impossible, will save that for another rant) as I'm far more concerned about Tofu's welfare. Is there a reason as to why she's laying one egg at a time so sporadically and not digging holes and burying them? Is there any other information I can forward on to my folks to make Tofu's egg-laying experience a slightly more pleasant one? Behaviour-wise she hasn't changed, she's never really been a shy tort and she's always been a big eater, none of this has change since the laying of her first egg.

Sorry for the incredibly long chunk of text, attached a little photo I had laying around of Otis... being Otis. Really hope I post this right!

Thanks for reading

 

[spikethebest]

Welcome!!!!!!!!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Sarah:

I'm forwarding this thread to one of our resident "know-it-alls" and hopefully he'll come on and give you some insight into your star and its egg laying process.

In the meantime: Welcome to the forum!!

 

[dmmj]

welcome, in my non professional opinion when they lay 1 egg they are usually duds. And remember they reach sexual maturity based on size not age. I hope this helps.

 

[B K]

Hello and Welcome

 

[coreyc]

Welcome to the forum Sarah

 

[Benjamin]

Hello all,
I've been lurking for a little while and finally plucked up enough courage to post something. I figured i'd start with an introduction

My name is Sarah and my family and I are proud owners of two lovely Indian Star tortoises - Otis and Tofu. We've had them for just over 3 years and got them when they looked like pretty little golf balls. My folks live on the teeny weeny island of Borneo, where the torts are (I'm off in Australia furthering my studies). Although the climate is pretty ideal for the little guys, the buying of equipment and supplements and finding a decent vet for them has been a nightmare - so i bring a box of goodies back with me every time i visit.

Now on to my essay :/

On my last visit home for Chinese New Year, Tofu laid a single egg infront of about 20 people watching through a sliding door during our open house. It was incredibly exciting to watch but I was horrified. I was always under the impression that Stars reached sexual maturity at around 6 - 8 years of age so I was quite willing to pick her up and RUN to the nearest vet cos she looked like she was in so much pain. She didn't dig a hole, she just stretched her back legs and pushed, it took a while and Otis was hiding in his shell infront of her the whole time. After she was done she walked off and munched on some food and then retreated to her hide.

After reading some forums I added extra dampened substrate to her enclosure cos I read that they need at least 8 - 12 inches deep in order to successfully dig a nest and up-ed her calcium and the frequency of her soaks. However, 3 days later she laid another single egg - on the surface and two weeks after that (I had already come back to Australia by then) I got a msg from my dad telling me that she had laid another single egg, again on the surface.

The incubation of the eggs is the least of my worries at the moment (although finding/making an incubator in that part of the world is incredibly time consuming and near impossible, will save that for another rant) as I'm far more concerned about Tofu's welfare. Is there a reason as to why she's laying one egg at a time so sporadically and not digging holes and burying them? Is there any other information I can forward on to my folks to make Tofu's egg-laying experience a slightly more pleasant one? Behaviour-wise she hasn't changed, she's never really been a shy tort and she's always been a big eater, none of this has change since the laying of her first egg.

Sorry for the incredibly long chunk of text, attached a little photo I had laying around of Otis... being Otis. Really hope I post this right!

Thanks for reading

As I have observed indian stars are somewhat finicky with nesting. You are correct that they often insist on a deep nest sight.
Younger animals often do not nest properly in captivity at first. As long as she continues to feed and act normally , likely she is fine. An x-ray should show any retained ova, if this is an option.
Size as well as age are very important factors with chelonian reproduction.

 

[findingotis]

Hi Sarah:

I'm forwarding this thread to one of our resident "know-it-alls" and hopefully he'll come on and give you some insight into your star and its egg laying process.

In the meantime: Welcome to the forum!!

Thank you!

---

Hello all,
I've been lurking for a little while and finally plucked up enough courage to post something. I figured i'd start with an introduction

My name is Sarah and my family and I are proud owners of two lovely Indian Star tortoises - Otis and Tofu. We've had them for just over 3 years and got them when they looked like pretty little golf balls. My folks live on the teeny weeny island of Borneo, where the torts are (I'm off in Australia furthering my studies). Although the climate is pretty ideal for the little guys, the buying of equipment and supplements and finding a decent vet for them has been a nightmare - so i bring a box of goodies back with me every time i visit.

Now on to my essay :/

On my last visit home for Chinese New Year, Tofu laid a single egg infront of about 20 people watching through a sliding door during our open house. It was incredibly exciting to watch but I was horrified. I was always under the impression that Stars reached sexual maturity at around 6 - 8 years of age so I was quite willing to pick her up and RUN to the nearest vet cos she looked like she was in so much pain. She didn't dig a hole, she just stretched her back legs and pushed, it took a while and Otis was hiding in his shell infront of her the whole time. After she was done she walked off and munched on some food and then retreated to her hide.

After reading some forums I added extra dampened substrate to her enclosure cos I read that they need at least 8 - 12 inches deep in order to successfully dig a nest and up-ed her calcium and the frequency of her soaks. However, 3 days later she laid another single egg - on the surface and two weeks after that (I had already come back to Australia by then) I got a msg from my dad telling me that she had laid another single egg, again on the surface.

The incubation of the eggs is the least of my worries at the moment (although finding/making an incubator in that part of the world is incredibly time consuming and near impossible, will save that for another rant) as I'm far more concerned about Tofu's welfare. Is there a reason as to why she's laying one egg at a time so sporadically and not digging holes and burying them? Is there any other information I can forward on to my folks to make Tofu's egg-laying experience a slightly more pleasant one? Behaviour-wise she hasn't changed, she's never really been a shy tort and she's always been a big eater, none of this has change since the laying of her first egg.

Sorry for the incredibly long chunk of text, attached a little photo I had laying around of Otis... being Otis. Really hope I post this right!

Thanks for reading

As I have observed indian stars are somewhat finicky with nesting. You are correct that they often insist on a deep nest sight.
Younger animals often do not nest properly in captivity at first. As long as she continues to feed and act normally , likely she is fine. An x-ray should show any retained ova, if this is an option.
Size as well as age are very important factors with chelonian reproduction.

Thanks for the infoI've tried calling vets about the possibility of getting her an x-ray but no one seems to want to cooperate with a tortoise as they mainly deal with only cats and dogs (though I did see a young sun bear in the waiting room once?!). I suppose we'll just keep a closer eye on her behaviour and make sure she's comfortable. Should we separate the two now that they're of breeding age and shes nesting, or keep them together as they seem to be very close?

Thanks again for the reply, its a relief to hear that she is likely fine.

---

welcome, in my non professional opinion when they lay 1 egg they are usually duds. And remember they reach sexual maturity based on size not age. I hope this helps.

I have an inkling that it's getting a bit cramped inside there so she's discarding the eggs one by one to make some room. She's just about doubled in size in the last year (unsure about her weight) and is significantly larger than the male - this may explain why she's reached sexual maturity before the 6 year mark that I previously thought established when they were ready to breed. Thanks for the information!

 

[egyptiandan]

I agree with what Ben wrote First time layers don't always get it right. From your picture and your description of the first egg being laid, it sounds like the majority of the time they are in the house they are on the floor? Do they have an enclosure in the house? Do you have an outside enclosure? Knowing exactly how they are being kept will help us in figuring out what might be the problem with her not wanting to dig a nest.

Danny

 

[findingotis]

I agree with what Ben wrote First time layers don't always get it right. From your picture and your description of the first egg being laid, it sounds like the majority of the time they are in the house they are on the floor? Do they have an enclosure in the house? Do you have an outside enclosure? Knowing exactly how they are being kept will help us in figuring out what might be the problem with her not wanting to dig a nest.

Danny

Hi Danny,

They have an outside enclosure on the side of the house it's on the ground but fenced off and sheltered from the elements - more specifically rain, however direct sunlight penetrates the soil area on a daily basis. 1/4 is grass 1/4 is some shallow water and the other half is organic soil/play sand where they have their hides in one corner. We have had no other pets since we got the tortoises. The picture was taken when we were cleaning out their enclosure and therefore put them in a container inside the house, unfortunately the little fella got out and this is where we found him so we've let him go for walks around the house on days when we're cleaning the enclosure or when he's being particularly active (maybe twice a month on average?) Otherwise they're not usually indoors.

Hope this information helps and hopefully I'll have her conditions right by the next time she wants to nest. Thanks again for your reply.

Sarah

 

[Benjamin]

I agree with what Ben wrote First time layers don't always get it right. From your picture and your description of the first egg being laid, it sounds like the majority of the time they are in the house they are on the floor? Do they have an enclosure in the house? Do you have an outside enclosure? Knowing exactly how they are being kept will help us in figuring out what might be the problem with her not wanting to dig a nest.

Danny

Hi Danny,

They have an outside enclosure on the side of the house it's on the ground but fenced off and sheltered from the elements - more specifically rain, however direct sunlight penetrates the soil area on a daily basis. 1/4 is grass 1/4 is some shallow water and the other half is organic soil/play sand where they have their hides in one corner. We have had no other pets since we got the tortoises. The picture was taken when we were cleaning out their enclosure and therefore put them in a container inside the house, unfortunately the little fella got out and this is where we found him so we've let him go for walks around the house on days when we're cleaning the enclosure or when he's being particularly active (maybe twice a month on average?) Otherwise they're not usually indoors.

Hope this information helps and hopefully I'll have her conditions right by the next time she wants to nest. Thanks again for your reply.

Sarah

An observation I have made with several different species, ther prefer to nest on an inclined surface. If the topography of the sand is flat, make a few small mounds of sand. Maybe add a clump of grass for cover, the roots will also help with the soil structure.