Hi,
I've been reading about star tortoises on this forum and found some really good threads which have given me great info about having a star tortoise as a pet.
Now, about the tortoise I have: Technically, the tortoise isn't ours. It belongs to my cousin who has had it since 7-8 years I think. As long as I can remember I have seen the tortoise being kept on tiles or carpets. They have fed him with orkas or tomatoes or cucumbers.
My cousin has recently shifted to our neighbourhood and he travels a week and stays home a week. Since we have kids at home, my aunty has started giving the tortoise to us and we all instantly fell in love with the creature.
For a couple of months, I didn't really know if he has been raised correctly or not. Then I saw some videos on YouTube and found taht our "Gojaa" doesn't walk with upright hind legs. I realised this must be because of the tiles. Honestly, we didn't do any research when we brought him home. We just fed him spinach leaves, coriander leaves, tomatoes, orkas, etc. Took him to the sun every day and soaked him for 5 mins or so everyday. During chilly winter nights, we used to wrap him with a towel to let him sleep (I now know this was wrong). I am sharing some recent pictures here.
Now I know atleast some things, so I'm building an enclosure for him. It's an open enclosure for now. I have attached it's photos too.
I have a few questions:
I don't know what to do! Please help!
I've been reading about star tortoises on this forum and found some really good threads which have given me great info about having a star tortoise as a pet.
Now, about the tortoise I have: Technically, the tortoise isn't ours. It belongs to my cousin who has had it since 7-8 years I think. As long as I can remember I have seen the tortoise being kept on tiles or carpets. They have fed him with orkas or tomatoes or cucumbers.
My cousin has recently shifted to our neighbourhood and he travels a week and stays home a week. Since we have kids at home, my aunty has started giving the tortoise to us and we all instantly fell in love with the creature.
For a couple of months, I didn't really know if he has been raised correctly or not. Then I saw some videos on YouTube and found taht our "Gojaa" doesn't walk with upright hind legs. I realised this must be because of the tiles. Honestly, we didn't do any research when we brought him home. We just fed him spinach leaves, coriander leaves, tomatoes, orkas, etc. Took him to the sun every day and soaked him for 5 mins or so everyday. During chilly winter nights, we used to wrap him with a towel to let him sleep (I now know this was wrong). I am sharing some recent pictures here.
Now I know atleast some things, so I'm building an enclosure for him. It's an open enclosure for now. I have attached it's photos too.
I have a few questions:
- Should it always be a closed enclosure? We're keeping this in the balcony, there may not be much light over here. But the area is well protected from birds, etc. We shall take it into the sun everyday.
- We are located in Vadodara. The night temperatures are usually low on the outside. The minimum this season shall be 15 deg C or about 59 deg F. So should we put up some UVB lamps to keep the temperatures fine? We don't have things like a thermostat here. The box is about 2.5ft x 6ft so I don't know how to maintain temperatures for him.
- We'll keep the soil moist, but how much humidity should we maintain? I'm getting myself a sensor for the same to keep a track.
I don't know what to do! Please help!