[Help] Star Tortoise

[yuantzer]

Hi i'm new here , I'm YT from Malaysia , recently bought 6 3" Star tortoise , n using a 4ft x 1.5ft x 1.5ft aquarium , paper pellet for bedding, i'm using exoterra 10.0 for lighten the enclosure .

Morning - solar glo 125w i spot it to the other end (not the hide place ) from 8a.m to 5p.m
- basking spot - i'm using exoterra intense basking 75w n spot it just beside the hide place

Night - i'm using exoterra infrared 100w n spot it beside their hide place

Temperature - morning 28C-30C (50%-65%) , basking area 30C-35C(40%-60%)

Night - 27C-30C (60%-75%) Basking area 30C-35C(50%-65%)

Ask - Is it too hot in the tank ? any solution to decrease the degree ? i try put a small fan already but the temp r still high .

 

[Neal]

Your temps are right on.

Our indian star tortoises really seem to enjoy warmer temperatures more than our other tortoises.

 

[tortadise]

Temps are good. However I would use some mulch or sort for the substrate instead of paper. News to get the humidity up for them and paper pellets don't hold any moisture.

 

[Dagashi]

wow! you have 6 3" stars?? Amazing! I think for now the size of your terarium is okay but you might have a little difficulty when they grow bigger. especially all 6 of them!

We're from Malaysia too and we were recommended to use REptisun 5.0 (extoterra). However we have changed to a exoterra mercury lamp (9-6) as we only sun our torts during the weekend. Our average temperatures are 37-40 degrees celcius (basking area). So we probably have warmer temps than yours. but we switch it off at night. Temperatures are about 20-25 in the night.

Just make sure that there is a gradient of temperature in the terrarium. so that when the torts get hot they can cool themselves down. Also keep a water bowl handy for them to drink rehydrate themselves (they can get dehydrated). and for them to soak. the water bowl shouldn't be too near the basking area.

I'm not too sure whether or not the basking area should be so close to the hide. Our hide is at the other end of the basking area. Perhaps someone with more expertise can assist you on that!

You might want to change the paper lie what tortadise has said. Paper doens't hold much moisture and may lead to drying of the torts. Also, we found that too smooth paper will cause them to walk funny. We currently use orchid bark as our substrate. We're gonna try out coconut coir next. We also have a hard surface area for them to walk on to trim their nails (but we trim them with baby nail clippers anyway) you can have a view of our enclosure here http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Galaticus-and-Spartacus-s-New-Home#axzz1rAwEok00

To prevent pyramiding, ensure your enclosure is humid and soak your torts every day (if not, every other day). We soak our babies every morning during their pooping session. and we mist them every afternoon or evening. We poop them everyday.

Hope you have great fun with your torts!!

 

[yuantzer]

thank for your advice guys , ya 6 of them maybe will change the terarium again after 1 or 2 years time . now i check my night time temp r 26C n 81% humid in basking area r 31C n 61 % . hey guys any matter of way how to give my tortoise take the deworming medicine ? i bring them to the vet n doctor said they got worm inside their body . i have mix the medicine in their food but they don wan to take it . any idea guys ?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi YT:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

 

[yuantzer]

hi emysemys , thank u

 

[Jacob]

welcome to the forum,

 

[Dagashi]

hi yuantzer..

When I introduce new foods to my torts I wrapped it in mazuri. But only cause my torts are mazuri monsters and will eat anything if mazuri is rubbed on it. or wrapped in it. They even wake up from sleep if they smell it!

I'm not sure how your deworming medicine is. (waterbased or powder). my guess is, you can either force feed them with a syringe into their mouths (slowly). so they don't choke, or mix / hide it in their favourite food. (little amounts at first to get them used to the taste)

Not sure if you could soak them in it as I know they will drink the water they are soaked in.

Hope that helps!

 

[yuantzer]

ok i will try your way . my medicine r in liquid base . i try to syringe to their mouth but non of them wan to open mouth . so i don wan to force them to take it .

 

[Dagashi]

Great looking set up! love that little house!

but you might want to rethink the substrate as it may be too dry.

Also, make sure they get a variety of greens. There are lots of literature online about what to feed your torts. try not to give them kangkung, bayam. They really like red peppers (but not the stalks! we found this out recently). hehe

Also favourites is hibiscus, and romaine. It's fun experimenting with them! But I found out that iceberg lettuce doesnt' give much nutrients so we don't feed them that. If possible get them a cuttlefish bone (u can purchase this from most petshop that sell birds) for them to chew on. This gives them calcium for their shell growth.

We supplement our torts with additional calcium about once week and we leave the cuttlefish bone in there so that they have access to it anytime they want.

Btw. notice that you have the same water bowl as we do! we found out that our stars were afraid to go into the water to drink and soak cause it was too deep and they fell head in and got a shock of their lives (they are so tiny after all). So we placed tiny pebbles in it so that they can step on that instead. That way they don't fall in and shock themselves.

If you find that your torts don't go into the water bowl, u might want to consider the above.

---

ok i will try your way . my medicine r in liquid base . i try to syringe to their mouth but non of them wan to open mouth . so i don wan to force them to take it .

perhaps you can try this:

Ask someone to help you told the tort, and tempt it with food. when he opens his mouth.. put the syringe in sneakily. once the syringe is in he can't close is or spit it out so you can slowly drip it in.

but must be very patient!! heheh good luck~

 

[yuantzer]

as for the humidity it's seem ok for me . morning (50%-65%) , basking area (40%-60%)

Night -(60%-80%) Basking area (50%-70%)

if i change bedding will it be over humid ? ya my tortoise also scare to go in the water bowl hahaz. will try your way next time .

 

[Davy]

Nice setup. Just read the part about misting them. How should i do this? Buy a small spray bottle and spray the living area or spray my little shell friend?

 

[Dagashi]

as for the humidity it's seem ok for me . morning (50%-65%) , basking area (40%-60%)

Night -(60%-80%) Basking area (50%-70%)

if i change bedding will it be over humid ? ya my tortoise also scare to go in the water bowl hahaz. will try your way next time .

hmm. think of it as you are always touching paper and newspapers and a4 paper. your hands will be very dry even though our climate is humid. that's just because paper has a drying effect. torts can withstand very high humidity so no worries. It's just that if they are too dry they may pyramid.

Personally I haven't had alot of experience with paper pellets. Although I understand through alot of reading that most tort owners don't use paper pellets anymore.

Just wondering does the pellets get mushy if it gets wet? or are they quite resistant?

 

[tortadise]

The best thing for stars is going to be high humidity and some what dru substrate. Stars whether it be Indian, Sri lanken, or burmese are susceptible to bacterial infections which starts on the outer shell. If they are kept too wet this can cause shell rot. Especially when they are young and growing. Make sure you are scrubbing their shells in a betadine or chlorohexidine solution about once a month. It's key not to keep the substrate wet all the time. I being in Malaysia your humidity should be relatively high already. I would still add a humidifier to the room they are kept. As well as spray them down daily. But make sure the mulch isn't just dowsed or super wet. Everything else looks good.

Im going to assume the deworming agent is panacur? Oraly is the best method. Or if you can find some black walnut extract in liquid you can put it in the water and soak them to allow them to drink it. If that fails tell the vet. Flagyl comes in powder form which can mixed with mazuri. But each dewormer takes care of different parasites so can't really diagnose as I'm not a vet.

 

[yuantzer]

thank tortadise n dagashi , yes i told the vet already he ask me go n see him tomoro .

 

[HtVic]

I have this question, will all specie of tortoises have worm?
do we really need to deworming tortoies?

 

[Vishnu2]

Off the wall question: Where do people obtain those log hideaways like you have? I can't find them anywhere!!!!

 

[CLMoss]

Welcome! I love Stars!

BTW, your house is really nice. I have one of those log hides and I really don't like it. The stars try to climb up the sides and flip over.

 

[pam]

Welcome