Hey everyone! I am from Utah, United States. Just seeing who is around

[Stoneman]

Hello,

I am new around here, and I wanted to introduce myself. I have a small colony of Geochelone Elegans, and I enjoy having them, they make me happy watching them eat and move around and stuff. It is like the wind down part of my day. Feeding them by hand is the best for sure. I am planning on becoming an active member here, so I will do what I can to help out as well.

It would also be nice to network with other tortoise enthusiasts in my area. I live in the metropolitan of Northern Utah, above Salt Lake. It would be nice to know who is around. When I have had issues I have used Parrish Creek Vet. Pricey like I am sure all vets are, I do not like the way it is administered but I like the vet.

Well, please let me know if anyone is in the area. It would be cool to see who is around.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome! We have quite a few Utah members, but not many star keepers. How long have you been keeping the stars?

 

[Stoneman]

Hi, and welcome! We have quite a few Utah members, but not many star keepers. How long have you been keeping the stars?

Hey Yvonne,

That is a great question. I have had the tortoises for less than a year. I had researched this species and others before I made the decision to purchase. I had researched others, and this was the one I went with because they are a smaller species and I would be able to provide them with ample space more easily. My biggest concern was disease transmission, so it is kind of silly that I went the route of acquiring them that I did. Some short cuts should not be taken. If they were really short cuts, they would be called the route. Lesson learned.

 

[Stoneman]

Yeah, I am really new. I know that there is so much to learn, and so much experience to gain, that I have really tried to get a head start studying it before-hand. These guys are not the most hardy either. So I have had issues with RNS and eye irritation, but nothing besides those things. A lot of time has been researching and reading books. I am a member of TSA and TTPG. So I have jumped all in, and here to stay. I am a little behind though, I need to buy one of the UVB readers, and an automated mister, but I think my set up is pretty effective. I have a centrifuge and a microscope for analyzing microbes. Learning about microbes and their colonies has been one of my main projects for tortoise learning, and I am just in the beginning, I know it is a huge field, but I want to learn so much more. There are so many torts that die from microbe and parasite caused issues, that it will be very advantageous to get a really good grasp of.

 

[Stoneman]

Hopefully in the next couple years I can move out of where I am now and I want to build one of the really nice spacious indoor controlled environment setups with concrete heated floors, a good wash station, medical station, and some segregated quarters for new acquisitions or sick tortoises. I have been working on some ideas on how to use technology to give baths on a large scale so that it does not have to be done one by one, because it is so time consuming and manually laborious.

 

[Melis]

Welcome! We would love to see pics of your torts and setup!

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome!

 

[kanalomele]

Welcome to TFO

 

[no one]

Hello and Welcome to the forum. Please sare some pics, I love Stars!! You say small colony, how many are you yalking about? Like it that you are going all in, learning about microbes and so...

I you like books, here are my suggestions:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0978755626/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1405195444/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

 

[PA2019]

Welcome! I keep stars as well and have a 2.2 group at the moment. I am interested in how you have your small colony setup. Can you post some pictures please? You are focused on microbes, parasites etc... so I'm assuming in the spirit of minimizing disease transmission you probably have your group separated, which can be expensive and difficult!

 

[Stoneman]

Yes, expensive, time consuming, and difficult. Thank you for your interest. I snapped some photos I will share. Not much time today to go in depth about everything, but I will be happy to explain how and why everything is where it is.

 

[Stoneman]

Hello and Welcome to the forum. Please sare some pics, I love Stars!! You say small colony, how many are you yalking about? Like it that you are going all in, learning about microbes and so...

I you like books, here are my suggestions:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0978755626/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1405195444/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Thank you so much for your recommendations! Ha ha, but I already have both! I will take a picture today. Lol

 

[Stoneman]

 

[Stoneman]

This is one way I keep them clean. They each have their own labeled bath tub that gets cleaned and dried after each use. The smaller two that I just acquired are currently bathing in Tupperware. I had them bathing in micronutrients when I first got them to improve their electrolyte an nutrient content into their bodies. Normally I just use water. Giving the torts baths regularly reduces the likelihood they carry diseases around after pooping in their enclosures.

 

[Stoneman]

I cannot remember how to put the numbers, if it is male:female or female:Male. I have a total of eight stars. I have one adult female, and three juveniles over five inches. I have one adult male, and one juvenile Male about 4.5 inches. The two new acquisitions are still pretty early to tell. Based on the the anal scutes, I believe the larger is female and smaller Male.

 

[Melis]

Your enclosures are wayyy different than what we see from members on this forum. Why do you choose to not use a substrate?

 

[PA2019]

Yes, expensive, time consuming, and difficult. Thank you for your interest. I snapped some photos I will share. Not much time today to go in depth about everything, but I will be happy to explain how and why everything is where it is.

Woah, 8 star tortoises?!

I'm confused, are those enclosures for quarantine purposes only, or are they the actual living spaces for all 8?!

 

[Stoneman]

Hmm, I never considered their living space to be restrictive. Based on the housing recommendations I was under the impression that 64 square feet was ideal for 6 juveniles and two adult Indian stars.

My reptile vet advised me that artificial terrain that can be sanitized regularly is much better than natural terrains that can easily harbor parasites and other dangerous microbes. There are reference books I have read that have said the same.

 

[Stoneman]

They do have substrate, the yoga mats and artificial grass are however cleanable and able to be reused.

 

[PA2019]

Hmm, I never considered their living space to be restrictive. Based on the housing recommendations I was under the impression that 64 square feet was ideal for 6 juveniles and two adult Indian stars.

My reptile vet advised me that artificial terrain that can be sanitized regularly is much better than natural terrains that can easily harbor parasites and other dangerous microbes. There are reference books I have read that have said the same.

Right. Well I would reeeeeally recommend you check out the following threads on raising star and leopard tortoises in which Mark and Tom, well-known contributors to the site, have explained extremely important aspects of star/leopard husbandry that I feel you are missing in your current setup.

@Markw84 @Tom

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-star-tortoise.159167/

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.78361/

I tagged Mark and Tom in case you had questions about their care sheets.

I'm not trying to bash your methods, and you have beautiful animals, but there are basics of care that are missing and if addressed, could give your animals a better life, which is what we all strive towards!