Indian star tortoise diet

[Hari8689]

I wana knw d perfact diet fo d pair of Indian star tortoise m having.
I stay in Mumbai nd dun get evrythng showd in carelist on internet.
Their age must b six months..i dun knw cuz i hv got thm frm a local seller nd their size iz jus as a palm if a hand excluding fingers nd a thumb.
They r lazy. Dun lyk sunlight. They dun eat apple or tomato. Plz help nd suggest smthng wch i can get here in Mumbai India. Their names Mr.Flinston nd Miss. Velma.
Reply awaited.
Thank you.
P.s. the box they r kept in attached picture iz sized 9 X 9inches nd 2.5inch broad. So now u can assume the size if them by seeing the pic.

 

[Hari8689]

Plz see the pics.

 

[Yourlocalpoet]

Hi Hari

I'm not sure what foods you have over in Mumbai but apple and tomato are not great foods to offer your tortoises.
I'm going to paste a reply from Tom, regarding food, to save me typing a huge list!

Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

Are you planning on keeping them inside? If so, you will need to build a proper indoor enclosure and probably separate them.



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[Hari8689]

Thanks.
*But i hv already read all ths names nd checkd out here bt almost 85-90% things nt getting.
*Nd iz it necessary to built a enclosure becuz they get proper sunlight..i dun knw wad much mor things they need to get.
*m confused y they need to b saparate...?

 

[Yourlocalpoet]

Thanks.
*But i hv already read all ths names nd checkd out here bt almost 85-90% things nt getting.
*Nd iz it necessary to built a enclosure becuz they get proper sunlight..i dun knw wad much mor things they need to get.
*m confused y they need to b saparate...?

I understand that, all those foods aren't available in my back garden either, so I grow my own weeds/grasses/cactus in that case. You should be able to buy some dark leafy greens and have grass where you are?

It's great that your tortoises have real sunlight but if you keep them inside they WILL need an indoor enclosure. The tin you are keeping them in, in the photos, is not adequate.
Tortoises need temperature gradients in order to regulate their temperatures, they also need room to walk around and hide. They need proper substrate, soil/orchid bark/ coir are some choices. They need a large water bowl, heat, light and humidity.
If you wish to keep them outside, if you have the right climate, then they will need a large, safe, outdoor enclosure with plenty of places to hide, sun and shade.

I believe that Star care is similar to leopard tortoise care, (if I'm wrong, there are plenty of Star keepers on the forum to say so) so you may find it helpful to read these threads.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/leopard-tortoise-care-sheet.63792/

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

It is the observation of many tortoise keepers that tortoises do not do well in pairs. Tortoises are solitary creatures and keeping two together often causes problems such as bullying in competition for food, for example.

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[G-stars]

Check it this thread. Everyone on this thread are from India and have star tortoises so they can help.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index....n-indian-star-owners-residing-in-INDIA.68875/


— Gus

 

[glaerey]

Plz dun torture d torts by kping thm in biscuit tin If u dun hv d means. I'd rather u study hard nd improve on your english.
They originate frm your country and u shd knw wat thy r eating there better than anyone else.

 

[Yourlocalpoet]

Check it this thread. Everyone on this thread are from India and have star tortoises so they can help.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index....n-indian-star-owners-residing-in-INDIA.68875/


— Gus

Good call. Forgot about @shanu303


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[Hari8689]

Thanks guys...

 

[Hari8689]

Glaerey
Dear frnd y dun u teach me english.
Nd if u dun mind thousands of Indian whu use ths typ of english vl luv to learn.
So r u gonna teach...??

 

[glaerey]

Glaerey
Dear frnd y dun u teach me english.
Nd if u dun mind thousands of Indian whu use ths typ of english vl luv to learn.
So r u gonna teach...??

Sure If you wish to learn! First lesson: every letter in a word is important, do not try to save on them.

 

[Hari8689]

Thanks. Nw if u done wid it thn help me wid ma quest...

 

[shanu303]

Thanks. Nw if u done wid it thn help me wid ma quest...

i hope you use full words because we are on an international forum.... if you want help then the others should first understand what you say.... i understood what you said even in your message because I'm from india and even my friends have the habit of writing in short, so i understood... but the others just might not be able to understand....

and check your inbox..... just replied to your queries...
and Welcome to TFO

 

[Hari8689]

i hope you use full words because we are on an international forum.... if you want help then the others should first understand what you say.... i understood what you said even in your message because I'm from india and even my friends have the habit of writing in short, so i understood... but the others just might not be able to understand....

and check your inbox..... just replied to your queries...
and Welcome to TFO

Yes i will use now full words.
Thank you for help and reply

 

[STAR TORTOISE 123]

Hello Hari and welcome to the forum. Even I live in Mumbai , a)nd I know it is very hard for you to get the foods that are required. I will write a list of things you get in Mumbai ( Crawford Market) and what I feed my tort.

1) Mustard greens (in hindi it is called rai ka patta)
2) Escarole( also known as salad leaves)
3) Romaine
4)Fenugreek
5)Hibiscus or shoe flower leaves and flower
6)Rose leaves and petals
7)Fescue grass( buy the seeds at ebay.in and plant in the house )
8)Bermuda grass( buy the seeds at ebay.in and plant in the house)
9)coriander
10)Spinach
11)Carrot tops
Hari if you don't know any things which I wrote on top google it.Or ask me

 

[Hari8689]

Thank you for the help.
Most of these i feed them but they will take some time to like it as they only eat hibiscus flowers, coriander, bhindi and they dont like spinach, rai k patte, methi.. they have left eating grass also. I think they sre habbited to hibiscus... anyways will offer them all the things time by time. Hope they will like it.
Thanks again.

 

[Tom]

Hari, their appetites will tend to be lower and they will tend to be pickier if they are not set up with the correct temperatures and cared for properly. Do they have they right thermal gradient and night heat in your indoor set up? Proper humidity and daily soaks?

Even though you are in their country of origin, your house and yard is not the wild. We have the same issue here with California Desert tortoises. There are millions of micro climates between here and the deserts where our tortoises come from, but people think its fine to just put them in their yard without giving them what they need. It doesn't work here and it won't work there. Read that care sheet for leopards that Yourlocalpoet linked for you. I set my stars up exactly like the care sheet and they thrive. Read this one too: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

I find it much easier to understand your questions when you use full words, punctuation and make complete sentences, so thank you for that.

 

[Hari8689]

Hahaha Tom...thanks dear...
And yeah about climate..they get proper light and sunlight as well as daily soaking and i think no issue with climate here.
The little priblem is they are used to eat hibiscus only. Is it ok...? I guess it wont be harmfull if they eat hibiscus as 75% of their daily diet.
They just get playfull and active after eating hibiscus.
#feeling helped.
Thank you

 

[Tom]

I don't think any single thing should make up 75% of a star's diet. Variety is important. One technique for introducing new foods is to finely chop the favorite food and then finely chop a very small amount of the new food, and mix it all together. This will med to be done for a period of weeks or months. Eventually you up the ration of less favored foods to more favored foods and after some time and effort, you end up with a tortoise that will eat anything. Also remember the principal that a hungry tortoise is not a picky tortoise. If you add some new stuff in a very small amount and your tortoises are picky and don't eat it, I would keep introducing a fresh batch of that same stuff daily for a while until they got hungry and ate it. If they don't eat it for a few days, you might want to reduce the ratio even more until they do et it. Its all by "feel".

 

[Hari8689]

I will surely try this. Thanks again.