Star Tortoises missing for months - do they dig into burrows.

Ioni

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Dec 20, 2016
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Hi all,
I joined this forum as I'm traumatised by the disappearance of 3 star tortoises we had in our garden.
They were free to roam in our walled garden (about 1 acre) and if they were in the front yard they would come near our door for a snack of leafy greens.
Two of the adults have been missing since around April of this year.
Do you think star tortoises burrow underground to escape high temperatures?

I'm from Sri Lanka and in March-April of this year there was a severe drought in the country. I was overseas and I do not know how much water would have been provided for the tortoises by other people at my place.
I just wonder whether they would have burrowed underground to escape the severe heat. It is around that time that two of them had disappeared.


I regret not having them inside a closed area now (at least during that time). These were tortoises put into our garden by our neighbours (as they could not take care of them and I thought it was best to let them roam free in the garden. Now I regret it bitterly)
The tortoises were adults and had babies too. On several occasions I thought of enclosing them in a fenced area, but I felt that they enjoyed ambling around the property eating roots, leaves and grass. They lived in that garden (about 1 acre) for over 4 years and my gardner found 4 little baby tortoises in the garden.

Once the first two disappeared I got fencing material and asked my gardner to build an enclosure for the two remaining adults in the garden. My mother has stopped the gardener several times from doing it (not that she hates the tortoises, in fact she is the one who feeds them. She just wants to be stubborn and ignore my wishes). So, they were not enclosed, and just as I anticipated one of them has disappeared now.
Once again it has been high temperatures in our area.

My dilemma is not knowing what happened to them.
Does anyone know whether star tortoises burrow into the underground and aestivate (especially due to hot weather).
Please share your knowledge of these beautiful creatures.
I'm going home soon, and will be looking for holes and burrows in our garden.
Thank you,
Ioni
 

Tom

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Stars do not typically burrow, but they will take advantage of any sort of cover they can find, such as some other animal's burrow. Sounds like predation or theft may be a possibility. I don't know how thick the cover in your 1 acre garden is, but hiding is also a good possibility. They are masters of camouflage and hiding.
 

Yvonne G

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What is the perimeter of the garden like? Is it possible for the tortoises to get out?
 

Tidgy's Dad

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My guess is an opportunistic predator has taken them.
You need to create a secure enclosure for the surviving adult and youngsters.
Or it is likely to happen again.
 

Ioni

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What is the perimeter of the garden like? Is it possible for the tortoises to get out?
It is a brick wall with a good foundation. However, we have left a couple of holes at the bottom of the wall. I believe that those were blocked with some netting. Besides the holes were too small for the bigger of the tortoises to creep through to the next yard. I will be checking the neighbours yard when i get home.
 

Ioni

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My guess is an opportunistic predator has taken them.
You need to create a secure enclosure for the surviving adult and youngsters.
Or it is likely to happen again.
What kind of predator? We do not have big predators in our area, except perhaps for civet cats that come out in the night. Either them or a human thief might have taken them. Yes, now that I have learnt the bitter lesson, the youngsters and the surviving adult is kept in a secure enclosure.
Tank you.
 

Ioni

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Dec 20, 2016
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Stars do not typically burrow, but they will take advantage of any sort of cover they can find, such as some other animal's burrow. Sounds like predation or theft may be a possibility. I don't know how thick the cover in your 1 acre garden is, but hiding is also a good possibility. They are masters of camouflage and hiding.
Yes, we do have few burrows around, mainly dug by our dogs. The garden has some areas where they can hide (though most of it has been searched) and I will go through those soon. The strange thing is that they used to come to our front door for their evening snack of fresh leafy greens and some fruits etc. That stopped completely sometime in May. I am going home for Christmas, and I will launch a search.
We have civet cats in our garden (they only come out in the night) and yes, a human thief is a very real possibility.
I am heart broken, gave them freedom thinking it is the best for the creature and then this happens.
 

Wherethetortiroam

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Ioni, I'm so sorry for your loss. My heart goes out to those torts. If stolen I ope they at least found good homes.
 

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