# My first Tort is here!



## Sky2Mina (May 31, 2011)

I am so excited. I know, I said I wanted a Greek Tortoise, but I just couldn't wait any longer. I took a closer look at Star Tortoise and really fell in love with them.  So I decided to get a Star Tortoise first (who knows, maybe I'll get a Greek Tortoise later, maybe not).

Anyways, I picked "him" up today and I am totally in love with "him". I bought him off a website who had posted pictures and I chose him because he was putting out his head in the pictures, unlike the other stars (and I liked his pretty shell).

I'm very excited but also scared that he might die. I don't want to do any major mistakes, so when I post pictures and tell about "him" feel free to give me tips, correct me or criticize! 

I'm not sure where the tortoise came from, but since I'm in Thailand, I'd assume he's a wild caught (?). The seller said he should be about 7 months old. He is almost 2 inch (tiny!), so that sounds about right? (or not? Anyway, he does look like a baby!)

When I put him into his enclosure, he crawled into his hide and slept in there. I thought he wouldn't move at all today.  I soaked him anyways and tried to feed him some greens. He barely ate and I was already worried, but left him be. When I went to look a little later he was munching his greens.  So I sat down to watch him and he went into his hide. Grml. So I left again and 5 mins later was over his greens again. So mean, I want to watch. 

Sorry for the rant, but I just had to tell someone.  Now here are some pictures:






These are the pictures from the seller (the ones written "No. 2" on them). 












You can see grim little faces on his plastron.  I see three (a Skullface in the middle!). Also a reason I picked him.




The last three are pics I took.













I'll post more and better pictures, but didn't want to stress the little guy too much today.


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## DesertGrandma (May 31, 2011)

He is adorable. I can see why you would pick him.


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## dmarcus (May 31, 2011)

I love the plastron shot the little faces are cool. He is a great looking guy...


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## yagyujubei (May 31, 2011)

Well, you did it now. What a beauty. He is especially good looking. Good pick. I think the age is right on the money also. Good luck!


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## Neal (May 31, 2011)

That is an exceptionally stunning indian star. I wish we had more variety here in the USA with those types of tortoises. 

The only advice I have for you is to keep him warm and try to get him some daily sun exposure. Good luck!


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## Tom (May 31, 2011)

Congratulations. I hope everything goes well.


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## Yvonne G (May 31, 2011)

Hi Mina:

He's beautiful! I love the faces on his plastron


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## Kristina (May 31, 2011)

He is gorgeous  Nice pick!

I know my Stars were exceptionally shy when I first got them. He will warm up over time.


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## ALDABRAMAN (May 31, 2011)

Super Nice!


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## TortBrain (May 31, 2011)

Sawdee Krab K'Mina,

Pretty Star. Love it's pattern! 
Remember to keep this little guy warm through out the night. Provide as much sunlight as possible. Cuttle bone too. 
Hatchling mostly sleep all day long other then meal time. 
I soak mine 3-4 time a week. They are about 2" and weighing slightly over 50g. WC, age and sex unknow.

Care to share the price you got it? Cheaper then JJ Mall?

Cheers & have fun


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## Sky2Mina (May 31, 2011)

Thank you everyone.  I already love "him" a lot. I don't have a name yet though. I'm not sure whether I should give "him" a boy/girl or unisex name. I'm really bad in picking names - sometimes I take hours to pick a name for a character in a videogame! lol. I'll take my time and see if any name fits with his character. But if anyone has suggestions, let me know!

@TortBrain 
What means 'warm' in Tort language?  Right now it's 29 Celsius (84 Fahrenheit) outside (His enclosure is on the Balcony). I hope that is ok? I am wondering if I have to get a CHE/Infrared with these temps? But I'm guessing not. I don't want to grill him.  (Note: It's 10.30pm in Thailand. So these are Nighttime temps.)
Not sure if he was cheaper than JJ. Prices vary a lot. Last Saturday I asked the price of a 1.5inch Star Tortoise and it was 2000 Baht (which I think, is quite expensive for such a small tortoise. Plus, the little thing was together with all kinds of species in the same cage, so I wouldn't have bought it anyways. I was just curious... mh, maybe it was especially pretty or it was the ++foreigner price. I don't know). Another Shop wanted 1400 Baht for 3-4inch star Tortoises.
I got mine for 1100 Baht, but many Star Tortoises I've seen being sold on the Internet went for 800-900 Baht.
But I really don't care if I paying 10 dollar more or less for an animal.  Especially because food, substrate, vet etc. is going to cost me much much more.
You are from Malaysia, right? Have you bought animals at JJ? (I wonder how you'd be able to bring them back to Malaysia then?)
If you have any tips to share, let me know. Since we live in a similar climate you could probably suggest me somethings e.g. food, temperatures etc. I want to know anything there is, so my tort will hopefully be healthy and happy.


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## Isa (May 31, 2011)

Congrats  Your little baby is gorgeous!


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## Fernando (May 31, 2011)

#2 looks great! I like the bottom plastron shot


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## DeanS (May 31, 2011)

Very cute...


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## Jessicap (May 31, 2011)

"He" is beautiful! Congratulations and good luck.


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## yagyujubei (May 31, 2011)

In the US, your little star would cost about 10 to 12 times what you paid. So, from our perspective, you got a great deal on him.


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## SILVERSTAR (May 31, 2011)

NICE, they look very different from my star baby, mines more of jus black and yellow yours has more contrasting colors,i wonder why,maybe yours is wut they would call a mainland star(???) i dont know maybe not jus taking a guess.DO You know if its considered an indian/sri lankan,mainland,southern ECT.......?


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## Bubba30 (May 31, 2011)

Oh my gosh. So darn cuterz. Makes me want to get a cousin for Bubba. 
XOXOX BUBBA AND CARLA


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## Mao Senpai (May 31, 2011)

Wow a star tort for 34 dollars? I'll take 10! Hehe  Beautiful tort makes me so jealous!


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## TortBrain (May 31, 2011)

Sky2Mina said:


> Thank you everyone.  I already love "him" a lot. I don't have a name yet though. I'm not sure whether I should give "him" a boy/girl or unisex name. I'm really bad in picking names - sometimes I take hours to pick a name for a character in a videogame! lol. I'll take my time and see if any name fits with his character. But if anyone has suggestions, let me know!
> 
> @TortBrain
> What means 'warm' in Tort language?  Right now it's 29 Celsius (84 Fahrenheit) outside (His enclosure is on the Balcony). I hope that is ok? I am wondering if I have to get a CHE/Infrared with these temps? But I'm guessing not. I don't want to grill him.  (Note: It's 10.30pm in Thailand. So these are Nighttime temps.)
> ...



Morning Mina,

I kept mine at 90-95F.
Price is really cheap over your side.
No, I can't bring any animals back to Malaysia. How I wish I could thou. Got mine locally. Heard most of the WC came from Thailand too.


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## Zouave (May 31, 2011)

SOoooo beautiful! I paid 10x for each of my hermanns. :| Maybe i should move? lol


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## ticothetort2 (May 31, 2011)

Beautiful tort, that's amazing 36 US dollars for this little dude. I'm moving!


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## Sky2Mina (May 31, 2011)

Haha, thank you everyone.  I know 36 Dollars is very cheap - even for me. 
I think they're the cheapest torts that are sold here. Sulcatas, Leopards, Redfoots... all 2-3 times the price. 

He ate a little bit this morning and went back to sleep. I'm wondering if that's "normal"? Didn't eat much. But I'm going to buy some fresh greens later and see how he'll like them. 

@Silverstar - I have no idea what kind he is. Any guess?  I don't think he's Sri Lankan (just because I think it's easier to get the torts from India than Sri Lanka) but I could be wrong.

Ah, everytime I look at him, I get a little sugar rush.


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## Jacob (May 31, 2011)

Congrats, He Looks Good!


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## RianSeeking (May 31, 2011)

He's gorgeous! Congratulations!


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## l0velesly (May 31, 2011)

Wow, beautiful star tortoise! He looks special  I'm surprised at the price. It's about 10x cheaper than what we pay for in US. You got a good deal! It's a little sad that they're wild-caught... esp. the fact that many species are housed together. I hope you provide him good care. I wish I could just go to Thailand and bring a little guy home.


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